The 11 Best Garden Hoses to Buy in 2018

• 01 of 11

  Best Overall: XpandaHose

  Excellent

  Buy on Amazon

  

  Storing and wrangling hoses are a frustrating experiences. The common garden hose is primarily designed to work best when uncoiled. As soon as you start to kink and bend the hose, water flow is compromised and you start to lose pressure at the end. Worse, this can lead to bursts and leaks in the hose that will require patching or replacing.

  The XpandaHose avoids all this with a unique coiled design. 75 feet of latex naturally coils when not in use, making it easy to store without a coiler. The latex core also stretches as you pump water, automatically straightening and untangling it with no hassle. The hose also comes with a 10 setting nozzle that will allow you to water plants, clean furniture and more, outside.

• 02 of 11

  Best Durability: Continental ContiTech Premium

  Buy on Amazon Buy on Home Depot

  

  Most gardens and yards are small enough that you don't need a terribly long hose to get the job done. Instead of having the longest reach, the best garden hose is one that will last you a long time without kinking or springing a leak. The Continental ContiTech Premium does just this using sturdy 50 foot rubber tubing.

  This professional quality hose is 5/8in in diameter and is reinforced with a thick rubber lining. This thickness makes it abrasion and kink-resistant since it is difficult to tangle up or kink a thick mass. The brass fittings are also crush-proof so you don't have to worry about deforming the ends of the hose.

• 03 of 11

  Best All-Weather: Craftsman Premium

  Buy on Amazon

  

  For a garden hose with even more durability, the Craftsman Premium is hard to beat thanks to its radial rubber matrix lining. The extra rubber is meant to keep this hose working throughout the year, even during the cold winter temperatures. For hot water, the rubber can even withstand temperatures up to 160 degrees fahrenheit.

  The 50 feet of rubber tubing can handle rougher yards where sharp edges like rocks may threaten to cut into the hose. The tubing can withstand pressures up to 500 PSI without bursting, making it a great choice for watering the garden, cleaning the driveway, or even flushing pipes and water heaters.

• 04 of 11

  Best Budget Garden Hose: Apex REM 15

  Buy on Amazon

  

  Budget hoses offer a lot of value for people living in small places where your garden may be nothing more than a couple of potted plants on the deck or porch. The Apex REM 15 is an affordable, 15 foot long hose that is easy to use and store around small, confined outdoor spaces. Using standard tubing and fitting materials, this hose should avoid heavier, more abrasive outdoor use around typical yards.

  Since it is small, the hose is equally at home in a porch/deck garden and indoors. In addition to watering plants, the length of the hose makes it perfect for use with pumps and dehumidifiers inside.

  Continue to 5 of 11 below.
• 05 of 11

  Best Coiled Garden Hose: Orbit 27890

  Buy on Amazon

  

  A coiled hose works just like a spring: when water is flowing through it, it expands. When not in use, all of the tubing compresses back into a storable spring. The Orbit 27890 is an ideal option for people with limited storage space or who can't mount a proper hose coiler in their yard. The coiled design also helps to prevent kinks and leaks from forming while in use.

  This hose comes with a six pattern sprayer that is right at home with the most common yard watering tasks. You can even adjust the pressure from the head with the rear pistol trigger so you can control the force with which you are watering plants or cleaning surfaces.

• 06 of 11

  Best 25' Garden Hose: Apex 8695-25

  Buy on Amazon Buy on Home Depot

  

  Small yards and gardens don't need much in terms of a garden hose. A short length and normal rubber tubing are enough to make the hose last for a long time. The Apex 8695-25 is a 25' rubber hose you can use on decks, patios or small gardens without having to pay more for longer tubing.

  The all rubber tubing can handle both hot and cold water, and will resist freezing during the winter time. The brass couplings feature Apex's leak-proof, SealFastTM design so you don't have to worry about water leaking through at the point the hose connects to other fittings. The included rigid sleeve will also keep the hose from kinking at the faucet end.

• 07 of 11

  Best 50' Garden Hose: Gilmour PRO

  Buy on Amazon Buy on Walmart

  

  Medium sized yards and gardens are common in most homes these days. If you have a garden with a hundred square feet or so, a 50' long hose like the Gilmour PRO is usually long enough to reach around the yard. This hose provides a higher level of durability by using rubber-and-vinyl tubing that is doubled over for extra reinforcement.

  The tubing is slightly larger in diameter at 3/4 inches. This will provide a small boost in water flow while making the hose harder to kink or tangle while in use. A spring coiled metal cover will also prevent the hose from kinking at the faucet connection so you don't have to worry about damaging the hose hookup in the exterior wall.

• 08 of 11

  Best 100' Garden Hose: Neverkink Heavy Duty

  Buy on Amazon

  

  Large yards and gardens require a long hose. 100 foot hoses are the go to choice for people needing the extra reach without losing water pressure around the yard. The Neverkink Heavy Duty utilizes a unique tubing construction to provide this reach without risking damage as the hose drags along sharp edges like rocks.

  The tubing is made of a heavy duty vinyl material, reinforced with an NTS mesh that holds the hose's form while in use. Together, the tubing material allows the hose to resist pressures up to 375 PSI. Antimicrobial guards also line the tubing so mold and mildew won't grow over time.  

  Continue to 9 of 11 below.
• 09 of 11

  Best Lightweight Garden Hose: EnerPlex X-Stream

  Buy on Amazon

  

  Long, versatile, and slow to kink up, the EnerPlex X-Stream is a lightweight solution to typical garden hoses. At just over three pounds, it does all the hard work of its heavy duty counterparts without the excess heft. When the water pours through the expandable garden hose, it quickly fills to its full 75-feet in length. The EnerPlex curls up into a 24-foot hose after the water has been drained for quick and easy tucking away in walk way bins or garden sheds. The 75-foot reach allows the EnerPlex to snake around corners and over obstacles without getting bunched up.

  Reviewers raved about how the lightweight material won’t ruin planters or other garden paraphernalia as they maneuver the hose to work in tight spaces or far away from the hose bib. The multi-layer latex of the hose makes it resistant to punctures and deep scratches. A 10-pattern spray nozzle with a shutoff valve and rugged fittings makes it easy to handle for multiple uses, from spraying down the driveway to dousing tender seedlings with a fine mist.

• 10 of 11

  Best with Reel: Powerwind Automatic Rewind Hose Reel

  

  Buy on Home Depot

  

  Rolling up a heavy, water laden rubber hose after a job well done in the garden can be an annoying end to an otherwise enjoyable endeavor. The Powerwind Automatic Rewind Hose Reel takes the trouble out of this task. The 100-foot resin hose is reliable, durable and quick to put away. Its favored feature by returning customers is its automatic winding reel. The battery-powered hose reel winds up the fully extended hose in minutes.

  A rechargeable battery and charger unit comes with the fully-assembled Powerwind so you can always have a battery ready to pop in the pack if it fizzles out when you’re winding up the hose. If the battery runs out mid-wind, a back-up manual crank can get the hose neatly back in its attractive and sleek housing unit in no time. A foot pedal option allows for metering out the hose as you go. The Smart trak hose guide keeps the resin line from kinking up and having to be corrected as it winds its way into its tilt-out storage bin. The sleek design, less than two feet in diameter, fully hides the hose in when it is retracted.

• 11 of 11

  Best for Pressure Washers: Flexzilla’s Zillagreen

  

  Buy on Home Depot

  

  The Flexzilla’s Zillagreen garden hose was built for pressure thanks to its extra strength flexible hybrid polymer hose with a maximum working pressure of 150 psi (that's three times more than most garden hoses on the market). The psi performed best at 70 degrees but delivered continual pressure well in all seasons, from brutal winter weather to sweltering summer heat. The vivid green hose lies flat to prevent kinks from occurring while working with most any brand of pressure washer.

  Multiple users found the Flexzilla ZillaGreen’s zero memory for coiling helpful when taking the hose out for numerous uses in different areas around the home. It tended to unwind naturally with few kinks after sitting coiled up for long periods of time. It features crush-resistant anodized aircraft aluminum fittings for a leak-free seal. The fittings were superior in that they didn’t corrode or become covered in mold. The lightweight hose was easy to maneuver around tight spaces without compromising the water pressure. It continually delivered solid pressure after years of use and wrapped up tightly for easy storage. 

Products Tested by

How We Tested

Our reviewers spent 10 hours testing one of the most popular garden hoses on the market. To get the most comprehensive feedback possible, we had our testers try it out on their own flowers, shrubs, veggies, and more. We also asked our reviewers to consider the most important features when using this garden hose, from its length to its durability. We've outlined the key points here so that you, too, know what to look for when shopping.

What to Look for in a Garden Hose

Material Vinyl hoses are the most lightweight and easy to store, but they aren’t as durable. Rubber and reinforced hoses are less likely to snag, kink, or break, plus they hold up to extreme temperatures. If strength is a concern, check the ply too. (Ply usually ranges from one to six, with six being the strongest.)

Length Hoses come in a variety of sizes, ranging from a few feet all the way up to 100 feet. The longer the hose, the more reach you’ll have — but unfortunately, a longer hose also means there’s more tubing to store. Water pressure also decreases as the hose lengthens. Consider buying two shorter hoses and combining them for the times when you need to reach further.

Coupling Coupling refers to the point at which a hose connects to its water supply. Generally, there are two options: brass, which is stronger and lasts longer, and plastic, which is easier to maneuver but is less durable overall.

Test Results: XpandaHose (Best Overall)

Excellent

Buy on Amazon

What We Like

• Great performance

• Lightweight

• Easy to store

What We Don't Like

• Hose holder not attractive to look at

This garden hose exceeded our testers’ expectations, with one raving that “it's so much better than the standard green garden hose — I didn't know hoses could be made so much better.” Our reviewers also thought that the 10-setting nozzle was “cool,” but what really set it apart was how easy it was to store: “It contracts after releasing the water pressure,” one tester observed, “which makes it light and easy to put away.” One thing our reviewers weren’t as into, however, was the look of the hose holder.