The Best Garden Hoses, Tested by The Spruce

Best Overall: FOREVER STEEL HOSE

5

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Durability
  5/5
• Value
  5/5

The Forever Steel Hose impressed our testers with its durability and lightweight design, making it our top recommendation for a garden hose. Unlike some hose materials that may be prone to puncture from garden tools or thorns, this hose is constructed of 304 stainless steel. Adding to its durability is the fact that it’s UV-resistant, so it shouldn't deteriorate or crack like a vinyl hose, even when exposed to the sun. It’s no surprise that one of our testers said, “I can see this lasting for many years.” 

The shiny metal appearance of this garden hose is distinctive and even had us describing it as "sleek" during testing—a term not commonly applied to garden tools. There’s more than aesthetic appeal, though. We found the Forever Garden Hose to be easy to carry around or drag through the garden testing area, with no issues. 

One thing to note is that the hose is only available in a 50-foot length. Our testers pointed out that it was shorter than other hose options, but you can buy multiples and connect them for greater hose reach if you have a large yard or garden. The outside diameter of the hose is five-eighths of an inch, but keep in mind that the interior diameter is a quarter of an inch, which may restrict water pressure in some instances. It didn't pose a problem during our garden testing, but it’s something to consider if you want a high-pressure hose for household tasks beyond watering your plants or lawn.

Price at time of publish: $40

Best Rubber: CRAFTSMAN 5/8-in x 50-ft Premium-Duty Rubber Red Hose

4.8

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Durability
  5/5
• Value
  5/5

Rubber garden hoses have a reputation for being durable and versatile for lawn and garden tasks. This Craftsman Premium-Duty Rubber Red Hose is no exception, standing out in our testing as the best rubber hose for its sturdy feel and high-quality brass fittings. When we tested the hose by connecting it to an outdoor spigot, our testing team found that the brass threading made it very easy to screw the hose on and off at the point of water access.

Like the other hoses we tested, our testers put this rubber hose through its paces. After dragging it around on various surfaces, including grass and cement, our testers consistently described it as easy to maneuver and durable. The heft of this hose was enough to earn it the description of “lightweight, but not heavy” from one tester. In summary, this hose feels solid and substantial but doesn’t demand excessive force to pull it around. Some consumers find the Craftsman Premium-Duty Rubber Red Hose to be prone to kinking, but we didn’t experience persistent problems with kinks when the hose was empty or full of water during our testing. 

Price at time of publish: $45

Best Heavy-Duty: Eley 5/8-inch Polyurethane Garden Hose

4.8

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Our Ratings

• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Durability
  5/5
• Value
  5/5

The Eley five-eighth-inch Polyurethane Garden Hose has everything you need in a heavy-duty garden hose: thick, durable construction, high-quality fittings, and a kink-free design. When evaluating the design, ease of use, and durability of this hose, our testers described it as solid and well suited for heavy long-term use. That is no surprise, since the polyurethane material is the same as what you find in inline roller skate wheels. The Eley resists cuts, punctures, abrasions, and tears, so you can expect to pull this hose across cement, garden tools, rocks, and more without puncturing or cutting it. Eley backs this heavy-duty hose with a 10-year leak-free warranty for added peace of mind. 

This heavy-duty hose also scored high marks for not kinking during our garden testing. The hose is reinforced with high-tensile threads that resist kinking and also provide a defense against the hose bursting under high water pressure. As you’d expect of a heavy-duty hose, you can use the Eley in temperatures down to minus-40 degrees Fahrenheit. The crush-proof brass fittings are lead-free and corrosion-proof. All of these features contribute to the hose’s longevity but mean that you pay a premium price when compared with a light-duty or budget garden hose.

Price at time of publish: $38

Best Budget: NGreen Flexible and Expandable Garden Hose

4.7

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Our Ratings

• Design
  3.5/5
• Ease of Use
  4/5
• Durability
  4.5/5
• Value
  4/5

An affordable garden hose may come with some compromises, but you shouldn’t sacrifice ease of use or durability. Of the hoses we tested, the NGreen Expandable Garden Hose represented the best combination of value and usability, making it our pick for the best budget hose. This latex hose comes with a nozzle, making it a great value. It's also flexible and expandable, with a 3750 denier polyester fabric cover. But because of the short length, this hose might not work for you if you have a large yard or if your spigot is far from what you're trying to water. If the length works for you, however, you'll find this a very durable option. When our testing rubbed the fabric vigorously with a rock, it didn’t fray.

We tested the 25-foot version of the NGreen Expandable Garden Hose, which is actually only 9 feet long before expansion. It weighs just 1.8 pounds, making it very light to carry and maneuver. One tester pointed out that the short length makes it very easy to carry and coil, “but because it's so short, you obviously can't reach very far, so it's probably only best for small gardens or patios.” Like some other garden hoses we tested, the hose is connectable to increase length and reach, but that means buying more than one budget hose and potentially minimizing your overall savings. 

Price at time of publish: $34

Best Attachable: Flexzilla Zillagreen Garden Hose

4.8

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Durability
  4/5
• Value
  5/5
• Size
  5/5

The Flexzilla Garden Hose stands out for its fluorescent yellow color but also for its flexible, pliable nature. It’s a great pick as an attachable hose, since it needs no special connectors. Also, its squishy silicone handles at either end give you a comfortable grip when connecting hoses or attaching to a spigot. It is certainly durable, having survived all our tests. Our real-world tester found the Flexzilla super simple and pleasant to use for a multitude of tasks: watering the lawn and flower beds, washing her minivan; rinsing out her compost bin and garbage can; and adding water to their pool.

We also were impressed with how well this hose straightened out and that it didn’t kink during garden tasks. This is especially important if you plan to connect multiple hoses and don’t want the hassle of shaking loose a long, kink-filled hose that doesn't lay flat. However, we found it heavy when full, which made it hard to swing over things to maneuver into different places.

Price at time of publish: $40

Best Expandable: TheFitLife Flexible and Expandable Garden Hose

4.6

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Durability
  4/5
• Value
  5/5
• Size
  4/5

Expandable hoses offer the advantage of being lightweight and easy to coil, even without the help of a hose reel. TheFitLife Flexible and Expandable Garden Hose is a great example of how an expandable garden hose should feel and function. In The Lab and at a volunteer's home, we tested a 25-foot version that shrinks to just 9 feet when not in use and weighs only 1.8 pounds. The materials felt high-quality, and during our lab tests, the hose didn't snag on rocks, as some other expandable models did. At our tester's home, theFitLife held up well to almost daily use, whether being dragged across the grass or a concrete patio. "I haven’t encountered any snags, tears, or leaks," our tester reported. "The hose has been able to withstand Florida’s extreme heat and humidity, remaining flexible and functional on the hottest summer days."

Like other expandable garden hoses, this version is covered in a stretchy 3750D polyester fabric that protects the expandable latex inner tube. Turn the water pressure on, and the FitLife Flexible and Expandable Garden Hose quickly reaches its full length without becoming heavy or cumbersome. When full, it felt even more durable, but still stretchy, and easy to walk it around. And when we did, no kinks or coils slowed our testing team down or interrupted water pressure. It's also equipped with a shutoff valve for convenient water management. 

Price at time of publish: $33

Best for Small Spaces: Dramm 17005 ColorStorm Rubber Garden Hose

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Our Ratings

• Design
  4.5/5
• Ease of Use
  4.5/5
• Durability
  5/5
• Value
  5/5

In our testing, the Dramm ColorStorm Premium Rubber Garden Hose proved to be tidy, durable, and an excellent value. While these attributes would qualify it for a wide variety of uses, it’s our top pick as a garden hose for small spaces. With a 25-foot length (longer lengths are available, too), this hose is ideal for watering patio plants, a small garden, or keeping handy on your deck or balcony. Just keep in mind that it’s not intended for drinkable water, so keep children and pets from drinking out of it.

The flexibility of this garden hose really impressed our testers, who said that the rare kinks that occurred were easy to shake loose. Even in cold-weather climates, you can expect this hose to stay limber and durable down to temperatures of minus-25 degrees Fahrenheit. The hose's durable EPDM rubber is available in a number of colors beyond the usual green hue associated with garden hoses. We tested the purple version, which we thought was fun and attractive. 

Price at time of publish: $40

Best Portable: Zero-G Lightweight Ultra Flexible Durable Kink-Free Garden Hose

4.7

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Our Ratings

• Design
  3.5/5
• Ease of Use
  4.5/5
• Durability
  4/5
• Value
  4/5

If you’ve ever struggled to use or move a bulky, heavy hose, then this one promises greater ease of use, plus durability. We recommend the Zero-G Garden Hose as the best portable option, since it has ergonomic couplings to connect to the water spigot, and it maneuvers easily whether full or empty. The lead-free couplings are designed to be crush-proof under loads up to 900 pounds. One tester described them as “sleek” and felt that the hose connected very easily to the spigot.

The Zero-G is constructed of a heavy-duty vinyl inner tube with a durable, abrasion-resistant jacket. (It has the appearance of an expandable hose, but this version isn’t expandable or retractable.) We tested the 100-foot version and were impressed with how easy it was to coil or uncoil. After connecting it to a spigot, winding it on a hose reel, and pulling it through our testing environment, one tester concluded that this hose is “more expensive but worked much better than others.” Whether it was full of water or empty, it proved to be easy to handle, use, or store, making it the best portable hose to consider.

Price at time of publish: $70

Best Lightweight: Flexi Hose Lightweight Expandable Garden Hose

4.6

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Our Ratings

• Design
  4/5
• Ease of Use
  3.5/5
• Durability
  5/5
• Value
  4/5

"My traditional rubber hose had lasted for about 15 years or more, and it was still functional, but I decided that I needed something more lightweight, so I discarded it and purchased something more lightweight," reported Master Gardener Debra LaGattuta. Weighing less than 5 pounds but stretching up to 100 feet, the Flexi Hose is your best bet for a lightweight garden hose.

"Lightweight" doesn’t always mean durable, but that wasn't true for this garden hose, which we dragged through grass, across concrete, over a rake, and around patio furniture. We had to give it a hard tug around some obstacles, however; it did get stuck when we tried to pull it around patio furniture. Our lab tester also noted that you do not need to control the water release: "It seemed like pressure was releasing when water was running, but the hose actually stretched more since water was moving through it. You do need to control the water release, since there is pressure.”

Chalk up the durability of this lightweight garden hose to its design. A 3750 denier stretchy outer fabric cover resists abrasions while allowing the hose to stretch up to three times its starting length. Inside the hose, a 2 mm thick latex tube gives the hose the capacity to handle water pressure up to 12 bar. One other attractive feature of this garden hose is the attached water shutoff valve. Our testing team thought this was very convenient for switching nozzles or moving from one area to another while watering. 

Price at time of publish: $60