Having a inexperienced thumb is not a prerequisite for additionally having an excellent high quality backyard hose round the home. A dependable hose will make washing a automotive or cleansing up undesirable particles a a lot simpler process, even for those who by no means use it to water a backyard.
Whether or not you are selecting one up at Walmart or Lowe’s or ordering one off of Amazon, backyard hoses aren’t exhausting to get, however discovering one which’s reliable and versatile is somewhat trickier. Whereas a normal 50-foot backyard hose could look easy and easy on the floor, there are many particulars to contemplate when shopping for one.
A hose’s materials, weight and water stream fee all play a think about the way it operates. Some duties do require a heavy obligation rubber hose that is able to withstanding excessive temperatures and water stress. On the flip aspect, typically a small, light-weight hose is the perfect software for the job.
I checked out all these components and used calculated exams to see how seven completely different hoses in contrast to one another. I additionally checked out more-subjective particulars like whether or not a hose felt snug to carry and if it scratched up when it was dragged throughout concrete. The aim right here is that will help you discover a backyard hose you’ll be able to depend on once you want it.
Tyler Hayes/CNET Rosy Earth Water Hose Finest hose for sturdiness $43 at Amazon You are receiving worth alerts for Rosy Earth Water Hose With a chrome steel design, the Rosy Earth Water Hose is an uncommon contender within the backyard hose class. And whereas it may not be the appropriate hose for everybody, its minimal footprint and talent to by no means kink makes it superior to a typical rubber or material hose in a lot of use circumstances. Learn extra $43 at Amazon You are receiving worth alerts for Rosy Earth Water Hose
Different hoses we examined
Tyler Hayes/CNET
Briggs and Stratton Rubber Backyard Hose (8BS50)
The Briggs and Stratton Rubber Backyard Hose appeared prefer it might be a long-term workhorse primarily based on its efficiency. In the event you do have a more difficult surroundings the place you want a hose to work consistently, this one is a stable possibility with a retail worth of $42.90.
It could possibly carry out in excessive temperatures, however most significantly, if one thing does occur to it, the hose has a lifetime guarantee. Although it had nice efficiency, the 10-pound hose is on the heavy aspect, it was cumbersome to manually roll up, and it did not have the nicety of twisting deal with grips for screwing the top on and off a spigot.
Tyler Hayes/CNET
Flexzilla Backyard Hose (HFZG550YW-E)
The Flexzilla Backyard Hose retails for $40 and was actually the brightest and most seen hose I examined. If the visible aspect ranks extremely in your record of priorities for any motive, this hose would make a high quality selection.
The Flexzilla hose had the quickest stream fee, at 1.26 kilos per second, however I used to be consistently pissed off by the twists, tangles, and kinks that shaped alongside the hose if it wasn’t babied in the way it was laid out and moved round. A part of which will have been from the extraordinarily versatile hybrid polymer materials. It felt good to carry, but it surely was nonetheless cumbersome to retailer in a storage and weighed nearly 8 kilos.
Tyler Hayes/CNET
Giraffe Instruments Hybrid Backyard Hose
The Giraffe Instruments Hybrid Backyard Hose was similar to the Eaduty hose however did not stand out in any means from that possibility. It was completely high quality, however I did not take care of the way in which the plastic twist grips did not keep connected to the ends. Plus, it has a excessive retail worth of $50.
Tyler Hayes/CNET
WeGuard Expandable Backyard Hose
The WeGuard Expandable Backyard Hose is compact, light-weight and retails for $29. It’s going to work greatest for areas like a balcony or small patios. I used to be upset by its sturdiness within the drag take a look at and its enlargement from 17 ft to 50 ft could make sure watering duties trickier.
Tyler Hayes/CNET
How we take a look at backyard hoses
Initially, I used CNET’s hose testing tips to judge every product in three particular areas: connection, kink, and stream fee. These performance-based exams helped establish how the hoses functioned, and in addition how they in contrast to one another.
Every hose handed the connection take a look at, which checked to ensure none of them have been leaking when screwed on to the spigot or when used with a twig nozzle. Every had an ideal connection out of the field. Every time I linked a hose to make use of it, I additionally checked the connection to substantiate there have been no leaks.
Not one of the hoses leaked on the level of connection after no less than 5 instances of screwing them on and off, both. The rubber O-ring will seemingly deteriorate over time, so there could also be leaking sooner or later, however when the hoses have been in new working order I did not see any design flaws that may result in a foul expertise proper from the beginning.
You will not have any kinks to fret about with the all-metal Rosy Earth Backyard Hose. Tyler Hayes/CNET
Equally, all of the hoses handed the kink take a look at, with 100% water stream when holding the hose about two ft from the top and wrapping it round my hand. A few of the hoses, such because the Flexzilla and the Briggs confirmed slight kinking and made sounds to recommend that they have been on the verge of kinking, however neither of these had a slower water stream.
Past the usual kink take a look at, I did discover that water was restricted in a number of the hoses for different, adjoining causes. For instance, although wrapping the WeGuard material hose round my hand did not limit the water stream, stepping on it did.
To check the stream fee of every hose, I turned on the water spigot to fully open and timed how lengthy it took to fill a 5-gallon bucket to a line marked close to the highest. Then, I measured the burden of the water.
The WeGuard expandable material hose had the slowest stream fee of the hoses I examined. Tyler Hayes/CNET
The Flexzilla hose crammed the bucket the quickest, with a pace of 1.26 kilos per second. For comparability, the slowest hose was the WeGuard, at 0.66 kilos per second. The Zero-G and Briggs and Stratton hoses each had a pace of 0.98 kilos per second, Eaduty had a pace of 0.96 kilos per second, and the Giraffe Instruments Hybrid Backyard Hose had a pace of 0.92 kilos per second.
The Rosy Earth Steel Hose was somewhat slower than most others, with a pace of 0.86 kilos per second. The hose has a narrower physique, which does not enable as a lot water via. Nevertheless, I additionally discovered that the slim design led to extra pure stress from the hose, which might be helpful in sure use circumstances.
When it comes to sturdiness, I can not predict how these hoses will fare over time, however I did wish to attempt to see as a lot preliminary put on as I might. To do that, I dragged every of the hoses throughout a concrete driveway forwards and backwards 10 instances. I wished to see how the top items and the hose materials held up, along with whether or not the hose brought on any injury to my driveway.
The material exterior on the WeGuard expandable backyard hose frayed nearly instantly after being dragged forwards and backwards on a concrete driveway. Tyler Hayes/CNET
Essentially the most noticeable injury occurred to the WeGuard material hose, which started fraying nearly instantly. The outcomes do not recommend this hose might maintain up very lengthy getting used completely throughout concrete or pavers.
The rubber hoses confirmed solely the faintest of scratches, most of which would not be noticeable except finely inspected. I’ve nearly no issues in regards to the longevity of the Eaduty or Briggs and Stratton hoses. The Flexzilla hose had no seen scratches on it, and the plastic tubing across the finish of the hose took all of the abrasions, however even these weren’t of consequence.
After I dragged the Rosy Earth steel backyard hose throughout a concrete driveway 10 instances, it had solely very mild scratches. Tyler Hayes/CNET
I used to be most curious to see how the Rosy Earth steel hose absorbed scratches, or did not. After dragging the hose forwards and backwards, I noticed that it positively had put on marks, however they weren’t noticeable from a distance. The steel finish piece scratched up visibly, however the injury did not appear to trigger any purposeful points. Fortunately, the hose did not depart any marks or indicators that it had slid across the driveway, both.
Out of curiosity, I left all of the hoses in direct noon solar for 45 minutes to see how scorching they received. The rubber hoses received the most well liked. They have been very heat to the contact however did not burn my hand. The Rosy Earth steel hose, Zero-G hose, and the WeGuard material one have been every heat, however not scorching. The Flexzilla hose did not appear to warmth up in any respect.
Backyard hose FAQ
We’ll give this submit an replace each time we take a look at out a brand new spherical of backyard hoses — for now, listed here are some solutions to generally requested questions. For extra, be sure you take a look at CNET’s Yard & Outdoor part.
What various kinds of backyard hoses are there? The commonest kinds of backyard hoses are vinyl, rubber, expandable, pre-coiled polyurethane, and steel. Every of those completely different hose sorts can be utilized for quite a lot of duties, however every of those has areas it is best used for. Learn extra
How lengthy a backyard hose do I would like? Most backyard hoses are available in a number of lengths, starting from 25 ft to 100 ft or extra. An acceptable size for many houses is 50 ft, and it is the size we caught to for these exams. However you may want one thing longer relying on the scale and format of your yard, backyard or no matter different space you are planning to make use of it in. In case your backyard hose is just too lengthy, it might decrease the water stress you may get out of it, so attempt to keep away from getting a hose that is longer than crucial.
What does a backyard hose’s thread dimension imply? A backyard hose’s thread dimension refers back to the finish connection piece. A bigger connection dimension will enable extra water via. For residential use in america five-eighths of an inch is the commonest thread dimension.