The Best Garden Hoses Money Can Buy

Garden hoses – is there any piece of garden equipment that is less respected and more likely to cause problems than the lowly garden hose? The litany of complaints about the garden hoses people own is endless – they’re too short, they’re too long, they kink up and cut off your water supply in the middle of watering the vegetables. Worst of all, they spring random leaks and splits that consign them to the trash heap and have to be replaced every year or two.

If that sounds like your experience with garden hoses, it may be because you’re buying cheap hoses to save money. If you’re in need of a replacement garden hose, take some time to determine the best garden hoses for your needs – and avoid the cheapest garden hoses in the gardening aisle like the plague.

Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Garden Hose?

Actually, yes. When your garden hose is much longer than you need to reach the places you want to water, there’s far more tendency for it to get kinked or bent and damaged. In addition, because the water has to travel further from the faucet to the nozzle, the water pressure at the nozzle is greatly reduced. Figure out how far your hose needs to reach and buy the size closest to that length. If you commonly only need 25 feet of hose to reach your garden but occasionally want to get the hose around the front of the house to the driveway, but two garden hoses – a 25-foot hose for your regular needs and a second garden hose to extend its reach when you need to get to the driveway.

What Difference Does Hose Diameter Make?

The diameter of garden hoses directly affects the water delivery capacity of the hose, but it’s not a linear projection. For example, you don’t get twice as much water capacity from a one inch water hose as you do from a ½ inch garden hose. In fact, a ¾ inch garden hose will deliver twice as much water to your garden in the same amount of time as a ½ inch garden hose. The most common sizes of garden hoses sold for home use are ½ inch garden hoses and ¾ inch garden hoses.

Hose Materials

For best results and durability, choose a reinforced rubber hose rather than a cheap vinyl hose. Look for brass garden hose fittings at both ends, and invest in a hose that is attached to the hose fitting with a brass collar that allows you to turn the threaded coupling freely.

When you choose the best garden hoses money can buy, you’ll get longer life, better performance and more happiness from your garden. Take the plunge – buy a good garden hose and see how much easier your gardening life can be.