Heres what my experience has taught me about which hoses are worth buying and when.
The material is cheap and will split easily, no matter what the label promises.
Its highly sensitive to environmental conditions, from high heat to below-freezing cold.
Otherwise, these are a one- to two-season hose.Pros:Cheap.Cons:Everything else.
Can you run over it?In my experience, you definitely cannot.
It was not, Im ashamed to admit, as thrilling as the commercial promised.
The upsides are definitely the lightness, and the fact that it indeed did not kink.
But it did mysteriously tie itself into knots, and it sprung leaks all the time.
Pros:Wont kink, easy to maneuver.Cons:Not very durable, leaky.
Can you run over it?Not even once.
And to be fair, it was a beast.
So what made me finally ditch this thing?
It was actual exercise to move it around the yard and coiling it was absolutely out of the question.
As a result, it often laid limply around the yard until I needed it in a different spot.
Pros:Built like a tank.Cons:Heavy, expensive.
When to buy it:Youre a farmer, and also possibly a bodybuilder.
But I had a few issues with it.
Pros:Easy to coil up and store.Cons:Heats up easily, fragile, low capacity.
Can you run over it?Once, maybe.
It is, for these reasons, often a good city hose.
The retractable hose
Im now two summers in with mywall-mounted retractable hose.
Retractables are generally stored in a case mounted to the wall.
It works fine, but its a cosmetic issue.
The upsides far outnumber those downsides, however.
Generally, because it is retracted most of the time, the water inside it isnt heated at all.
The hose itself is quite light, so it is easy to move around.
(This should cover almost everyone.)
