The best garden hose will keep your plants healthy and happy, of course, but it also needs to suit the size of your garden, the storage space you have available, and be the weight and style that works for you.
We’ve put together a top selection of hoses, from the lengthy for big gardens to compact versions that’ll suit a patio garden or small city plot. Not sure about the types of hose on offer? Skip to the end for our buyer’s guide, which explains all the different types.
The best garden hose
1. GF 16-Metre Patio Hose Reel
Best hose you can buy: this hose is space-saving, practical and looks good to boot
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
If you’re after a space-efficient hose for a small garden, or a patio, this compact little number is for you.
Easy to carry
Weighing just 2.8kg, this hose won’t prove a burden when you’re watering and the reel can also be set down in place.
Three spray settings
You can adjust the spray gun to suit the watering task from caring for seedlings to watering a parched lawn.
Compact design
This hose is just H34.5 x W20 x D35cm so it won’t fill precious storage space in a small garden – we like its fun colour, too
2. Verve Spiral Hose Pipe
Best spiral hose: an easy-to-handle design that’s flexible and light, too
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
A great value buy, this design is our pick when it comes to spiral hoses. It’s perfect for kids to use, too, so you can get them caring for what they’re growing.
Small garden favourite
The hosepipe is 10m long, making it ideal for small gardens as you’re only manoeuvring the length of hose required for your plot.
Spray choice
With an eight function spray gun on offer, you can be sure of tackling every watering task you might have.
Durable model
You can leave this hose attached to the tap ready to use all summer long as it’s weatherproof, then simply stash away in winter
3. TheFitLife Expandable Garden Hose Pipe
Best heavy duty hose: made to be durable, this hose will keep your garden green, plus wash the car, and even the dog
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Designed for long life and for cleaning tasks as well as watering the garden, this hose expands when the water’s on.
Material gains
The inner tube of this hose has a 13 layer structure to give the hose a long lifespan. The outer fabric is heavy duty to protect it from thorns and sharp corners.
Light in use
If you find many hoses awkward to move around this design’s 0.5kg weight will prove appealing.
Flexible number
It’s made to avoid kinks so you can get on with the watering without adjusting and it won’t have you untying knots, either.
4. Hozelock 45m Eurocart with Hose Pipe & Spray Gun
Best hose for big gardens: this wheelable design is simple to move around to where you need it
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
If you want to zip around a sizeable garden to get all the watering done, this design won’t hold you back.
Big stretch
With 40m of braided hose on the cart, owners of bigger gardens can roam around as necessary to reach different areas.
Smooth mover
The cart has a long handle to make towing it around comfortable, as well as oversized patterned wheels. With a low centre of gravity, it’s a stable design, too.
Quick rewind
A long handle means winding up the hose once you’re done isn’t a struggle. The design will prevent the hose kinking and tangling as well.
5. XHOSE Expanding Garden Hose Pipe
Best expanding hose: compact enough to stash in a bucket, this design automatically expands and contracts
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Like the idea of the hose tidying itself rather than rewinding? This model will contract with no help needed from you once you’ve finished caring for your garden.
Kink free
Because it expands to three times its length when you turn on the garden tap, then returns to size when you’re done, you can avoid the hassle of kinks when you use this hose.
Light lift
It weighs 0.9kg, so you could get the kids helping with the watering, and it’ll work for those who don’t find heavy hoses practical.
Package deal
You’ll need to invest in a spray nozzle in addition because this hose doesn’t come with one. There’s an XHOSE version on offer
6. Umi by Amazon 9-in-1 Wall Mounted Hose Reel
Best wall-mounted hose: keep your garden tidy with a design that fits to the wall and pivots by 180˚
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
You can keep your hose where it’s needed without tripping over it, if you opt for his wall-mountable option.
Spray choices
Choose between mist and full with the spray nozzle, and seven different options with the spray gun. Both come with the hose, so you’ll be set for all sorts of chores.
Wall mount
Once you’ve fixed the hose to the wall bracket that’s included it can be pivoted through 180° horizontally, allowing you to care for plants on the patio or in the garden.
Auto rewind
When you’ve finished, the hose reel can be automatically rolled up and takes just eight to 12 seconds
How to buy the best garden hose
Consider the length of the hose pipe
Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to choosing the best hose. Of course if you have a big garden you want to be able to reach lawn, beds and shrubs that are at the greatest distance from the tap and you’ll need a longer hose. However, if your garden’s compact a long hose pipe can be awkward to use and demand the storage space you don’t have, so size to your needs when you’re buying.
Type of hose
A standard hose can be a value buy but, if it’s not on a reel, you’ll need to spend time winding it when you’ve used it, and it can be bulky to store. We’d advise you to opt for a design on a reel that will keep the hose tidy when you’re not using it. Think about whether you’d prefer a handle to wind the hose in, or an auto reel model.
Expandable hoses become full length under the pressure of the water, then return to their smaller size once the tap is turned off. They’re compact to store and light to water with, but you will need to put a design like this inside something else to avoid it hanging about on the shed floor.
Spiral hoses extend when you’re using them then recoil, so can be an easily tidied option. They suit small to medium gardens rather than huge plots.
What comes with the hose?
Your hose may attach directly to your tap, but you might require an adaptor to do so, and if this doesn’t come with your hose, you’ll need to budget for it.
Take a look, too, at whether you get a spray gun along with the hose, as these aren’t necessarily included. The option of different spray patterns is best.
What is the best garden hose?
If you've got an average sized garden and want a hose that works well and looks great, we’d recommend the as the best garden hose. It's lightweight, compact and easy to use. What more could you want?
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