Best Garden Hoses for 2024
First, I used CNET’s hose testing guidelines to evaluate each product in three specific areas: connection, kink, and flow rate. These performance-based tests helped identify how the hoses performed and also how they compared to each other.
Each hose passed the connection test, which checked for leaks when screwed onto the tap or when used with a spray head. They all had a perfect connection out of the box. Every time I connected a hose to use it, I also checked the connection to confirm there were no leaks.
None of the hoses leaked at the connection point after at least five times of screwing and unscrewing. The rubber O-ring will likely deteriorate over time, so future leaks may occur, but when the hoses were in new working condition, I didn’t see any design flaws from the start that would lead to a bad experience.
With the all-metal Rosy Earth garden hose, you no longer have to worry about kinking.
Likewise, all of the hoses passed the kink test, with 100% water flow when I held the hose about 2 feet from the end and wrapped it around my hand. Some hoses, like the Flexzilla and the Briggs, had slight kinks and made noises to indicate they were about to kink, but neither had a slower water flow.
In addition to the standard kink test, I noticed that water in some hoses was restricted for other, related reasons. For example, while wrapping the WeGuard fabric hose around my hand did not restrict water flow, stepping on it did.
To test the flow rate of each hose, I turned the water on all the way and took my time filling a 5-gallon bucket to a line marked on the top. I then measured the weight of the water.
The WeGuard expandable fabric hose had the lowest flow rate of all the hoses I tested.
The Flexzilla hose filled the bucket the fastest, at a rate of 1.26 pounds per second. For comparison, the slowest hose was the WeGuard, at 0.66 pounds per second. The Zero-G and the Briggs and Stratton hoses both had a velocity of 0.98 pounds per second, Eaduty had a velocity of 0.96 pounds per second, and the Giraffe Tools Hybrid Garden Hose had a velocity of 0.92 pounds per second.
The Rosy Earth metal hose was a little slower than most, coming in at 0.86 pounds per second. The hose has a narrower body, which doesn’t allow as much water to pass through it. However, I also found that the narrow design resulted in more natural pressure from the hose, which can be beneficial in certain use cases.
As for durability, I can’t predict how these hoses will perform over time, but I wanted to see as much initial wear as possible. To do this, I dragged each hose back and forth across a concrete driveway 10 times. I wanted to see how the end fittings and hose material held up, and if the hose caused any damage to my driveway.
The outside of the WeGuard expandable garden hose began to fray almost immediately after being dragged back and forth across a concrete driveway.
The most noticeable damage was to the WeGuard fabric hose, which began to fray almost immediately. The results do not suggest that this hose would hold up for long if used exclusively over concrete or paving stones.
The rubber hoses had only the tiniest of scratches, most of which are not noticeable unless you inspect them carefully. I have little concern for the longevity of the Eaduty or Briggs and Stratton hoses. The Flexzilla hose had no visible scratches and the plastic tubing around the end of the hose absorbed all the abrasions, but even those were insignificant.
After dragging the Rosy Earth metal garden hose across a concrete driveway ten times, it only had very light scratches.
I was especially curious to see how the Rosy Earth metal hose would absorb scratches, or not. After dragging the hose back and forth, I could see that there were definitely some wear marks, but they weren’t visible from a distance. The metal end piece was visibly scratched, but the damage didn’t seem to cause any functional issues. Fortunately, the hose didn’t leave any marks or signs of having been slid across the driveway.
Out of curiosity, I put all the hoses in the direct midday sun for 45 minutes to see how hot they got. The rubber hoses got the hottest. They were very warm to the touch, but I didn’t burn my hand on them. The Rosy Earth metal hose, Zero-G hose, and the WeGuard fabric hose were both warm, but not hot. The Flexzilla hose didn’t seem to heat up at all.
