What Is An Expandable Garden Hose

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The Best Garden Hoses, Tested by HGTV Editors

Learn the basics of garden hoses, and choose the right one for your yard and garden with HGTV editors' top recommendations, from long-lasting rubber to lightweight, expandable hoses perfect for small spaces.

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Our Top Garden Hose Picks

Gear up for gardening by purchasing the best hose you can afford — and one that fits your garden needs. Investing in a quality garden hose transforms the everyday chore of watering into a pleasant experience. The right one eliminates the daily headaches of wrestling with a kink-prone, leaky hose. Garden hoses have three distinguishing features: length, diameter and material. Master these basics to take the guesswork out of choosing the right hose.

What to Consider When Shopping for a Quality Garden Hose

Start with length. Hoses usually come in 25-foot increments, most often topping out at 100 feet. The right hose length is the one that makes the most sense for your setting. Use a flexible tape measure to determine the right length for your use. A 50-foot hose is usually sufficient for most suburban yards and tasks like watering garden beds and pots, washing cars and spraying down decks.While you can purchase hoses 75 or 100 feet long, they'll be that much more expensive to replace and are harder to finagle; instead, we recommend starting with a 50-foot hose and then connecting on additional hoses as needed, such as a shorter coil hose, to add length. This way, if part of the hose wears down and springs a leak eventually, you can simply replace that one section instead of the entire hose.

Hose diameter usually varies from 1/2 to 3/4 inches. A larger diameter moves more water per minute. A 3/4-inch hose delivers roughly three times as much water as a 1/2-inch hose in the same amount of time.
Garden hoses come in a variety of materials. Rubber garden hoses are generally the most durable and versatile but can cost more, such as $50+ for a 50-foot hose. A rubber hose resists kinking and cracking, but it's also a bit heavier, especially when filled with water. A hose reel can help simplify storage. Pro tip: Store rubber hoses out of direct sunlight because they're prone to UV-light damage. Stainless steel is another durable material that minimizes kinks and leaks but is not as flexible and needs to be handled with care around surfaces like car exteriors to prevent damage. The cheapest hoses are typically synthetic materials like vinyl. A cheaper synthetic hose can be a decent choice in a warm-weather climate (no freezing winters) where water needs are limited to a small space. Plus, they're typically lighter, making them a better fit for people with limited lifting mobility.
The material of the fittings is also important for durability. Hose fittings made from metal like brass are much more crush-resistant than plastic. A hexagonal-shaped fitting is also a nice feature to look for since it means you can use a wrench if you need to loosen a too-tight seal.

Experts don't typically recommend drinking from a garden hose, so we didn't prioritize this product claim, but if you're concerned that your hose delivers water to vegetables or herbs and want one that's safe enough to drink, look for one that's labeled "drinking water safe."

Like most garden tools, you get what you pay for when selecting a garden hose. Cheaper hoses usually feature thinner construction materials that have a tendency to kink. The kinks lead to cracks and holes, which lead to leaks. In short, cheap hoses spring leaks and fail sooner than their pricier counterparts. We considered all of these factors when researching and testing our recommended garden hoses below.

Long Water Hose Solution 01:09

Stop struggling with long water hoses with this simple solution.

Garden Hose Maintenance + Storage

While our hose recommendations are kink-resistant and durable, no hose is 100-percent immune from kinks or damage. Properly storing a hose after each use to prevent it from getting run over, stepped on or damaged by the sun is one way to extend its life. Hose reels and stands can make storage easier, too, while also preventing the likelihood of kinks. If you store a hose on a hook, avoid storing on a single hook and instead distribute the coiled hose across two hooks or an arched hanger to prevent a crease from developing, which could lead to a premature leak.

Knowing how to make simple repairs to a hose will also ensure it lasts as long as possible. For example, a leak at the end of a hose may just mean you need to replace the gasket, which only costs a few cents to replace. If you run over a hose with a lawnmower and it gets a hole, you can even cut the hose below the hole and install your own couplings to keep using it. Watch the video below to learn how to repair a garden hose.