Although the wrong hose won’t stop you giving your garden the love and attention it needs, the right hose will make the job a whole lot easier – and will last a lot longer. They may look pretty similar from the outside, but you have a few options to choose between when it comes material, length and storage. We’ve put together a short buying guide to help explain the key features you need to know about before buying, or you can skip straight to our top picks below if you already know what you’re looking for.
How to choose the best garden hose for you
What types of hose are there?
Rubber hoses are, generally speaking, the most durable type of hose you can buy. They’re robust enough to handle higher water pressures and are much less prone to kinks and other wear and tear that can damage the hose and cause the casing to crack.
Vinyl hoses, on the other hand, are more susceptible to kinking and other damage, but are available at a more affordable price. For smaller watering jobs and infrequent use, this shouldn’t be a problem as long as you store the hose pipe carefully, but it may be worth spending a little more for a longer lasting rubber hose if you’ll be using it often.
If you’re still not sure - or your needs fall somewhere between the two - hoses made of a combination of both rubber and plastic are becoming increasingly popular. They’re stronger and will last better than a vinyl hose, but are more affordable than a rubber one.
What length of hose should I buy?
Garden hoses are generally sold in 25ft increments, but in-between lengths are beginning to pop up at some retailers. You might assume that a longer hose is better – after all, it gives you more leeway to move around – but the longer the hose, the lower the water pressure will be as the water has further to travel. At the other end of the spectrum, stretching a too-short hose is a surefire way to damage the hose and create snags and leaks. Before you buy, it’s best to measure the farthest you need it to reach from your outside tap, and then order the next longest size.
What else should I know?
Hoses come in different plies, which denotes how many layers of rubber or vinyl they’re made from. This figure usually ranges from one to six, with six being the strongest. If you’re going to be using your garden hose regularly, it’s worth spending a little bit more to get a stronger hose with more layers.
It’s also worth noting that a hose should be coiled when not in use, but not all hoses come with a hose reel. You can buy one separately, but it’s usually cheaper and easier to spend a little more for a hose that comes on a reel. As well as saving you a few pennies, you can be sure the reel you’re getting is suitable for the hose you’re buying, and it’ll help make sure it lasts as long as possible.
The best garden hoses to buy
1. Karcher HR4.525 Hose Reel and PrinoFlex Hose: The best all-round hose
Price when reviewed: £34.99
Karcher has come up with a hose that offers both simplicity and versatility. It’s lightweight, compact and comes on a handy space-saving reel which is also wall-mountable. The comfy manual handle makes it easy to wind it back up quickly and easily, and while the hose is made from plastic – which is why it’s available at such an affordable price – it’s far more robust than a standard plastic model. Unfortunately the same can’t necessarily be said for the reel, which feels more like a budget piece of kit and doesn’t feel like it would withstand regular use, but does a great job for infrequent users who want a reliable and easy-to-use hosepipe. At less than £30, this garden hose is an easy winner in our eyes.
Key specs - Length: 25m; Weight: 4.5kg; Wall Mount: Yes.
2. GroHoze Expandable Connector Hose (15m): An ingenious expanding hose
Price when reviewed: £34
If you’re looking for length but worried about losing precious water pressure when it comes to the harder to reach areas, GroHoze has come up with a handy expandable hose. The GroHoze can expand to up to three times its stored length and maintains all its flexibility while doing so, so you never have to worry about kinks, twists and leaks when you extend it.
The dual latex inner core has been designed to prevent bursting and makes this one of the more durable hoses on this list, and a 10 pattern spray gun makes it suitable for both big tasks and small tasks around the garden – even if you probably won’t make use of more than a handful of them.
Key specs - Length: 50 ft; Weight: 1.4kg; Wall Mount: No.
3. Hozelock Auto Reel with 40m Hose: The best hose for large gardens – and big budgets
Price when reviewed: £109
The Hozelock Auto Reel Hose is worth every penny for those with seriously big gardens. Its standout feature is a powerful spring which automatically retracts all 40 metres of the hose smoothly so you can let it put itself away - and have one less thing to clear up at the end of the day.
The auto reel isn’t the only winning feature of the premium Hozelock model, though. The 40m-long hose comes with a 180-degree pivot to reach every corner of your garden and make watering your grass and plants as quick and easy as possible. Parents with children of all ages will also appreciate the Auto Reel’s child lock, which stops little hands from pulling out the hose when you’re not looking.
Key specs - Length: 50 ft; Weight: 1.4kg; Wall Mount: Yes.
4. Draper 15m Soaker Hose: The best sprinkler hose
Price when reviewed: £12
Draper Tools’ Soaker hose is little more than a simple, plain black tube, but that hardly matters – the Soaker is a reliable garden sprinkler hose that does a great job of distributing water evenly and across a large area, making it ideal for allotments or large gardening patches. Although the hose has a good number of holes and can cover large sections of lawn, the size of the holes isn’t always consistent. It’s a minor flaw for the price, but if you want a sprinkler hose that distributes water perfectly, you’ll have to cough up a lot more for a premium model.
Key specs - Length: 15m; Weight: 1.5kg; Wall Mount: No.
5. Hozelock Compact 2in1 Reel with 25m Hose
Price when reviewed: £40
Hozelock makes two appearances on our list for good reason. The 2in1 model is a good manual alternative to the auto reel model above, offering an affordable hose and reel that won’t take up more room than necessary. The reel’s handle is large and easy to turn, and the closed-in casing design offers an extra level of protection against everyday wear and tear. The carry handle is a nice touch, and although getting the hose and reel set up is a bit fiddly the first time around, the Hozelock is one of the simplest hoses to use around the garden. For a long length, good-quality hose under £50, the Compact 2in1 is a great choice.
Key specs - Length: 25m; Weight: 5kg; Wall Mount: Yes.