The 9 Best Garden Hoses of 2025 - 9 Water Hoses Reviewed

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Garden hoses are an essential part of any yard and garden toolkit. They make short work of cleaning decks and washing cars, and keep lawns alive during dry spells. They let you flush out your hot water heater, supply pressure washers, and let a dehumidifier channel water directly to a drain. Relatively inexpensive and easy to store, a good garden hose is a simple tool that makes life’s little chores simpler.

But, for all their simplicity, there are a surprising number of options on the market. Many of them fall short, though: They're heavy, difficult to move, or may be prone to kinks that choke off the flow of water. The best garden hoses are lightweight and kink-resistant so that you can focus on moving water, not the hose.

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Selecting a garden hose essentially boils down to finding the right balance between weight and portability, ideally with strong water flow and long-lasting durability. Where your ideal hose falls on that spectrum ultimately depends on how you use it.

Weight

The 50-foot hoses we tested weighed between 1.6 and 11.5 pounds (for a hose/reel combo). A 10-pound range may not sound dramatic, it makes a big difference when you're dragging a water-filled hose around your yard. In general, hoses that weigh 3 pounds or less will feel light in-hand when full. By 7 pounds, their heft starts to become noticeable.

Manufacturers have two ways to make hoses lighter: Construct it with a lighter material, or slim it down by decreasing the hose’s diameter or wall thickness.

A hose with a smaller diameter weighs less, and also holds less water when full. It's lighter and easier to move around, but also can't deliver as much water. A 50-foot hose with a 7/16-inch diameter holds about 3.25 pounds of water. Increasing the diameter of the hose to 1/2-inch or 5/8-inch adds 73 to 104 percent more water capacity, respectively.

Rubber is the Most Common Material

Hoses can be made from of a variety of materials. The most common are rubber, rubber hybrids, vinyl, and polyurethane. Rubber is typically best the most flexible option, but adds the most weight. Polyurethane and hybrids are less flexible, but tend to be lighter and more kink-resistant—they're also more likely to lay flat as temperatures rise, or if used in the sunlight. Vinyl is the least expensive material, but is heavy and prone to kinking.

Some newer hoses have a very thin, flexible lining inside a fiber jacket. The lighter, more flexible materials make these hoses very flexible, plus they do not have any coil memory and rarely kink. They often collapse when not pressurized with water, making them convenient to store and move about.

Burst Strength

Speaking of pressurization, one stat to look for is burst strength, or how much pressure per square inch (psi) they can handle before breaking. Very occasionally you’ll find a hose with burst strength rated in bars. A bar is roughly equal to 14.5 psi.

The hoses on this list range from 150 to 600 psi burst strength. For typical garden use, 150 is more than enough burst strength. If you’ll be using the hose for a pressure washer, look for one rated at 500 psi or higher.

Keep it Kink-Resistant with Proper Storage

Hose kinks form when the hose loops and pulls too tight, creating a pinch point that chokes the flow of water. Some hoses are billed as “kink-free,” but that really means kink-resistant. Reduce the odds of kinks by storing your hoses on a reel, which allows you to roll and unroll your hose without twisting.

Think Before You Drink

If you or your animals take an occasional drink of water from the hose, if you use it fill kids’ swimming pools, or if you connect it to an RV, you should make sure it has a plastic lining that is safe for drinking.

Looking for a hose approved by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) is the best way to confirm a hoses is ready to hydrate you and your lawn.

With an unapproved model, there's a chance the inner lining may leach lead, BPA, or phthalates into the water as it passes through the hose.

Focus on Fittings

Hose connections are typically made of plastic, brass, or aluminum.

Plastic adds the least cost and weight, but doesn’t hold up against the elements or intensive, long-term use. Brass is more weather-resistant and tends to be more durable. (Stamped brass is thinner, while machined or cast brass is more resistant to being bent or crushed.)

Aluminum fittings are durable and weather resistant but shouldn’t be left connected for long periods of time—particularly if they are joined to fittings of dissimilar metals. Aluminum may react with other metals in a process called galvanic corrosion, which can fuse the fittings, making them impossible to separate without damage.

Some hoses now offer quick-connectors, which use a pull-back collar to attach to a spigot or attachments. These are easier and faster to connect and remove, but may not be able to withstand the same amount of water pressure as a traditional fitting. If you plan to use a connector, double-check that it’s rated to stand up to the pressure you intend to put through the hose.

Popular Mechanics has been explaining how the world works since 1902. In addition to keeping a close eye on science and technology, we have been a resource for gearheads, makers, and every kind of DIY hobbyist looking for gear-related advice and recommendations.

Many of our most important gear recommendations, including tools and yard machines, come from the Popular Mechanics test team, which tests all kinds of equipment so we can endorse the best of the best. The current test team comprises Test Editors Brad Ford and Matt Crisara. Many of the products we recommend across our roundups were evaluated by former Test Editor Roy Berendsohn, who retired in 2024 after working with us for 35 years.

The hoses in this guide were thoroughly vetted and evaluated by the Popular Mechanics test team. Our initial picks, tested and evaluated by Brad Ford, were tested and evaluated based on dry weight, friction when dragged, kink resistance, and rate of flow.

To measure friction, we used a spring scale attached to the hoses, and dragged them, while full of water, across grass and concrete. Flow rate was determined by attaching each hose directly to a faucet, and with no restriction, used a stopwatch to time filling a 5-gallon bucket. Finally, for the hoses that claimed to have crush-resistant couplings, we drove a car or truck over the connected couplings on a paved surface.

In our most recent update, contributor Dan Stout added new recommendations based on his personal testing experience, and tested them using the same protocol to ensure they were on par with past selections.

This story includes insights and reporting from contributor Kate Morgan, who updated this story in 2023.

This DeWalt hose excelled through all of our tests, demonstrating strong overall performance, with very few caveats.

I ran over the couplings twice, and the hose barely picked up a scratch. The DeWalt hose demonstrated excellent kink resistance when dragged over both gravel and grass. Most of the other heavier poly-hybrid hoses I tested tended to snag on ground items, but this one always managed to snake itself over them.

Its strong anodized aluminum couplings have stress-reducing sleeves to prevent excessive force from creating a pinch at the connections. The couplings also have an anti-slip coating that makes it easy to connect or disconnect, even when your hands are wet or muddy. (That tends to happen when you're running a hose, y'know?)

At almost 8 pounds, the DeWalt hose is on the heavy side, but that is more than balanced out by the durability of the couplings and its excellent overall build quality.

The Stanley Fatmax hose offers all the attributes of a high-quality hose at a budget-friendly price. Though it has the lowest price of any hose recommended here, it outperformed much of the competition, especially in terms of flow rate. In fact, at 587.3 gallons per minute, it has the highest flow rate of any ⅝-inch hose tested.

While the hose fittings aren’t marketed as crushproof, the large-diameter swivel grips protected the fittings when we drove over them with a 4,500-pound truck—the swivel grips also make it easy to connect the fittings tightly.

We liked the soft, flexible feel of the polyurethane and PVC hose, as well as the minimal memory it displayed. This made coiling and uncoiling the hose a smooth process. During testing, we found it tends to twist out of tight coils before it kinks. Paying attention and giving the hose a twist often helped it uncoil quicker.

A bigger hose does hold more water, so it was no surprise the Fatmax took a little more effort to drag out to full length—on concrete it took 9 pounds of force, while on grass it was a little less, at 8.6 pounds.

The Stanley Fatmax is a smart choice for folks who are less concerned about weight and more concerned about price, durability, and moving a lot of water—because of the high flow rate, it would pair especially well with a pressure washer.

When we first saw the "Perfect Garden Hose," even we thought it looked a little wonky. So, we got one in to see if it worked as well as they claim. Looks aside, the hose surprised us—it’s light, stiff, and darn near impossible to kink, even when we were trying.

Its unique design incorporates a helix made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), wrapped around the outside of the hose. This stiff material prevents the hose from collapsing when folded over on itself, making it very difficult to interrupt the water flow.

The TPE also keeps The Tuff-Guard relatively light for its size. Although the outside of the hose has pronounced ridges, it dragged much easier than we expected, requiring only 6.8 pounds of force to pull across concrete. On grass it took a little more effort to drag, but still low, at 8.1 pounds.

The Perfect Garden Hose comes with thick brass fittings that will withstand the weight of most vehicles, although the brass collar over the hose may deform a little. With a flow rate of over 500 gallons per minute, the hose would be great for anyone who needs to move a fair amount of water, and has been stymied by kinks in the past.

BluBird’s Ag-Lite rubber hose is about the burliest hose you’ll be able to find. Real rubber hoses tend to weigh a lot more than any other material, but the folks at BluBird managed to reduce this model’s weight by 20 percent compared to other rubber hoses.

The version we tested had a ¾-inch inner diameter, the biggest in this test, which means it holds a lot of water. It also makes the hose heavier to handle and drag when filled: It took 15.3 pounds of force to pull it out to full length on grass. On concrete sidewalk, it dragged it a little easier, requiring 12.4 pounds. On the plus side, the hose was so heavy because moves 650 gallons of water per hour. That's 17 percent more than the next closest hose in this test. The heavy brass hose fittings are plated with chrome, so they’ll stand up to plenty of abuse.

One notable advantage of rubber hoses is that they remain flexible through a wide temperature range, so that they’re not too stiff in the cold, or too soft in the summer. The Ag-Lite is rated to handle water up to 212 degrees, so it’s good for washing down equipment in the winter or janitorial tasks. If taken care of properly, a rubber hose can last for years, and BluBird is so confident in its durability that the brand offers a 10-year warranty.

Giraffe Tools’ Garden Hybrid hose has solid brass fittings that are plated with nickel, making them corrosion-resistant and almost impossible to bend or crush. The ends also feature strain relief grips, protective plastic collars that help prevent them from kinking or tearing near the fittings. The moveable rubber handgrip not only helps protect the end of the hose, but rotates naturally in your hand, making it easy to connect this hose to a faucet, spigot or another hose.

It’s also very durable. Made from a hybrid rubber-polymer blend, it's light enough to lug around without too much difficulty, but capable of standing up to the elements. It remains supple, flexible, and easy to move and coil even when temperatures dip below freezing. From the hose itself to its connectors, this one is built to last.

We primarily focused on 50-foot hoses as a versatile length for most users, but sometimes you need a little more reach. Long hoses do lose water pressure, but sometimes you need one if your garden is far from the hose spigot, or if you’re cleaning a car or boat and want the freedom to move around it.

Our pick, the Orbit Pro ExoJacket manages to say light and flexible, even at 100 feet. It pairs a woven, UV-resistant outer layer with a flexible inner core. Under pressure, the core expands to a full 5/8-inch inner diameter collapses down to lie almost flat when it isn't pressurized. In that state, it can be coiled and carried easily. It has anodized aluminum fittings and large easy-grip collars, which are great for making quick hose connections. It also features an impressive 600 psi burst strength. All of this makes for an extra-long hose that doesn't feel like an outsized burden.

The Orbit Aeroflex features a lightweight, UV-resistant woven covering over an expandable inner core. When not under pressure, it flattens out so you can coil it tightly to store in a much more compact space than your average hose.

While it had a slow flow rate, the Aeroflex excelled in mobility. Even when fully filled with water, it took less than half a pound of force to drag it across a grass or concrete surface.

It also has an unusual feature that makes it easy to repair. If the hose tears or rips, you can detach the plastic couplings and slide them back past the damaged section, then cut the hose to the new length, and reattach the coupling. It takes just a few minutes, and you’ll be back to watering with a fully functional (if shorter) hose.

The Orbit Max can take a beating and keep the water flowing for years. Its sturdy fittings withstood our vehicle drive-over. They're brass on the female end, which connects to the hose bib, and anodized aluminum on the male end, where it would connect to a sprayer. The brass fitting helps reduce the risk of corrosion at the bib, while the aluminum helps keep the cost down.

The hose material itself is kink-resistant and self-straightening under pressure. The strain-relief collars are rugged, and work to reduce tension at the ends of the hose. My only complaint was that the connectors, while not impossible to grip, didn’t fit in my hands as comfortably as some other designs.

This is a robust hose, and Orbit backs it up with a lifetime warranty. It’s a great choice for anyone who drags their hoses over rough ground, or has a tendency to step on, drive over, and generally run their hoses ragged.

Buying a portable hose reel, where the hose comes with a spinning housing, is one of the easiest ways to ensure you can easily move and store your garden hose. We like this basic set from Gardena, which doesn’t require you to sacrifice length for the sake of storage. At more than 50 feet long, you get all the hose you’re likely to need around the house, but the hose has a tiny footprint when you retract it back into the reel.

It’s surprisingly sturdy for a hose that takes up so little space, and though it’s narrower than a standard garden hose, it comes with a set of adapters so you can use it with any standard spigot.

Do I need a heavy-duty hose?

The answer really depends on what you’ll use the hose for. For example, if you’re hooking a hose to a pressure washer, look for a heavy-duty model with a higher burst rating and good kink resistance. But if you just need a hose to drain out a dehumidifier, a low-cost vinyl model will do fine—it won’t be moved often, so it’s unlikely to kink or risk puncture.

For a general-use garden hose that you’ll put away frequently, look for a kink-resistant, lightweight hose as a balance between convenience and durability.

How much money should I expect to spend on a good garden hose?

A high-quality 50-foot hose will typically run you between $40 and $80. High-end hoses may cost as much as $135, though.

Don’t forget to budget for the accessories you may need, like splitters and sprayers, which may cost an extra $15 to $35.

Do hoses need to be winterized?

If you live in an area where temperatures drop below freezing, then you should winterize your hoses. Fortunately, this is very simple. The real risk of freezing is to the attachments—the sprayers or garden spigots that might be damaged by expanding ice.

To winterize your hoses, just disconnect any sprayers or other accessories, and detach the hose from the spigot. If you do that, your job is 95-percent done. Hold one end of the hose overhead as you coil it, and allow water to drain out on its own. You don’t need to bring the hose indoors and keep it warm, but that’s an extra step you can take to keep it safe from extreme temperatures.

A former residential remodeler and maintenance manager, Dan Stout has worked in nearly every part of the construction and DIY industry, from project planning and permitting to plumbing, drywall, carpentry, and more. He loves to write about the weird history of everyday objects, and to help readers make informed decisions about their homes.

Kate Morgan is a freelance journalist based near Philadelphia who writes about science, food, travel, culture, awesome people, and a little bit of everything else. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Washington Post, O Magazine, The Cut, Woman’s Day, USA Today, Harper’s Bazaar, Slate, Saveur, Medium, Popular Science, and others.

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