While it may seem like an easy decision, buying a garden hose isn’t to be taken lightly. This is because your garden hose should last you a long while instead of succumbing to natural elements due to low-quality material or getting punctured at the slightest touch. These tips will help you find the best garden hose on the market for the best money, without a lot of hassle.
Make Sure it’s Flexible
Flexibility is one of the most important factors when it comes to your new hose, as you need something that can bend with your hand. Flexible hoses don’t take a lot of manpower to use properly and they can reach all the nooks and crannies of your garden with ease.
One way to check for flexibility when buying a garden hose is to see if it kinks when you twist it. Bend your potential new hose into a U and if you notice any kinks, try with another one.
Go For Rubber
Rubber is the most durable and strongest material hoses come in. You might be tempted to go for vinyl or a vinyl and rubber combination because of the price, but do yourself a favor and stick to rubber. It’s an investment that pays off ten times over for avid gardeners and people who often use hoses for other outdoor tasks.
As well as that, rubber can carry hot water and is more resistant to outdoor weather conditions. That means that you can even wash your car with it, but also that you won’t have to worry about the hose becoming useless in case it gets caught in rain or snow.
Check the Diameter
While it may seem that hose diameters are all the same and don’t matter, they can actually affect the way your hose functions quite a bit. More precisely, the wider the diameter, the more water the hose will be able to carry. So, it’s a matter of finding the right balance between pressure and water flow.
Most hoses today are three quarter inches in diameter, and they’re generally useful for regular garden tasks. If you want more power, get the five-eights version. Those who don’t like lugging around much weight or simply can’t should take a look at half-inch hoses. Keep in mind that they’re more suitable for smaller jobs, as they don’t carry a lot of water.
Storage Options
People with big yards and beautiful gardens know exactly how tedious it is to lug a long hose around and how even more annoying it is to put it away neatly. As well as that, you usually don’t have a good and safe space to store it where it won’t get damaged or tangled up in something.
Therefore, when buying a good garden hose, consider how you’re going to store it, too. Some hoses come with their own storage space or with mechanisms that make it easier to fold them back up. They might be a bit more expensive, but if you use a hose often, it’s definitely worth the price. It’ll cut your garden time down significantly and allow you to focus on things more fun than tidying up.
Don’t Go for the Longest One
People tend to think that the longer the hose, the better it is. A little extra length can’t hurt, right? Wrong. Extra length can make it harder to use the hose, harder to carry it, and slower to get started. Basically, buying extra length is buying extra time you have to spend lugging the hose around.
Instead, take into account the size of your garden or yard and what exactly you’ll use the hose for. This will allow you to figure out the exact length of the hose you may need and make the overall experience much more comfortable.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are quite a few things to consider when buying a garden hose. From your budget to the quality of material and brand trustworthiness, you have to take it all in to find the hose that suits your needs perfectly. We’re confident you’ll be able to find the ideal one, though, as you now have all the information you need to get shopping.
