Expandable garden hose - is this real deal or gimmick?

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

I am looking for a good garden hose. And I need at least of 3 of them. My old hoses start leaking, easy to kink. All hoses will be hanging on the wall hanger, not in the track reel boxes, just on the hooks.
I see on internet a lot of advertisement for expandable hoses, is this a good quality and longevity? Is anybody has an experience with one of these exp.hoses?
Please give me advise. And while we are on this matter, any good places to buy spray nozzles?
Thank you,
Ed.

[Lee Schierer]

My take on these is they do not like being pulled across surface, and they break easily. After reading reviews, it did not look like a worth while item to purchase.

[Jim Becker]

We use an expandable hose on our patio for general utility...like topping off our fish pond, cleaning the filter for the pond and occasionally watering houseplants that are outside for the summer. it's been fine for that but it's definitely not something to use for heavier yard work. So if you are just using it with a nozzle for watering plants around the outside of the house within the general reach of the hose, it should be no issue. But for "real work", continue to use a sturdier setup.

[Mike Cutler]

Which one?

There is one that "scrunches" up like a women hair "scrunchie" There is another that is lies flat, like a nylon dog leash, and expands and unrolls as water pressure is applied. Neither worked very well for me.
I no longer have and of the 1st type, but I think I might have one of the second in the basement.
It's hard to beat a quality garden hose on a nice reel.

[Barry McFadden]

In my opinion the only hoses to buy are rubber ones. I've had mine now for 30+ years and still going strong. They never kink up or crack or leak like the plastic kind....

[Stan Calow]

We've used the scrunchy kind from a couple of sources. They seem to last one season. I wouldn't recommend for serious watering use, or to attach to sprinklers for example. But wife prefers them for watering plants around the patio. She doesnt mind buying new ones every spring.

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Looks like expandable hose more toy then real deal for gardening. On one site I found they expandable hose good for 1000 (yes - only thousand) uses. Ouch.
Any recommendations for nozzles?

Ed.

[Frederick Skelly]

Ed,
Lee Valley sells gardening tools in addition to woodworking tools. I assume they are good quality products backed by their usual guarantee, like their hand tools. (You could call and check.) You might look and see whether anything they have meets your needs. I see hoses and nozzles, among other things. Here is a link (https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/garden/water-and-irrigation/hoses-and-accessories?query=&resultOnPage=100&page=1&categoryId={7F9AE2ED-BB71-40A1-87AF-C805452D2894}&sortBy=default&includeCategories=true&dataItem={CCF16E47-16D8-4F1C-AC6A-936DFE31CEA3}).

Fred

[Lee DeRaud]

Looks like expandable hose more toy then real deal for gardening. On one site I found they expandable hose good for 1000 (yes - only thousand) uses. Ouch.Depends on your definition of "gardening". If they really last 1000 uses (presumably expand/contract cycles), that's about 10 years of twice-weekly backyard potted-plant watering...I have a sprinkler system for the actual lawn (such as it is).

I've been using the metal-coil style for the last two years. They seem to fail randomly at the nozzle-end attachment point: I've got one that's two years old, but another of the same brand failed in two months.

[Bill Dufour]

The scrunch ones are small diameter so reduced flow rate.
Bil lD

[Charlie Velasquez]

My wife loves/loved her scrunching one. Used for watering foliage, washing car. We do not drag it across concrete, but dragging it on grass and against bushes and trees had no ill effects. The first one lasted three years.

It sprung a leak this year when we left the water on and the nozzle was closed. We have above average water pressure. We think that and the hose was black, sitting in the sun over a couple of days when the outside temp was over 100°F and we were not at home (monthly water bill, usually about $25 was $135-won’t do that again).
But it was super handy, easy to store, easy to move from place to place. We bought another one to replace it.

[Steve Fish]

I used to keep a “scrunchy” hose on our boat and the convenience of being able to store a 50’ hose in the space of a half gallon milk carton outweighed the fact that it only lasted a season or two. All the terminal hardware and connections were pretty chintzy. If I were in the market for something heavy duty I would be looking at the Goodyear hoses.

[Rick Potter]

I have bought at least three of the scrunchy type, or more accurately....my wife did.

The first one lasted one day, and the next morning we discovered the dog found it appetizing.

Second one lasted almost a week before the fitting came off of the vinyl tubing inside the jacket.

We saved the third one to take back the next year to the fair where we bought them. Seller was gone, so we hooked it up at home, and the fabric jacket came out of the fitting.

I saved a little of the vinyl tubing for slingshots.

[Larry Frank]

I have two of them both 2+years old. I use them to water plants on the porch or similar things. I store them in a large pot. I did not but the cheapest ones and been very happy. My wife likes them because they are easy and light to use. If she likes them, what else is there to say.

For watering out in the yard, I have 150 ft of very good quality hose and keep them in big hose reels. The scrunchy hose does not have the flow capability of regular hose. As with all tools, you have to use the right hose in the right place.

[Terry Wawro]

I've had two I think. Both broke soon after their first use.

[Jim Becker]

The scrunch ones are small diameter so reduced flow rate.
Bil lD

Ours is not like that at all...in fact, the inside diameter is larger than our regular hoses. The limiting factor for flow rate we have is the connection between the hose and both the bib and the nozzle...

[Günter VögelBerg]

I bought one at Costco this spring that has functioned well all season. It is not like the ones that "scrunch" together as they drain--those are, in my experience, generally garbage. This one is nylon mesh on the outside and it expands and contracts, but remains smooth. I would not use it for heavy duty use where it would get walked on, driven over, dragged over rocks, etc, but for light use at the front porch it has been very good. There are few things I hate more than coiling up a heavy rubber hose, so I avoid it when possible.

[Joe Mioux]

3/4" x 50' Swan Flexrite Hoses.

and/or

3/4" Gilmour Flexogen hoses.

don't mess with 1/2" or 5/8" hoses.

[Ken Barney]

Ed, I've owed three of them, all because SWMBO wanted them. The prices ranged from $28-$40, all different brands (which ought to be a tell). SWMBO used them exclusively for watering plants.

Granted, all were exposed to about 6-8 hours of the Florida sun every day, but not a one of them lasted more than four months. Conversely, I have a heavy duty rubber hose that has been exposed to about the same amount of sun and it's going on it's sixth year.

Just sayin'

-Ken

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Thank you, guys. Looks like I will pass on expandable hose for now and will buy a good rubber one instead.
Ed.

[Jim Koepke]

[edited]
Any recommendations for nozzles?

Ed.

Just bought a couple from these folks last week.

https://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/washingsupplies.php#foggit

They didn't have the combination selection set up for my needs, a 1/4 gallon/minute and a 4 gallon/minute. Left a message on the listed phone number during the hours of business. Received a call back in a couple of hours. My order was received in a couple of days. The call also saved on shipping charges.

This is the best price found in my searches for these nozzles. Some of mine have been in use for more than 20 years.

Somehow we keep losing the 4 gallon/minute nozzle. We have had all the sizes except the 1/4 gallon/minute nozzle. We also use quick release connectors on all of our hose bibs, hoses, and watering utensils.

Lee Valley looks to carry the same nozzle or a similar model. The Lee Valley site doesn't list the flow rate of the one model on their page.

jtk

[Rollie Meyers]

When buying hoses pay attention to the hose ends, a lot of them are aluminum now and do not perform well long term, look for brass for best results.

[Roger Feeley]

It's kind of gimmicky but we have one. We have a circle drive and the landscaping in the middle has a spigot in-ground in this little plastic enclosure. A regular hose wouldn't fit but an expandable one is perfect. I can get a 30' hose in there in minimal space.

I wouldn't use the expandable anyplace else though. It's basically latex tubing inside a cloth tube to keep it from ballooning up and exploding. The sun rots that cloth pretty fast. By storing it underground, I get a couple of seasons out of a hose.

[Alex Zeller]

My wife has bought a couple of the expandable ones and they haven't lasted. Both were name brand ones. They have surgical tubing inside them and the fabric on the outside to stop the tube from expanding too far. What broke them seamed to be tugging on them when your trying to drag the hose. The wife now has a coil hose (like the coil air hoses). It's not tool long but it's tough like a regular hose.