Best garden hoses and hose guns

Hunting for the best garden hose is anything but straightforward. The packaging will shout about a hose's flexibility, manoeuvrability, durability and more. Add in anti-kink, anti-twist, anti-crush and anti-algae claims and it's hard to know where to start. 

The best garden hoses need to be flexible enough so they're easy to use, but also tough enough to withstand years of rough treatment. We've discovered which are easiest to install, reel up and drag around your garden. 

We put the most popular garden hose pipes from leading brands such as Hozelock, Gardena, B&Q and Wickes to the test, so that we can tell you which ones will last and remain a pleasure to use. We've also tested garden hose spray guns and lances.

The best garden hoses

Only logged-in Which? members can view the garden hose test results below. 

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The hoses we tested

All the hoses we tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best hoses from our tests. 

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B&Q 3-Layer Braided Hose Pipe 15m

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Guarantee 5 years

Weight per metre 81g

Lengths available 15 metres

Faithfull Garden Hose 15m

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Guarantee Not stated

Weight per metre 99g

Lengths available 15 metres, 30 metres, 50 metres

Fitt Heavy Braided NTS Wintech Hose 15m

Available at Screwfix (£24.99)

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Guarantee 1 year

Weight per metre 148g

Lengths available 15 metres, 20 metres, 30 metres, 50 metres

Gardena Hose Premium Superflex 20m

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Guarantee 30 years

Weight per metre 146g

Lengths available 20 metres, 25 metres, 50 metres

Hozelock Starter Hose 15m

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Guarantee 10 years

Weight per metre 106g

Lengths available 15 metres, 30 metres, 50 metres

Hozelock Tricoflex Ultramax Hose Pipe 15m

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Guarantee 25 years

Weight per metre 121g

Lengths available 15 metres, 25 metres, 50 metres

Silverline Reinforced PVC Hose 15m

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Guarantee Not stated. 

Weight per metre 91g

Lengths available 15 metres, 30 metres

Wickes Garden Hose Pipe 15m

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Guarantee 10 years

Weight per metre 115g

Lengths available 15 metres

Best hose guns

We tested hose guns from Karcher, Flopro, Hozelock, Verve and Gardena and found two Best Buys. Only logged-in Which? members can view our hose gun test reviews below. If you're not yet a member, you'll just see our scores in the table below but won't be able to see the results. Join Which? now to get instant access to our test scores and Best Buy recommendations below.

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How we test garden hoses 

We buy the most popular 15-metre or 20-metre hoses from the biggest brands, as well as cheaper alternatives and put them through a series of tough tests. We regularly revisit the garden hoses on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing and when we find them we do.

Hose setup

We rate each hose on how easy it is to set up and attach to a standard reel, Including attaching a spray gun to the end of it and attaching the hose securely to the reel. 

Reeling in the hose

We rate each hose on how easy it rolls onto the reel from straight in front and also from a 90-degree angle. Each hose is rolled onto a reel 10 times in total from various angles. 

Manoeuvrability

• We drag each hose from the reel at the back garden of a house around to the front to wash a car. 
• The hoses are then manoeuvred around an extensive obstacle course that includes stretching the hose up and over a raised bed, in between two wheelie bins, around a child's swing and eventually ending with a quick spray of a tree at the bottom of the garden. 
• All of these manoeuvrability tests are completed five times and we note how many times, if at all, each hose kinks during these tests. 

Durability

Each hose is: 

• Bent backwards and forwards 15 times in quick succession and inspected for damage
• Twisted 15 times and inspected, and then twisted and stretched 15 times in quick succession and again inspected.
• Crushed under a heavy cricket pitch roller for 24 hours. Afterwards, each hose is inspected for damage and rated for how quickly, if at all, it returns to its previous form. 

After each of the durability tests, the hose is reconnected to the water supply and inspected for any leaks.

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How we test hose guns

The hose guns are tested for:

• The strength and consistency of each of the hose patterns under six and one bar of pressure. 
• Durability, in terms of how well the hose gun stands up to normal wear and tear with regular use. 
• Ease of use, where we rate how easy it is to control the water flow, change between settings, and attach to a hose.

See our reviews of the best secateurs.

What's the best type of garden hose?

• Regular garden hose: Like those tested above, regular garden hoses are often textured, braided or reinforced to make them more durable and less likely to kink. In general, these types of hoses tend to be more durable than spiral or expandable hoses. Although, as our test results show, this isn't always the case, and many of these hoses are notorious for developing kinks. 
• Spiral hose: These are coiled hoses that retract for easy storage. They're often marketed for city gardening or for use on terraces. 
• Soaker hose: Soaker hoses are porous and seep water along their full length. They're often used for watering borders, vegetable patches and greenhouses. 
• Sprinkler hose: Sprinkler hoses are perforated flat hoses that produce a fine spray to water plants in beds and along borders. 
• Expandable hose: Expandable hoses are increasingly popular. Generally they have two layers: an elastic rubber core that expands when it's filled with water, and a fabric outer layer. Some doubt their long-term durability - read the next section to learn more about our test of a Hozelock expandable hose. 

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Are expandable hoses any good?

While we were testing regular garden hoses, we also tried out the Hozelock Expandable Water Hose. 

Which? members can log in to read our thoughts on these types of hoses below. If you're not a member, sign up now. 

Hozelock Expandable Water Hose 15m

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Guarantee: 3 years

Weight per metre: 48g

Lengths available: 15 metres, 30 metres

How to look after your hose

• Try to drain the hose of water after each use so it isn't constantly under water pressure. You can do this easily by turning off the tap and disconnecting the attachment to the hose reel. If you do this, the water will be drained from your hose as you reel it in. 
• It's doubly important to make sure your hose is drained over the winter. Many hoses split during a hard freeze, as the water inside the hose expands and bursts the garden hose pipe. 
• As far as possible, make sure there are no kinks when you reel in the hose. It's not a good idea to store a hose with a kink in it, as this could cause permanent damage over time. 
• While this isn't always practical, attaching your hose reel to a wall that doesn't get mid-afternoon sun is a sensible precaution. This will protect your hose from harmful UV rays that will degrade the hose over time.