Best Garden Hoses
Copper has long been considered the premium choice for durability and longevity of high pressure fittings. As a result, the hose is typically thrown away if the threads on the fittings ever get damaged. If the threads on either end of the hose get damaged, they can simply be unscrewed and replaced. Forget about trying to roll up a typical 50ft hose, and throw it over your shoulder. KINK FREE - We eliminated the ridged rubber in a typical garden hose, our expandable hose won't kink.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"UPDATE. After posting my original review talking about it leaking, I was contacted by the seller."
"Still, I continued in my search for a durable expanding garden hose, because I can no longer pull the weight of a heavy duty rubber hose."
"I like the fact that the LawnPro has a tougher outer core - none of the prior hoses had this."
"I have (2) 50' rubber garden hoses and then attached the 50' expanding hose and was the perfect length."
"This hose is very light weight when the water is off. Once you turn the water on, it starts to fill the hose and it slowly grows into the full length and you use it like the standard hose.Once you turn off the water, the hose slowly compresses and the water drains out."
"The water flow is adequate, but I do have high water pressure of 84 PSI (typical home water pressure is 45 PSI to 60 PSI)."
"Update:: Recieved great customer service response after a faulty first order, was sent a replacement at no charge and it seems to be working great."
"Anyhow, after using the hose, I just open my nozzle and let the excess water out and the hose shrinks down to its storage size. With a traditional hose and reel, it takes me a few minutes to straighten out the hose and reel the heavy thing back up nice and evenly."
EXTREMELY DURABLE - Abrasion resistant outer cover and crush resistant anodized aircraft aluminum fittings.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Hose is nice and light but it turned black with mold."
"Add to review: After two years, the hose is still holding up well even though it has heavy sunlight on it all day."
"Junk."
"--[ SEE UPDATES BELOW ]--. SUMMARY: (i) contradictory manufacturer statements about maximum water pressure of hoses; (ii) confusing warranty descriptions not made clear by the manufacturer; (iii) unanswered issues about contaminants and the safety of using the hose; (iv) begins to develop mold within 3-4 months after installation. PRESSURE -- According to the Legacy website and labeling on the hose, the maximum working pressure is 150 psi at 70°F, but Legacy (using the name Flexzilla with the tag 'Manufacturer') posted an answer here contradicting the prior value: "The working pressure for the Flexzilla Garden Hose is 165psi" . The Legacy website provides no such information; however, in this Amazon product page the company claims that "the hose meets or exceeds the standards set by the National Sanitation Foundation" (see the posted answer, also of May 2, 2017, to a question about potable water with the hose ). The only data I found were those of the _2016 Garden Hose Study_ of the Ecology Center, also in Michigan, that included the 50-ft Flexzilla hose . WARRANTY -- A most unattractive aspect is the confusing and customer-unfriendly manner in which Legacy has handled the matter of the hose's warranty. At the time of writing, this Amazon page seems to suffer from a dissociative disorder about the Flexzilla warranty information: 3 foot hose: no mention of a warranty. In the Legacy website the situation is even less clear -- there are just simply two brief mentions in passing that Flexzilla Garden Hoses have a warranty: one claims a "Limited Lifetime Warranty," the other a "lifetime warranty," neither providing a description. Despite the claims of a lifetime warranty for water hoses (and that is indeed what is written in a tiny-font blurb hidden on the otherwise blank, inner face of the cardboard packaging of the 3-foot hose I got), the very official looking "Legacy Product Warranty Statement" written in standard legalese in the PDF copy says that the hoses --which fall under the "All Other Legacy Products" category-- merely have a warranty of one (1) year from the date of purchase, instead of their lifetime. To replace a hose defective "in material and workmanship, under normal use" during the (now ambiguous) warranty period, it must be first shipped to an "authorized Warranty and Service Center, transportation charges prepaid, with proof of date of purchase." To this, the lifetime warranty blurb for the hose I received adds that "the original retail label must accompany the hose." Even if the various phthalates present (which force Legacy to place a Prop-65 warning on Flexzilla hoses sold to California residents, a health warning curiously absent from this Product information page) were located only on the PVC outer tube, it is left to one's imagination what is the phthalate exposure risk from handling the hose, such as in the case of the child drinking from a hose in one of the images posted by Legacy. <> With respect to WARRANTY issues, Legacy indicates in the Garden Hose Features of this page that the various Flexzilla garden hoses have a limited lifetime warranty (see the bottom line of the models comparison). The Product Information section for the 50-ft and 75-ft hoses still offers a link to the "Legacy Product Warranty Statement" in PDF format, which, in the best legalese style, unambiguously states that the Flexzilla garden hoses --the "All Other Legacy Products" category-- have a limited warranty of one year instead of a lifetime. Add to it that the lead-in hose HFZG503YW with no swivel grips that I purchased is not included among the hoses shown to have a lifetime warranty. The Product Information section of this page says --but for the 50-ft and 75-ft hoses, and my lead-in hose-- that one has to request it from "customer service" and offers a link to do that. What a byzantine way to provide a warranty, which during its ambiguous duration only offers, in a customer-unfriendly manner, replacing a defective hose only if it were first shipped to an authorized Warranty and Service Center with transportation charges prepaid, proof of date of purchase, and its original retail label."
"Covered in black mold within 18 mos."
"This hose DOES KINK (see my photo), arguably the same if not more often than a normal hose."
"My 6 month old Flexzilla hose has covered itself with BLACK MOLD that will not wash off with soap or bleach."
"I couldn't even get this on the reel once without it immediately kinking."
Size: 25 Feet. • 1 x 25 ft upgraded Heavy Duty Expandable garden hose with ALL Brass connectors,-Black, • 1 x Rust-free Shutoff Valve, • 1 x Great Storaging Sack! The GrowGreen® New Designed Expandable Garden Hose Is The ONLY Expanding Hose That You Will Actually Get The Full Length When In Use Under USA Standard Water Pressure. This amazing water hose starts out 8 Feet and expands to 25 Feet with water pressure, but returns in seconds to 8 Foot after water is out!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This was no different and as a landscape professional for 25 years there is no substitute for a great quality product. THIS is a great quality product that wholly addresses the main issue with hoses; bulkiness."
"I didn't pay much attention to the ends when I purchased it, but was pleasantly surprised the first time I used it."
"It comes in a nice bag that would actually make it a nice presentable gift for a house warming gift."
"I sure hope it lasts because it's soooo much easier than the clunky, heavy hose I was using!"
"Easy to put in the corner of the house or garage when not in use and hardly takes up any space."
"This is a very nice hose."
"Since this one shrinks into itself, I’m thinking storage will be much easier and it will waste much less water than a traditional hose."
"So, this past Fall, I disconnected my outdoor hoses (with nozzles attached) from their spigots, and placed them in my covered and partially heated garage."
Best Lawn & Garden Watering Equipment
Use more than 100 different voice commands to run zones, set rain skips and more. Rachio will automatically skip a scheduled watering cycle when rain is predicted and adjust watering times as the seasons change, saving you water and money.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I researched smart irrigation controller options, choose the Rachio 2nd Gen, and really couldn't be happier. I have enabled the Rachio skills pack with our Amazon Echo, which is very neat, but at this point, it's more of a novelty for me. I just think tapping a couple buttons in the app is so easy, sometimes getting the exact wording right and the Echo hearing me correctly is more trouble than it's worth. I think it's light years ahead of the past generation of controllers in terms of water savings and landscape care, and I think Rachio has done a fantastic job with the user interfaces and logic, which is no small feat."
"Rachio makes this level of control the entry level, adding many more levels of water management that it almost seems like you have your own groundskeeper monitoring the weather forecast, evaluating what type of soil, runoff, and plants/grass. In my new house, the existing Hunter HRC 9-zone controller was ok, but how could I live with a Hunter fixed schedule controller after having an internet "cloud" irrigation solution... The Rachio Iro 2nd Gen 16 zone arrived before the irrigation was needed in Ohio. I couldn't bear the thought of someone buying it used and missing the water saving opportunity of a cloud irrigation controller. Plugging in the Iro to the wall and controller, I used the cell application to register the controller. This isn't my first Rachio Iro rodeo, so defining each zone with the name, type of irrigation heads, what is being watered (flowers, shrubs, grass, etc. Now my OCD kicks in and I use a soil moisture hydrometerDr.Meter® Moisture Sensor Meter, Soil Water Monitor, Hydrometer for Gardening, Farming, Indoor/Outdoor Use (4-in-1 Advanced Version) to put in an initial setting for the zone as well as use a laser to measure the area of the zone Laser Distance Meter, Handheld Range Finder Measure with LCD Backlight Display, Area/Volume/Distance/Pythagoras Calculation, Self-Calibration Rangefinder, Tape Measure 0.05 to 40m(0.16 to 131ft). My municipal water only allows watering on 3 days of the week depending on your street address, astrological sign, and great grandmother's maiden name (the one you liked). Even though the flexible daily or flexible monthly schedule may be the most effective for water savings and ensuring watering is only when needed, limiting to 3 days a week still gives the Iro opportunity to skip and change watering duration based on weather data and seasonal impacts. Both the shocking nature of seeing how many gallons are really used when you are watering, and the gratification of how much you are saving when the Iro skips, easily justifies the purchase of this controller. Other features that seem to just make sense are the cycle approach to watering and the newly added manual controls on the Rachio Iro. When watering, your Iro will break a 15-minute watering session into multiples - so instead of watering a zone for 15 minutes, it will water it for 5 minutes, go to the next zone, finish all zones, then start another cycle that will water the zone another 5 minutes... going through all zones... finally completing a 3rd cycle to finish. This minimizes oversaturation and runoff, allowing the water that you are spraying to soak in, using less total water for the same impact. But if you just want the guy that is fixing the last spray head that you destroyed with the lawn edger, he can turn on and off a zone by cycling through the manual controls on the panel itself... nice upgrade from 1st gen."
"Trying to remember how the controls of my old RainBird worked was a bit cumbersome, especially when wanting to do a spot test of the sprinkler heads...I somehow always messed it up. Plus, the geek that I am, have looked for all the ways I can automate my home, inside and out, and I knew I wanted to switch it out with this Rachio."
Best Garden Hose Wands
Water with Ease with the One Touch Rain Wand. Allows complete and total water flow control with just one touch of your thumb.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I contacted Dramm and they replaced the wand, sent a new lever and replacement washers."
"So I can get the wand to leak if I shake the wand (while swapping hands for example) and that has resulted on water drops on leaves where I did not want it."
"I bough this to replace a super cheap wand I purchased from HD that leaked within a week."
"The shower that this wand produces is perfect for watering without disturbing the soil and gentle enough for small plants:)."
"Don't know how they do it, but this is a great watering wand for reaching high hanging baskets or for reaching planter boxes that have shrubs below them."
"Good sprayer if you want a heavy spray for sturdy plants."
"I water my holly bushes at their base and I don't want the leaves getting wet."
"When the water switch is off, I get very little to no water leakage."
Best Garden Hose Nozzles
• 10 Watering Patterns For Every Watering Need Weather you need the high pressure jet to clean the hard surface or the soft shower to wash the dog, the 10 patterns have you covered. • All Watering Nozzles Are Not Created Equal The Gardenite 10 pattern nozzle is a top quality heavy duty watering nozzle that you can depend on. Robust metal construction with a baked enamel coating, this sprayer not only looks polished but is robust and much stronger than plastic water nozzles. The soft rubber coating makes this nozzle very comfortable in your hand so you can water for long periods of time. Having control of the water pressure means that you can adjust the pressure for each of the 10 spray patterns.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Well, the handle broke nearly clean off at where it is riveted to the metal part of the nozzle. Of course, I will update this review upon returning the broken nozzle, but it seems like this riveted connection is the nozzle' s Achilles heel. Their CS rep helped me through the comments section of this review, and I am told the handle issue has been resolved in a new version with a metal handle. UPDATE: I received the replacement nozzle within a couple of days of contact with JP in customer service."
"If the amazon bot "edits out" that email try a google search for "equinox international garden" which should pop up a website with a form you can fill out to contact them... not too difficult to do and while I sympathize with the people who left negative reviews, I'm a bit surprised they didn't just reach out to the manufacturer and complain, especially if the manufacturer doesn't require you to mail back the defective product !"
"The pressure is better so I can stand farther back to water my plants."
"Since we are aware of the rough life they have, we pay attention to their care, not dropping them, not leaving them on for extended periods, and disconnecting them and draining them if the nights are sub-freezing."
"After having gone through multiple cheap plastic nozzles that break and leak, I finally learned that you get what you pay for in regards to lawn equipment."
"I originally got it to shoot down spider webs but soon learned that they are indestructible and I would need to get a pressure washer to do the trick."
"While I have only had this hose nozzle for two weeks I have a feeling this is going to be the best nozzle I have ever used."
Best Garden Hose Connectors & Accessories
The Hospaip expandable water hose will be helpful in all your watering tasks. Why this garden hose, you say? Just make sure there is enough water pressure to expand the hose. EASY TO STORE - retractable, lightweight, highly portable, flexible hose comes with a free storage bag - simple way to save your storage space.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Otherwise it's a pretty great hose to have !!"
"I wasn't able to use it recently due to the weather but I decided to give it a test try the other day and it's exactly like the one from the infomercials.It starts to enlarge as the water is going through the hose and then starts to release the presser when turning off."
"We were looking for a hose to use with and carry in our RV."
"Wow, really good quality hose...for the price I wasn't expecting that much, but I must say I'm impressed!"
"I installed this in my garage to help with car cleaning."
"I need a long compact hose to carry in my RV to hook up to the water supply at RV campsites."
"I like the fact that at the end of the hose it has a valve where you can turn the water on or off."
"The time it takes to fill up the water hose “lasts” LONGER than the time you get to use it! It took me like 1-2 minutes to wait for the hose to fill up but 30 secs to use up all the water on jet/rinse settings with the nozzle provided."
Best Lawn & Garden Sprinklers
Adjustable aluminum spray arms provide coverage range from 15 feet to 55 feet in diameter. Can travel up to 200 feet and cover as much as 13,500 square feet.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have about a 150 foot long strip of grass that would require many many sprinkler repositionings to cover."
"If I buy a longer hose I may shorten the spray width and have it go in a "U" shape and then down the side yard too, but right now at least I can cover my back yard with it as compared to moving my sprinkler around 3-4 times. Also tempting to buy a second one to use for that and have both going at the same time (because your hose can only be so long so you will likely move it around some)."
"My pasture has a few gopher holes this sprinkler must avoid, but it works great!!"
"Exactly like the original from the old days."
"Well we were pleasantly surprised and how well it worked that we bought two more and now can water the front and back and side yard at the same time and with the automatic shutoff we don't have to keep watching the clock and worrying about how long the water has been on."
"My 3 year old broke it by losing one of the arms and sadly I was unable to find another like it. We live in the country with tough, Adobe clay that can be difficult to walk on."
"Should’ve bought this thing a long time ago, but I was hesitant because of the price."
"But there were countless Times The unit would fall of the track or remain stuck until I noticed it t was floodIng my yard."
Best Rain Barrels
The Rain Wizard 50 is a rustic faux oak rain barrel that has a fine mesh screen to keep out bugs and debris along with a front-facing overflow. Collect water that's great for plants and save money on water bills. Rotationally molded to hold up against cracking and splitting, even in winter. Connectable with other Rain Wizard 50 for expanded storage (Linking kit sold separately).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"UPDATE: I've had it for a year and a half now in the horrible, unforgiving heat of the sun. Get yourself some black plastic or glass paint bottles from the craft section and paint the rings and the cracks on the barrel. The barrel looks much better in person than in the picture. After reading reviews, I saw that the spigot is too low for a hose, so I when attaching it, I stopped when the spigot was turned sideways."
"For installing, just saw off the bottom part of your existing gutter, get a $2 flexible gutter elbow at the hardware store and stick the barrel underneath. For connecting two of them, I got a $10 3/4" diameter hose at the hardware store and just stuck it on both the connector knobs."
"I did add a mid point faucet as well so that the barrel can be drained off into our gutter system."
"The quality was much better than the few we looked at in person at Lowes and Home Depot as well."
"Holds my rain water for plants."
"Set it on a stand to put a water tub/water can under the tap to fill."
"I live in an area where it gets to 25-45 below zero, so I did not risk leaving water inside since at those temperature it can get damaged, but that would be the case with any other rain barrel."
"It is 18 inches in diameter and 28 inches tall."
Best Watering Timers
The New Rain Bird LNK WiFi Module allows easy access and control of a Rain Bird irrigation system from anywhere in the world. ESP-Me controllers manufactured before November 2016 can be upgraded to accept this module by purchasing a new ESP-Me upgrade panel (sold separately). ESP-Me controllers manufactured before November 2016 can be upgraded to accept this module by purchasing a new ESP-Me upgrade panel (sold separately).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If it wasn't, then you will have to buy the panel upgrade (which is just the part of the panel with the knob)."
"The controller can only be connected to one device at a time. Each time it connects, it downloads information from the controller, but it only takes seconds Configure notifications to be advised of events."
"Updates my ESP-ME to wireless/remote functionality, very easy install and configure."
"I would have given 5 stars, but I think the user interface, at least for android, while functional, could be dressed up and improved a little bit."
"Integration into Google Home would be a bonus, but their app is easy and close to perfect."
"Easy to install and works great with Android."
"Very easy to install the module and the app."
"Love this item, makes checking and changing my Rain Bird control box so easy no matter where I am!"
Best Watering Cans
Behrens 2-1/2-Gallon hot dipped steel Watering can gives you the strength and durability of steel with a Vintage/classic look. Durable the strength of steel; Weather resistant won't rust.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I agree with another review that the holes are a bit small so it takes a long time to empty it."
"So I now have a ball valve, one of the cheap plastic ones from the hardware store on it, and I can control the flow down to a trickle. Original review continues: I bought this can because I wanted steel and was tired of Asian made plastic junk which is all the stores seem to sell these days. I am perplexed by some of the reviews of poor finish quality and sharp edges. Go buy the plastic junk if metal edges and galvanizing runs scare you. I emailed Behrens and at first they told me it was not designed to be removable and the replacement heads were sold in case one leaked. They wrote back and said "What you could do, is use some type of tool, such as a pliers, to loosen up the rosette head. They let the community sit out here and twist in the wind with poor consumer driven answers about their products. The only other disappointment for me is the sprinkle pattern of the head is really wide, so it's not good for small water situations like small pots or in my case, my entire garden is covered in black weed matting. I plan to buy at least one more head (hopefully it will fit properly) and customize different sprinkle patterns by closing some holes and drilling new ones."
"There is no comparison between this and one of those smaller plastic cans."
"This watering can is a great addition to the rustic rain barrel and serves the perfect purpose."
"Better than any plastic one I could find."
"The opening is big enough that you could collect rain water and use it to water your garden if you wanted to."
"With the other two steel watering cans I have had, both had removable sprinkler nozzles. Therefor I now rate it a 4 star - not 5 because of how difficult it was to unscrew the nozzle."
"I've had this watering can for 2 years now and it works pretty well and shows no sign of rust!"
Best Outdoor Faucets
Unlike other security devices The FaucetLock» can be keyed alike so that multiple hose bibbs can be secured with the convenience of having only one key. This lock is manufactured and sold by Flow Security Systems, Inc. Easy Installation-Twists on to a Faucet in Seconds!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Purchased these for my mom as the construction crew for the house next door keeps stealing her water."
"Keeps people out of my water."
"Works well so far."
"This lock was my preference because of the materials (solid brass) and due to the internal locking mechanism it looks very difficult to bypass."
"I use this at a rental property to prevent water theft."
"the only problem is that the key can put in in two directions but only one can open the lock."
"puts your mind at ease that your water wont get stolen."
"After only three months, however, neither key fully turns in the lock channel any more, rendering the lock unusable."
Best Automatic Irrigation Equipment
Use more than 100 different voice commands to run zones, set rain skips and more. Rachio will automatically skip a scheduled watering cycle when rain is predicted and adjust watering times as the seasons change, saving you water and money.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I researched smart irrigation controller options, choose the Rachio 2nd Gen, and really couldn't be happier. I have enabled the Rachio skills pack with our Amazon Echo, which is very neat, but at this point, it's more of a novelty for me. I just think tapping a couple buttons in the app is so easy, sometimes getting the exact wording right and the Echo hearing me correctly is more trouble than it's worth. I think it's light years ahead of the past generation of controllers in terms of water savings and landscape care, and I think Rachio has done a fantastic job with the user interfaces and logic, which is no small feat."
"Rachio makes this level of control the entry level, adding many more levels of water management that it almost seems like you have your own groundskeeper monitoring the weather forecast, evaluating what type of soil, runoff, and plants/grass. In my new house, the existing Hunter HRC 9-zone controller was ok, but how could I live with a Hunter fixed schedule controller after having an internet "cloud" irrigation solution... The Rachio Iro 2nd Gen 16 zone arrived before the irrigation was needed in Ohio. I couldn't bear the thought of someone buying it used and missing the water saving opportunity of a cloud irrigation controller. Plugging in the Iro to the wall and controller, I used the cell application to register the controller. This isn't my first Rachio Iro rodeo, so defining each zone with the name, type of irrigation heads, what is being watered (flowers, shrubs, grass, etc. Now my OCD kicks in and I use a soil moisture hydrometerDr.Meter® Moisture Sensor Meter, Soil Water Monitor, Hydrometer for Gardening, Farming, Indoor/Outdoor Use (4-in-1 Advanced Version) to put in an initial setting for the zone as well as use a laser to measure the area of the zone Laser Distance Meter, Handheld Range Finder Measure with LCD Backlight Display, Area/Volume/Distance/Pythagoras Calculation, Self-Calibration Rangefinder, Tape Measure 0.05 to 40m(0.16 to 131ft). My municipal water only allows watering on 3 days of the week depending on your street address, astrological sign, and great grandmother's maiden name (the one you liked). Even though the flexible daily or flexible monthly schedule may be the most effective for water savings and ensuring watering is only when needed, limiting to 3 days a week still gives the Iro opportunity to skip and change watering duration based on weather data and seasonal impacts. Both the shocking nature of seeing how many gallons are really used when you are watering, and the gratification of how much you are saving when the Iro skips, easily justifies the purchase of this controller. Other features that seem to just make sense are the cycle approach to watering and the newly added manual controls on the Rachio Iro. When watering, your Iro will break a 15-minute watering session into multiples - so instead of watering a zone for 15 minutes, it will water it for 5 minutes, go to the next zone, finish all zones, then start another cycle that will water the zone another 5 minutes... going through all zones... finally completing a 3rd cycle to finish. This minimizes oversaturation and runoff, allowing the water that you are spraying to soak in, using less total water for the same impact. But if you just want the guy that is fixing the last spray head that you destroyed with the lawn edger, he can turn on and off a zone by cycling through the manual controls on the panel itself... nice upgrade from 1st gen."
"Some recommendations: use the screwdriver to push the wire clips down; I tried for too long to use a fingernail. (Still a little confused about whether the wires should point into the device, or go in parallel to the front plate; no documentation or online tutorial made that clear...) Make sure you have enough wire...I had to remount the box twice as my existing fixed wires needed a few extra inches to get up to the Rachio's connections, compared to the Hunter iCore being replaced."