I have been very happy with the expandable hose, which so far has lasted two seasons with no particular signs of wear. I keep it attached to a short regular hose that is fully charged at all times, with a shut on/off connector between the charged hose and the expandable hose. At the end of the expandable hose I have about an 8-10" trigger nozzle. I hang the nozzle at about hand height on my front deck, and just let the expandable hose fall to the ground behind a mature hydrangea. Thus, it is handy but unobtrusive. To water my porch plants, I simply open the connector, let the expandable hose fill up, then walk around and water using the nozzle. It has worked exceptionally well for me - no knocking things over like the coiled hoses tended to do. When done watering, I turn off the connector, then continue watering until the expandable hose has shrunk back to its small size. I think the key is to not keep it charged, which stresses it and causes leakage. I plan to get one for my back deck next year.
