Henhouse said:I've had a black craftsman hose since the 70's. It's had a couple of mishaps along the way (car running over the brass fitting) and we replaced it and spliced it with kits you can buy (or could buy in the past) at Sears.
Vinyl, no! Rubber Yes!
We've had Craftsman Premium Rubber Hoses for at least 6 or 7 years now and I absolutely love the things. I'm the first to admit, I'm haphazard with the hoses. They get left where I finish for the day (since I'm usually going to start there again the next day). They're left in the sun, they're left out until cool weather arrives when we coil them over one of the wrought iron hose stands and they end up overwintering outside in the weather. They still perform like champs. The only time we had to repair two of them was right after my nephew brought in a large breed pup who thought the rubber hoses were chew toys (fortunately grown out of that). I got some of the barbed brass inserts with clamp, cut off the chewed part, and reconnected the two ends and it works perfect. I've tried too many other "premium" hoses and they just haven't held up as well as the Craftsman so I keep going backs for more (In fact, I just ordered another 50 foot one today; 50 feet I consider the best length because I can mix and match based on my needs). FYI, besides Sears, these can be found at K-Mart (may have to pre-order for store delivery), or I found my newest one on eBay (lazy, I didn't feel like driving 30 years to the nearest Sears store where we usually buy them. Plus it was no tax and free delivery to our home). Keep watch as you can find these on sale now and then.
