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. The newer ones do leave black marks on the concrete, so we bought some red rubber hoses that I'm not as fond of (they tend to kink a bit more) from OSH and Home Depot. At my last house, the builder left a red rubber hose, that has finally given up after 25 years of being left out in the sun, and it wasn't new when he left it. So I prefer the black rubber hoses out in the garden and use the red ones around the patio. The red fades to a soft terracotta pinkish color after a year or two.
When I moved here, I bought several hoses at OSH that were guaranteed for life. I thought they were Flexogen, but I still have one out there and it is Waterworks..
*I hate this hose.*
After the first year, it gets sticky, then discolors, and finally starts cracking then splitting. I only have one left, and I think the fact that it's in the shade has helped.
Vinyl, no! Rubber Yes!
