I live in northern california, so hot summers cold winters, and the water pressure is pretty high. Does anyone have any recommendations on brands or types of hoses to use? I've gone through 2-3 hoses per year and its adding up. I use one of those hideaway hose boxes. Thanks! Any insight and tips would help

etam818 said: I live in northern california, so hot summers cold winters, and the water pressure is pretty high. Does anyone have any recommendations on brands or types of hoses to use? I've gone through 2-3 hoses per year and its adding up. I use one of those hideaway hose boxes. Thanks! Any insight and tips would help

Which brands have you purchased?
I bought a heavy duty life time warranty 3/4 inch hose - non kink -
It kinks.
I had problems with nozzel seizure and they did send me a new replacement hose. (Anti-seize compound is a good idea to put on any hose just for assurance so that will not happen

Can you handle a true heavy duty hose?
I am in cold minnesota but we have HOT summers and while some of the hoses do last years, over time you may be putting in splices as the outside coating splits like a wire being repeatedly bent to break it One of ours from Menard's, maybe 10 years old, is doing that from not preventing kinks. The kinks finally can cause a split.
Do not save money buying a cheaper hose. Getting a heavy duty one with a full warranty is a good idea.
I bought mine on-line.

Welcome to these forums, and questions are always welcome, too.

You seem to be hinting that hoses are popping or bursting because of too high water pressure? Sorry to say we are not mind readers.... is that the problem? And is the leaking at the connections or along the hose itself?

When people finish watering, sometimes they only turn the water off at the nozzle end so the hose stays under pressure all the time. When I am done watering, I make sure I turn the valve off where the hose first connects, so the hose is under pressure for the least amount of time. Don't forget that once you close the valve at the source, you need to release the remaining pressure in the hose itself by briefly opening the nozzle.

3/4 inch hoses are nice, but heavy (as are rubber hoses). I've been very satisfied with a regular 5/8 inch Flexzilla hose. Very flexible, even in the cold, and never kinks when under water pressure.

How are your hoses failing?

I'm in the Sac valley and have standard garden hoses, expandable hoses, rubber soaker hoses, and flat soaker hoses.

For the standard hoses, I just buy a mid-priced option. I've had my current long hoses since 2021 and 2024 with no issue. One is coiled on a hose reel that is kept in the shade and the other is looped on a hose hanger on the north side of the house. I also have several 2-5ft hoses that I use with my soaker hoses to keep from watering walkways, etc. They are in the sun all day every day and do fine. Again, I just buy mid-priced.

For expandable hoses, they will not last as long by design. They just aren't as durable. Some things that can help are to always drain the water out of the hose after each use - never put them "away" with water still in the hose. Also, if your water pressure is high, don't open the tap all the way when using them - the pressure can be too much for the expanding interior to hold. Turn the tap to mid open to reduce the pressure. If there are times you want that full pressure, get a splitter and a standard hose and use that when full pressure is needed. Also, don't leave the tap running with the water flow restricted (sprayer nozzle off or shut off valve off) - that water pressure will build up in the hose and weaken it. If you tend to let the hose sit for 10+ minutes between waterings, use a standard hose or shut the water off at the tap between uses.

Make sure your hideaway box has a drain on the bottom so water doesn't sit inside with the hose. If it doesn't, you should be able to drill one easily into the base.

I always check the connectors before buying. I only buy hoses that have connectors that a wrench can easily work without stripping it. My preferred type are like these: https://a.co/d/02wSbQPk and https://a.co/d/03WYBBQG. They are much easier to connect and disconnect.

These are types I will not buy. Ones like this: https://a.co/d/056FX6Lj strip easily and become a smooth round connector that you cannot use a wrench on. Plastic ones like this: https://a.co/d/0fPrjfgY (yes, I know it's a drinking hose, it's just an example) will deteriorate in the weather and break.

I have not had any issues with my standard hoses. The one in the first link I have in a 50ft length and have it connected to hot and cold water and it has no issues.

Leftwood said: When people finish watering, sometimes they only turn the water off at the nozzle end so the hose stays under pressure all the time. When I am done watering, I make sure I turn the valve off where the hose first connects, so the hose is under pressure for the least amount of time. Don't forget that once you close the valve at the source, you need to release the remaining pressure in the hose itself by briefly opening the nozzle.

This ^. Any hose I've ever had fail was because others left the water pressure on within the hose. I was up at 2am one night and heard some loud weird hissing at my neighbors house. I didn't want to call them and scare them out of sleep so just crept over there and it was their hose that popped and was spraying water everywhere, so I shut it off and let them know in the morning. Turned out her husband washed his car in May and left the water spigot on all those months so the hose was under that constant pressure until it finally gave out in September.

Hoses are not made to be under that constant pressure, not one of them can handle it. The connections are downright fragile compared to plumbing shut off valves that are in your house. It's not a matter of if the connections will fail, but when. When I had a knee problem one summer and limping while getting one of the heavy rubber hoses out to the front, I swore never again and switched to the flexible expandable hoses and I love them. I decided even if I had to replace it once a year it would be well worth the $35 in my case, but they last just as long as the old heavy rubber hoses if you take care of them. I also put them away in the garage during the winter, I don't leave them filled with water in our cold out in the snow.

Edit to add to avoid getting any hose with aluminum connections. When an aluminum hose end attaches to a brass outdoor faucet, water and metal contact cause galvanic corrosion. This reaction fuses the two metals together, permanently sticking the hose to your house.

Some more tips:

With the turn valve at the water source spigot, sometimes it's hard to know when the valve closes. Especially if you live in a very cold climate where the valve stem might actually reach inside the house wall to shut off, that's a lot of water that drains out when the valve is first closed. Naturally, people think the water isn't fully turned off if the water still drips for another 5-10 seconds, so they crank the valve more. People often crank the valve much more than they need to, and this can wear the valve out prematurely.

You can solve the problem with a second, easy to turn of valve, and save the life of your expensive-to-replace house spigot. Your expensive spigot remains open all summer.

Be sure to turn off the house spigot, and open or remove the second valve if your winter is cold.

I use a 'high flow' valve (more accurately characterized as an 'equal flow' valve, as regular valve connections constrict flow even more.) This way I can get maximum flow, or restrict it myself.

I went the "buy once, cry once" route with my hoses after struggling with them every year, replacing every other etc. I have a Dramm and an Eley. The Dramm is my heavy duty one, kinks a little but not a lot. The Eley is lighter and does not kink much at all. I'm on year three with no hose complaints.

I live in southern Arizona where the weather is hard on hoses. I've tried typical vinyl and rubber hoses, expandable hoses, coiled hoses, and even some that claim to be kink, burst, and puncture-proof. But none of them help up. Stainless steel is the way to go! They're lightweight and easy to move and maneuver. They don't rust, kink, puncture, or tangle. And they're a snap to store. They take up surprisingly little space. Here's a picture of my 75 foot hose in a 14″ pot. As you can see, there is room to spare. You can read more about why I love my stainless steel hoses here: https://swgardener.com/best-ho...

I have a 22 gal Suncast storage container with a lid where I keep my fertilizer units (they're not to be exposed to UV) in the container and I also just dump the hoses inside it when I'm done using them. I notched out 2 little pieces on 2 sides so the hose can drape over the rim and not get pinched by the lid.

I have a craftsman hose, 20+ years, maybe you can find one at a garage sale

We use Gorilla hoses from Home Depot. Tough and no kinks.

etam818 said: I live in northern california, so hot summers cold winters, and the water pressure is pretty high. Does anyone have any recommendations on brands or types of hoses to use? I've gone through 2-3 hoses per year and its adding up. I use one of those hideaway hose boxes. Thanks! Any insight and tips would help

Buy a real RUBBER hose. They last a lot longer than the green ones.

I have been an Amazon Vine reviewer for over four years and have ordered every garden hose that has been offered to me free for review. I have tried out all the different types and I can make recommendations now based on long term use. Many of them I have tried are no longer available.

Here are the types I have tried:
For light weight use (hand watering pots) there are 4 different types.
1. The type with an interior hose wrapped in fabric. Some are expandable and some are not. None of these are worth buying as they have never lasted more than a year at the most and most cannot be repaired very easily if at all. They often start leaking at the fittings and sometimes on the interior.
2. The small rubber coiled type, usually no more than ten feet long. These last for me a little longer but still eventually start leaking and cannot be repaired.
3. The stainless steel clad hoses. These are longer lasting than the others and they do not kink but I don't really like them as they are hard to coil up and store.
4. One company makes garden hose based on 3/8 inch reinforced tubing of the type used in irrigation systems. This is my favorite of all the light-weight hoses I have tried. They use standard fittings and are easily repaired if they ever leak but I have had no leakage or kinking problems. The flow volume is low because of the narrow hose but plenty of flow for hand watering. They are still listed on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GVQ9GLMS/.

For heavy duty use I have tried several brands from Amazon of 5/8 or 3/4 inch rubber garden hose. Most of them are hard to drag around and despite what they advertise they twist and kink. The very best of all the ones I have tried is still available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLZJQHNT/. It has been completely kink-free and non leaking after four years of regular usage. They even have a two year warranty. The only thing I am not crazy about is the bright orange color.

A lot really depends on where the OP actually lives and how they are using their hoses.

Being in Northern California, they may see snow in winter or not, and they may see 100+ temps in summer or not - there's a lot of difference between Sebastapol, Davis and Nevada City (to name three random towns in NorCal). The hideaway hose boxes vary - some may offer protection from the sun while others don't and some may offer some insulation from the winter cold while others don't.

Then there is usage. Are they being dragged over gravel, concrete, etc? Are they being pulled around corners? Are they stretched as far as they can go? Is the tap being left on and a shut off at the end of the hose being used? Or does that tap get turned on and off with each use? How often and for how long are they being used? Are they attached to sprinklers, sprayers, or open? And so on.

Many of these hoses in separate areas in my garden for years. Amazon .

Without a doubt the extremeflex garden hose which we bought online from crispocanada.com. You can probably buy it elsewhere too. We live in Merritt BC (very hot summers and very cold winters) and have left our hose outside now for about seven years without a problem. Also, light and easy to manoeuvre with no kinking at all! Expensive but SO worth it!

If water pressure is really the problem look at getting a pressure regulator. I have a 25psi regulator for my drip irrigation system. Search on Amazon for "garden hose pressure regulator" and you will see a range of cheap plastic ($8.99) regulators to nice brass regulators ($25 +). If you use a regulator I think you can use pretty much any hose you want. As pointed out elsewhere in this thread, don't leave pressure on the hose when not in use.

Al Borland is never wrong. Also, I have one, and I love it.

I've used rubber hoses for years.. I just retired one I've had since the 70's.. It finally got too stiff.. I only have irrigation on the lawns, so the rest of my garden is with hoses with various sprinklers on the ends.. My husband likes the contractor quality red rubber hoses as the black ones made marks on the pavement.. I just bought a Dramm rubber hose in green. I got it in Santa Cruz at an ACE hardware, which you probably have in Sacto.. I'm not sure if you can find a good quality rubber hose in a short enough size to fit in a hose pot. Maybe because I'm only looking at longer hoses, but 50' seems to be common..

Flexzilla garden hoses have served us well.... no kinks under pressure, easy to put away if water is turned off and drained from hose. Seems pretty durable too.