In this short buyers guide we will highlight a few things to look for in a good expandable hose and also a few tips on how to get the most life out of them. It’s usually better to pay a little more than to end up paying twice.

The first thing you’re going to notice is just how nice the hose feels in your hand. You could be mistaken for thinking it’s a cloth like material! And it get’s better. When you compare it directly to it’s main competitors the Ansio and the FIT, this is definitely equal in quality; the brass hose connectors, quality kink free hose, and all the accessories you need to get going such as half inch reducers for smaller garden taps. Note, most taps are 3/4 these days but again it’s a nice touch. There are a few issues though, but before we get going let’s have a look at my short video setting this up and getting it going / using it: It’s a durable and flexible hose pipe, manufactured using modern materials which lead to it weighing only 1.25 kg. Given that hoses get heavier when full of water, starting with such a light base can be invaluable. If you have a hard-to-reach area in your garden and need further extension, you can even join two of these together or connect it to your existing hose. Here we cover some of the frequent and common sense questions put to us. I was surprised at how many requests I’ve had so shall begin to build you an FAQ here over the coming months. Hope this helps 🙂 Can I join two expandable hoses together?I know what you are thinking, plastic fittings…mmmm… And I have to admit that I am also usually very dubious about any gardening/watering tools that use anything other than solid brass. It has to be said, however, that these plastic fittings actually do a very good job of staying connected and not leaking too much. They work far better than I expected them too and it was a very pleasant surprise. Hmil-U have created a hose that is both durable, with sturdy brass fittings and a non-kink rubber interior, and flexible. It is still easy to navigate around the flowerbeds even with its reinforced design. The hose is 50ft in length and extremely lightweight and easy to adjust and move around the garden – pretty much inline with the ANSIO and the FIT in terms of ease of use and manoeuvrability when compared directly. From its contracted length of about 5.5 metres, it’ll expand to a staggering 16 metres. Once finished, it’ll simply retract again for easy storage. So why is this model so much cheaper than the others we have reviewed above?
Well, for one thing, the fittings and connectors on this expandable hose are all made out of plastic instead of brass which obviously lowers the cost to the manufacturers and therefore reduces the price we have to pay as customers.

If you have a large, sprawling garden with lots of trees and shrubs to manoeuvre around, I would recommend choosing one of the more durable products on offer. I say this because you will be dragging your hose a long way, and it will need a strong outer webbing to be able to withstand this type of terrain. Another point in favour of this spray head is that it connects to the hose using brass fittings. Many expandable hoses connect to the spray head with a plastic fitting, which can prove to be a weak point over time. The 9-pattern spray head offers a lot of power when needed, but is also capable of producing a light mist – perfect for delicate flowers and shrubs.Layers of latex – the more layers of latex that a hose has, the more durable it is. Most expandable hoses have 2 – 3 layers of latex. That said, the Fitlife Garden Hose featured on the above list has 13. This spray gun connector, despite my reservations about the material used, is actually very solid and has a fixed in filter to help prevent water leaking out. Several of my customers have used this particular model for a while and I haven’t heard a single complaint about leaking being a problem so it seems to be doing the job it was intended for. However, the first time you use this particular model, you are advised to stretch it out by hand little by little while filling it to loosen it up, something I didn’t have to do with the ANSIO or the FitLife expandable hoses. It’s not a big issue, and doesn’t take long, but I thought it would be worth mentioning. The Ansio expandable hose does feel heavier out of the box than some of its competitors (still much lighter than a standard rubber hose) but it also feels more robust than many of them which is something I found reassuring. Although I didn’t get to test it, the makers say that this model is compatible with a karcher pressure washer, something to keep in mind as to really get the best out of any expandable hose, you need to have good constant pressure.