I hate garden hoses and I think most gardeners will agree with me.
If you have a decent sized garden dragging a hose around the garden to reach all the areas that need watering can be a real struggle and having to find the “kinks” can become a real pain.
I have seen, and read about, spiral hoses for quite some time and finally decided to give it a try; I settled on the Hozelock Spiral Hose Set from Swell UK Hose Pipes where it is currently on offer for £27.99* (RRP £33.99*).
Delivery and Packaging
The hose arrived the day after I ordered it and it was well packaged, the plastic packaging around the hose was quite fiddly to remove but it does protect the product well.
Preparation
Having prepared my fair share of garden hoses in the past, experience has taught me that the easiest way to attach the hose fittings is to soak the end of the hose in a cup of hot water for a couple of minutes to soften the plastic; the end of the hose then slips quite easily into the fitting.
Note: Remember to feed the screw end onto the the hose before attaching the fitting and push the hose as far down into the fitting as possible to ensure a tight fit and avoid leaks.
Testing
Having attached both end fittings I then clipped in the Spray Gun and connected the other end to my outside tap.
Both went on easily as you would expect from Hozelock products.
Note: Being Hozelock it is nice to know that I can attach any Hozelock accessories if needed.
For me, the most important thing when buying a new garden hose is that it reaches all areas of the garden which will need watering at some time during hot, sunny spells; particularly the patio which holds lots of pots and planters during the summer months.
At 15m (49ft) this hose should do the job.
I stretched the hose in one direction towards the patio and it did reach far enough as it did in the other direction too so I am very pleased.
The main reason I have not bought one of these hoses in the past is that I was worried that it would not coil back enough to make it worth while.
As you can see from the photograph, the hose did not coil back as short as it was when it came out of the packaging, which I was expecting, but it still takes up significantly less space than a normal garden hose.
Summary
So far I am impressed with this garden hose and I am confident it will do the job I need it to do.
It will be interesting to see if it coils back as well as time goes on and I will update the post in a year with my views on this.
I did feel that the Spray Gun supplied in the pack was not the best. It has two settings; a single jet spray which is quite powerful and will be good for cleaning and a rose spray for gentle watering of plants.
However, in order to water efficiently I prefer to have a powerful rose spray which reaches further and covers a wider spread.
Fortunately, being a standard fitting, I can attach one of my other Spray Guns as needed.
What comes in the Pack
- Lightweight Flexible Recoiling Hose
- Multi Setting Spray Gun
- Fitting to attach to outside tap including adapter for smaller tap diameters
- Fitting for attaching the Spray Gun
The Technical Bit
- Always ready to use
- 15m (49ft) long
- 10mm diameter hose
- Tap connector 26.5mm (3/4″) and 21mm (1/2″)
* Prices correct at time of publishing