Bit of a long one here, sorry. TLDR: Continental Frontier is the best garden hose in my opinion.
The Problem:
My 8 month old Neverkink hose just busted a big hole in it. Grant it I left it pressurized and in the sun, but still, not even one season? So this made me quite upset, and started me on the road to try and find the absolute best quality, most durable hose currently made. You know, the type of hose you would bring to Mars to water your biodome garden. And since I found the best advice/reviews on old Garage Journal threads, (indicating that crappy hoses are in fact a problem for others, not just me) I thought I would post what I learned here.
Summary of Past Advise/Research:
I combed through past GJ threads and counted the number of explicit recommendations (not including things like “I bought X 2 weeks ago and it seems ok so far”) for each hose. I counted whatever I saw, so I probably double counted within or across threads, and I may have missed some too, so I don't claim this to be 100% accurate. I looked at a couple of tractor/farm forums, but they weren’t good enough (# of posts, and personal experience in each post) to include in this analysis. The Craftsman black hose was far and away the winner according to GJ (see attached table). However my main criterion, longevity, is a lagging indicator, by maybe 10 years, and we all know craftsman is not what it used to be. There are some recent reports that the new craftsman hoses are not as good and are marked made in china. Also I don't like that I cant find out who makes Craftsman hoses, which makes it impossible to tell what is really going on.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173672&page
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=323599&page
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=450725&page
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202575&page
Based originally on GJ recommendation, and now some of my own experience, I can tell you that rubber hoses are the best. Sure they are heavier and might kink more than the vinyl hoses, but they recover immediately, lay flat, remain flexible in cold weather, and are much easier to wrangle into a coil or figure 8, and are reported to last way longer.
My Opinion on What Makes a Good Hose:
So if not the craftsman, what’s the best rubber hose? Here’s my opinion: you want something industrial, rated for high temperatures (>180F or preferably 212F), and high working pressures (>150 PSI), and preferably rated for air and water. These specs are overkill, and as max WP goes up, so does the weight, so that’s something to keep in mind; but things tend to last longer when operated well below their max. High temperature ratings are necessary if you want to leave your hose in the sun like me, or drain a hot water heater, and generally indicate a higher quality, longer lasting rubber. Black asphalt can get up to 160F, in Phoenix AZ summer for example, so a black hose in the sun would probably be similar, making a 212F rating look less absurd.
Now here is why I advocate for an industrial hose. If a garden hose fails, a homeowner gets wet. If a 3/4” 200 PSI air line fails, it can whip around and cause serious injury, which is unacceptable for the commercial hose purchaser, who will make it unacceptable for the hose seller/manufacturer. Unlike individual consumers, industrial purchasers can actually enforce consequences for poor quality. These industrial hoses are also essentially a commodity, they have guaranteed specifications, and identification markings printed along their length detailing manufacturer, product name, part no, max WP, and made in USA. Rubber hoses are marked with a manufacture date as well. This is how you know it is a serious hose, and also makes it easier to buy with confidence.
I’m sure there are a number of hoses that fit this description, but I only seriously looked into a few: Parker series 7092 gst II, and Continental Frontier. Both are rated for -40 to 212F, air, water and limited oil, and come in 200, 250 and 300 Max WP options. (Note that WP is not the same as burst pressure, which is typically listed on consumer garden hoses because its ~4 times higher than WP.) For reference the black Craftsman hose is rated for 160F and 500 PSI burst pressure, likely 125 PSI Max WP. Goodyear/Continental garden hoses are well regarded here, so they are an obvious place to look.
https://ph.parker.com/us/en/gst-ii-general-purpose-air-water-hose
https://www.continental-industry.co...tipurpose-hoses/productsna/_base/frontier-200
Fittings should be brass, crimped ferrules. Aluminum leads to corrosion and galling problems. Since these are industrial hoses, you can’t by them straight from Continental or Parker with fittings pre-assembled. There are some people selling these hoses with steel bands holding on the fittings, ( https://adamspolishes.com/products/...rFGGMkXX4LiyUQspocWlusO4Jm_i8ZcBoCAZoQAvD_BwE ) because this is a lot cheaper than buying a hydraulic crimping machine but this is sub-optimal, essentially an upgraded hose clamp.
See here for hose clamping:
https://www.crossco.com/resources/technical/industrial-hose-secure-clamp-styles/
https://www.mbaa.com/brewresources/...Box Talk -Hose Fitting Attachment Methods.pdf
The Hose I Bought:
This may seem overkill and unnecessarily difficult, but these type of hoses can be had for a decent price (~$100 for 100ft of 5/8” or 75ft of 3/4”), though I will say it took me a while to find my 3/4"x75ft with crimped brass garden hose fittings. This is more than cheap vinyl hoses obviously, but on par with some of the higher quality consumer garden hoses.
https://shop.amazonhose.com/product...ier-water-hose-coupled?variant=35439121334435
JGB hose quoted me a bit higher, but it was a custom hose.
http://www.jgbhose.com/Data_Returns/detail_market.asp?marketID=1&id=3&prod_id=301199
I ended up getting a 3/4"x75ft Continental Frontier 200 hose from Amazon Hose; cost me $107 shipped, which is not bad. So far it seems great, but I can’t tell you yet if it will last me 20 years as I hope. The machined/cut brass threads are thick and way better than the formed/stamped fittings on the green (5/8 diam for reference) hose next to it (see attached image). The hose is a bit heavy, and does not twist, which can make coiling it harder, but also helps to keep it from kinking. A heavy hose that doesn't get tangled up in itself is actually a lot easier to drag than a light, tangled hose.
Anyway, this is just one man’s (long) opinion, thought I’d add it to the internet for others to take into consideration. I welcome comments, as would future readers I imagine.
Now to find the best nozzle... any suggestions?
The Problem:
My 8 month old Neverkink hose just busted a big hole in it. Grant it I left it pressurized and in the sun, but still, not even one season? So this made me quite upset, and started me on the road to try and find the absolute best quality, most durable hose currently made. You know, the type of hose you would bring to Mars to water your biodome garden. And since I found the best advice/reviews on old Garage Journal threads, (indicating that crappy hoses are in fact a problem for others, not just me) I thought I would post what I learned here.
Summary of Past Advise/Research:
I combed through past GJ threads and counted the number of explicit recommendations (not including things like “I bought X 2 weeks ago and it seems ok so far”) for each hose. I counted whatever I saw, so I probably double counted within or across threads, and I may have missed some too, so I don't claim this to be 100% accurate. I looked at a couple of tractor/farm forums, but they weren’t good enough (# of posts, and personal experience in each post) to include in this analysis. The Craftsman black hose was far and away the winner according to GJ (see attached table). However my main criterion, longevity, is a lagging indicator, by maybe 10 years, and we all know craftsman is not what it used to be. There are some recent reports that the new craftsman hoses are not as good and are marked made in china. Also I don't like that I cant find out who makes Craftsman hoses, which makes it impossible to tell what is really going on.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173672&page
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=323599&page
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=450725&page
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202575&page
Based originally on GJ recommendation, and now some of my own experience, I can tell you that rubber hoses are the best. Sure they are heavier and might kink more than the vinyl hoses, but they recover immediately, lay flat, remain flexible in cold weather, and are much easier to wrangle into a coil or figure 8, and are reported to last way longer.
My Opinion on What Makes a Good Hose:
So if not the craftsman, what’s the best rubber hose? Here’s my opinion: you want something industrial, rated for high temperatures (>180F or preferably 212F), and high working pressures (>150 PSI), and preferably rated for air and water. These specs are overkill, and as max WP goes up, so does the weight, so that’s something to keep in mind; but things tend to last longer when operated well below their max. High temperature ratings are necessary if you want to leave your hose in the sun like me, or drain a hot water heater, and generally indicate a higher quality, longer lasting rubber. Black asphalt can get up to 160F, in Phoenix AZ summer for example, so a black hose in the sun would probably be similar, making a 212F rating look less absurd.
Now here is why I advocate for an industrial hose. If a garden hose fails, a homeowner gets wet. If a 3/4” 200 PSI air line fails, it can whip around and cause serious injury, which is unacceptable for the commercial hose purchaser, who will make it unacceptable for the hose seller/manufacturer. Unlike individual consumers, industrial purchasers can actually enforce consequences for poor quality. These industrial hoses are also essentially a commodity, they have guaranteed specifications, and identification markings printed along their length detailing manufacturer, product name, part no, max WP, and made in USA. Rubber hoses are marked with a manufacture date as well. This is how you know it is a serious hose, and also makes it easier to buy with confidence.
I’m sure there are a number of hoses that fit this description, but I only seriously looked into a few: Parker series 7092 gst II, and Continental Frontier. Both are rated for -40 to 212F, air, water and limited oil, and come in 200, 250 and 300 Max WP options. (Note that WP is not the same as burst pressure, which is typically listed on consumer garden hoses because its ~4 times higher than WP.) For reference the black Craftsman hose is rated for 160F and 500 PSI burst pressure, likely 125 PSI Max WP. Goodyear/Continental garden hoses are well regarded here, so they are an obvious place to look.
https://ph.parker.com/us/en/gst-ii-general-purpose-air-water-hose
https://www.continental-industry.co...tipurpose-hoses/productsna/_base/frontier-200
Fittings should be brass, crimped ferrules. Aluminum leads to corrosion and galling problems. Since these are industrial hoses, you can’t by them straight from Continental or Parker with fittings pre-assembled. There are some people selling these hoses with steel bands holding on the fittings, ( https://adamspolishes.com/products/...rFGGMkXX4LiyUQspocWlusO4Jm_i8ZcBoCAZoQAvD_BwE ) because this is a lot cheaper than buying a hydraulic crimping machine but this is sub-optimal, essentially an upgraded hose clamp.
See here for hose clamping:
https://www.crossco.com/resources/technical/industrial-hose-secure-clamp-styles/
https://www.mbaa.com/brewresources/...Box Talk -Hose Fitting Attachment Methods.pdf
The Hose I Bought:
This may seem overkill and unnecessarily difficult, but these type of hoses can be had for a decent price (~$100 for 100ft of 5/8” or 75ft of 3/4”), though I will say it took me a while to find my 3/4"x75ft with crimped brass garden hose fittings. This is more than cheap vinyl hoses obviously, but on par with some of the higher quality consumer garden hoses.
https://shop.amazonhose.com/product...ier-water-hose-coupled?variant=35439121334435
JGB hose quoted me a bit higher, but it was a custom hose.
http://www.jgbhose.com/Data_Returns/detail_market.asp?marketID=1&id=3&prod_id=301199
I ended up getting a 3/4"x75ft Continental Frontier 200 hose from Amazon Hose; cost me $107 shipped, which is not bad. So far it seems great, but I can’t tell you yet if it will last me 20 years as I hope. The machined/cut brass threads are thick and way better than the formed/stamped fittings on the green (5/8 diam for reference) hose next to it (see attached image). The hose is a bit heavy, and does not twist, which can make coiling it harder, but also helps to keep it from kinking. A heavy hose that doesn't get tangled up in itself is actually a lot easier to drag than a light, tangled hose.
Anyway, this is just one man’s (long) opinion, thought I’d add it to the internet for others to take into consideration. I welcome comments, as would future readers I imagine.
Now to find the best nozzle... any suggestions?
