Four of the best garden hoses - tried and tested

Whether you're a keen gardener, or are just starting to create your dream outdoor space, a hose is an essential piece of kit to make sure your garden looks its best - and saves you plenty of time from filling up a watering can, too. Choosing the right hose depends on the size of your garden, what you use it for, your budget, and even how often you might use it.

You can choose from different types of hoses, including bare hoses (which have no accessories or connectors), expandable hoses (which are lightweight and will inflate then shrink after use) and hoses with reels (which can be retracted by hand or by using a spring mechanism).

We tested four garden hoses, including reel options and an expanding hose, considering whether the hose is easy to move around, how simple it is to roll up and if it does not kink. If you want to tidy up your lawn or garden, why not see our guide for cordless garden tools or budget friendly lawn mowers?

Read on for our tried and tested reviews...

Four of the best garden hoses - reviewed by the YourHomeStyle team!

Hozelock Superhoze 15m

• Buy now from Amazon.

As this hose’s soft, flexible outer cover fills with water, it stretches out, allowing the hose to extend to up to three times its length. Once the water’s turned off, the hose quickly shrinks back down with no kinks.

Its multiple spray settings make light work of watering plants, lawns, baskets and bushes, it’s easy to manoeuvre around the garden and it doesn’t tangle itself up when stored, either. However, take care when moving it around the garden as you won’t want to snag it or tread on it. It's not recommended that you use this hose with a pressure washer - you may be better using a bare hose instead.

Homebase compact hose reel set 10m

• Buy now from Homebase.

Measuring 10m, this hose is a handy option for smaller gardens or balconies. It’s very light (only 2kg) and the reverse-trigger handle makes for effortless spray control. The hose pulls out of the reel smoothly and it’s easy to roll up, too.

Six different spray patterns built into the nozzle (which include a mist setting for watering hanging baskets) make it a compact, multi-tasking machine. You also have the option of hanging it up on a wall to save even more space. For the price, we were really impressed with this option.

VonHaus 20m garden hose reel

Save valuable space in your shed with this sleek design that mounts on to exterior walls. Clear instructions make it simple to install (all fixings are included).

Extending up to 20m, you can reach all areas of your garden without getting tangled up. There’s no need to waste time unrolling and rewinding either – the auto-rewind feature means that with just a small tug, the hose retracts fully, with no kinking (though make sure it's been drained, first). The housing pivots through 180° on the wall bracket for smoother use too.

Kärcher hose trolley HT 3.420 kit 1/2"

• Buy now from Amazon.

This 20m hose is mounted on a trolley with an extendable handle and wheels, which makes moving it around easy. It doesn’t come with a pipe to connect the reel to a tap, though – you have to buy one separately or use another length of hose.

Once you have connected it up, you can unravel the hose as you wheel the trolley along to prevent any tangles. You also need to take your time rolling it up as the hose can kink. Adjustable spray patterns and the collapsible handle for storage makes it a useful option for keen gardeners.

If you enjoyed our round-up, check out our other Buyer’s Guides! We share our recommendations for everything from bird baths to BBQ's and paddling pools – and everything in-between