Cracked, leaky, bendy, heavy hoses are the things of garden-tending nightmares. Here is the solution: the Craftsman Premium Rubber Garden Hose. Constructed with heavy-duty rubber and brass couplers, the highly rated garden hose supposedly retains its shape without kinking or leaking. Since our old hose, which we inherited from our home’s previous owner, was well past its prime, we decided to see what the Craftsman option was all about. We evaluated the product’s performance in our Portland, Oregon, garden, rating its flexibility, durability, ease of use, and more. Here’s what we found.
Setup Process: Easy
To use this hose, all we needed to do was remove the cardboard label and the twist ties holding it in its coiled shape. Then, we simply attached the fitting to our spigot and turned on the water. We found that the hose fits easily onto our outdoor faucet and accessories, such as spray nozzles and sprinklers (the package didn’t include any attachments). There was no leaking and no muscle needed to connect or disconnect.
Design: Clever and effective
Sure, it’s just a hose, but the design is actually pretty innovative: Made of reinforced radial tire cord, which makes it extra durable and flexible, this model measures 50 feet in length and 5/8-inch in diameter. In terms of pressure, the hose delivers a single stream with 500 pound-force per square inch (psi) burst strength—plenty for our purposes. It’s fitted with crush-proof brass couplers that make connecting to the faucet and other accessories a leak-proof snap. Rather than the classic tubular shape, this rubber hose comes in a concave hexagonal shape, which is the key to its reliable kink-resistance and its overall ease of use. It’s lightweight, lays flat, and doesn’t twist—addressing several of the issues we often face with hoses. The color is basic black, which we liked for our purposes, but other companies offer hoses in different hues if that’s important to you.
Performance: Stellar
This workhorse of a watering tool outperforms expectations. Unlike our last hose, which without fail ended up haphazardly twisted around the spigot every time we used it, the Craftsman model is truly kink-resistant. It’s maneuverable, and it actually lays flat, meaning no more cursing while trying to control the water. We found that it handled low and high water pressure like a champ and remained flexible no matter the temperature (it’s said to withstand extreme weather, from 20-below conditions all the way up to a blazing hot 160 degrees). But for us, the hose’s biggest selling point is its weight—or lack thereof. It comes in around 9 pounds, a few less than the average competitor model. We were glad for this portability when roaming our lawn with the hose in tow. Our older sons (ages 14 and 12) were able to easily water shrubs and garden beds, and the younger boys (10 and 7) could even drag it under the trampoline to hook up a sprinkler. All of them noted it was extremely light to carry.
Price: Worth every extra penny
The 5/8-inch, 50-foot Craftsman hose retails for anywhere from $27 to $43. The average 50-foot-long hose on the market costs about $33 to $35, so this option is slightly more expensive on the high end of that range. However, considering what you’re getting (true kink-resistance in a lightweight model), we think the extra dollars are well worth the investment.
Craftsman Premium Rubber Garden Hose vs. Continental ContiTech Commercial Premium Rubber Hose
The majority of the specifications on both of these models are the same: 50 feet in length, 5/8-inch in diameter, all rubber, and weather-proof. We tested both, and while the Continental ContiTech hose weighs a whopping 12 pounds, the Craftsman comes in at just over 9 pounds and is truly twist- and bend-resistant. You’ll pay for the lighter hose, which runs $43, compared to around $30 for its counterpart. If you’re in need of a longer length with all the same advantages, the 100-foot version of the Craftsman Premium Rubber Garden Hose costs about $100 and is definitely worth considering. Unless you’ve already got a superior hose coiled up and waiting, you would do well to consider purchasing this stellar all-purpose, lightweight garden hose. We all dream of a hose that doesn’t kink or throw our backs out with its weight, and this Craftsman model is just that.
