Best hose reel

You’ve gone to all the hard work to make your yard presentable, mowing the lawn, situating beautiful plants or populating your veggie patch. So the last thing you want is to ruin the way your yard looks by having the eyesore of an unwound garden hose laying around. It not only looks ugly but serves as a safety hazard, so what you want is an easy, dependable way to store your garden hose when you’re not giving your yard or your plants a shower.

And to help you find the best and most dependable hose reels for your yard, we’ve nailed down the top picks for a variety of needs below.

Have a larger yard that you’re maintaining for a few kids (or an energetic furball) to run around in? Then you want a hose reel that offers both ease of use and ease of stowing away that's also be secure. That’s where this Hozelock Auto Reel excels, not only providing the auto-reel functionality that promotes smooth use of the garden hose, but also featuring an integrated child lock to secure it from curious hands (or paws). In terms of storing, the auto-reel drum not only allows for the garden hose to be stored within but the reel itself is easily mountable to a wall. It is on the more expensive side but, if you’re willing to pay for peace of mind, it should suit a majority of needs.

If you have a front and backyard and need a hose reel you can transport easily from one to the other, this is your top option. With the cart being wheeled, it’s a simple case of get up and go whenever you need to take your hose with you. The hose cart also allows for manual winding of your garden hose, meaning that both your hose and the cart can be stored away easily without taking up too much space. You’ll find a 30m hose included with this cart, although it doesn’t come assembled and this assembly can be a bit fiddly. It’s also worth keeping in mind that tugging too hard on the hose while you’re using it can cause the cart to topple over, so getting too excited while using this one might not be the best idea.

Keeping it simple shouldn’t have to come at a cost too high a cost, and it certainly won’t with this Gardena hose reel set. It can be mounted to a wall or easily carried for portability, and comes with a 20 metre hose included, representing both versatility and value in the one simple package. Using the hose and reel is also simple, although certain components can tend to age less well than others, so keeping an eye on upkeep is a necessity.

This hose reel is ideal for those with a flair for the artistic and looking to add to the décor of their yard. Resembling an ornate decoration than a functional piece of equipment capable of helping you keep your garden hose in check, this Liberty Garden Hose Butler is a durable hose reel easily able to be mounted to a wall. Weather resistant with an all-cast aluminium construction that's also rust-resistant, this hose reel won’t set back your wallet too much by sticking to the absolute basics of hose storage. That price does come with the sacrifice of a hose included, but if that’s no issue for you, this is a hose reel worth relying on that’ll pretty up your backyard.

How should you store your hose?

Leaving your hose spread out in your yard is possibly the quickest way to destroy it. To increase the longevity of your hose, you should consider storing it safely when not in use. If you want to give your hose the best chance of a long life, you should do a few simple things.

1. Make sure your hose is not affected by extreme temperatures. Keep in a shed or garage when not in use. Sunshine will make a hose brittle, and freezing will make it split.

2. Coil your hose and hang it. Keeping your hose coiled and hung on a hook or winder will stop the hose from kinking, which can cause cracks. This is the point of this article too!

3. Keep it away from sharp objects. This may seem obvious, but your hose shouldn't be in a position to be sliced or punctured by tools or even sharp corners on the concrete.

If you keep your hose indoors, wound up, and on a hook/winder when not in use, you should be able to use it season after season.

Wrap it up

As you might expect, the best hose reels to neaten up your backyard and keep your garden hose safe and in top condition depends a lot on what you need from your hose. Overall, the Hozelock 2403 0000 Auto Reel is our top pick for how easy it is to use and also to secure from prying hands, making it particularly perfect for families. However, if you need to be able to transport your hose easily from the backyard to the front in a pinch, we feel that the Hozelock 2416R0000 Compact Hose Cart and Gardena 20m Hose Reel Set are the best options. If you want to add some personality though, there is simply no better option than the Liberty Garden Hose Butler, which will help you add a classy, ornate touch to your yard while being a durable home for your garden hose when you’re not using it.

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