Never Buy A Cheap Garden Hose—Ever!

In which our writer experiences the horror and torment of buying an inferior product.

BUYER BEWARE | Sometimes a bargain is a terrible deal. Case in point: the 100-foot hose I bought on sale at Canadian Tire for $29. The Yardworks hose was advertised as “anti-kink” and “heavy-duty” and since it was only 29 bucks, I figured I had myself a winner. That is until I tried to use it.

It was one of those beautiful Vancouver weekends, and I was going to do a quick hose-down of the deck and then soak up some rays. I unrolled my new PVC vinyl hose for the task and it was indeed heavy. I felt like I was wrestling a boa constrictor up to the deck and then when I turned it on—nothing. A major kink in my anti-kink hose had cut off the water supply. After fits and starts of kink and unkink, the deck was clean, but I was feeling bad about my bargain. I heaved the hose down the stairs and tried unsuccessfully for 20 minutes to roll it up neatly before giving up in disgust.

After staring at the twisted, messy pile all summer, I decided the beast must be tamed, so I bought an Ames self-winding hose reel ($39) and vowed to get it under control. An hour and 45 minutes of tormented, deranged hose untangling later, it was on the reel and only slightly easier to work with.

How To Get {Properly} Hosed

I sure wish I’d done my homework before buying it. A quick look on Canadian Tire’s feedback forum on its website told me that it was a stinker. One comment: “Kinkproof? This is the worst hose I have ever purchased. Heavy and always kinks. Don’t buy!” Okay then. A little bit of further research told me that the only way to get a kink-free hose is to go top-quality, 100 percent rubber, otherwise you have a hose you’ll never use. And Canadian Tire sells them, too. A 50-foot reinforced Yardworks rubber hose goes for $39.99 and has positive feedback on the website, i.e., “does not kink easily.”

Lesson learned:  Do your research; the cheapest is not always the best value.—Terri Brandmueller

Canadian Tire, various locations, www.canadiantire.ca

Photo: iStock