I’ve been a homeowner for decades, having spent untold hours nurturing, coaxing and sometimes threatening my lawn and garden. Always at my side is the garden-variety garden hose: green and ornery, but necessary. I’ve untangled hundreds of knots, circling back in frustration to unkink kinks. I’ve broken many a sweat dragging hoses across the lawn, around flowers and through shrubs. There have been casualties.
So when the folks at Apex gave me five hoses to try, I felt like I’d earned my credentials as an impartial judge. I wanted to find the perfect lightweight, no-kink, high-flow, flexible, easy-to-store winner – and I did.
The DAP X-Hose Pro had a few good things going for it. It performed well. It wasn’t electric green or citrus orange, but a nice matte black – something that matters to homeowners like me. But I couldn’t overcome the feeling that it seemed flimsier than I would like. Then I read that the “burst rate” is only guaranteed to 250 PSI, which means you may be visiting the garden store sooner than you’d like.
Scotts Green&Grow, a more traditional “non-expandable” hose, was up next. By now, I’d become a savvy label reader, and a red flag went up immediately. Their burst rate is just 300+ PSI – an underwhelming number to this educated consumer. Unfortunately, this hose was ornery, and took me back to the days of untangling kinks! And it was the only hose that dripped at the faucet.
The Pocket Hose “Top Brass” was next. Before I came to the conclusion that this hose performed well, there was the task of removing it from the hard plastic packaging. My fingernails were mangled in no time, and my last resort was to use a knife! This seems like an odd way to welcome your customers.
The “Neverkink” hose came to me “blind,” with no identifying packaging. It, too, was a traditional “non-expandable” hose and took a bit more authority to maneuver. But it simply refused to frustrate me! I practically tied it into a knot before I turned on the water, but wow. For a hose with such a substantial heft, it unraveled beautifully. It wasn’t until weeks later that I learned that this hose is an Apex hose! All my positive reviews suddenly made sense.
The zero-G was saved for last because I wanted to have some context. To me, “zero” in the name is a little misleading, because – with a clear, impartial conscience – I give this hose a 10. It was sturdy, lightweight and friendly. Substantial enough to drag over my paved driveway. There was simply nothing negative about the zero-G. It felt like a liquid rope!
A Neighbor’s Opinion
The zero-G was saved for last because I wanted to have some context. To me, “zero” in the name is a little misleading, because – with a clear, impartial conscience – I give this hose a 10. It was sturdy, lightweight and friendly. Substantial enough to drag over my paved driveway. There was simply nothing negative about the zero-G. It felt like a liquid rope!
But an interesting thing happened as I was getting ready to coil up the zero-G. My neighbors pulled into their driveway. John and Barbara are 85 and 84, respectively. I constantly marvel at John when he works in his yard which, I might add, looks more like a park. On this day, they saw me surrounded by five garden hoses, and just had to come see why.
As I explained my mission to them, I had an idea. On a whim, I handed John the zero-G and said, “Here. Try this out and let me know what you think.” My reasoning was simple. If this hose is as lightweight and easy to maneuver as it claims, let’s see how it gets along with an 85-year-old.
Two days passed. I saw John watering his beautiful yard with the zero-G and I could tell it was near effortless for him. On the third day, I went over to chat, ready with a handful of questions. But a conversation wasn’t necessary, because John told me all I needed to know in just four little words: I asked him, “So how did you like the hose?” John looked at me with an impish smile and
replied, “Can I keep it?”
Learn more about zero-G here.
