Plenty of reports and chatter on the Internet about Xhoses exploding (like mine did) or leaking (like mine did) or not lasting very long. This 12.5mm diameter hose comes in a 21.5m length, so you can cut a 1.5m feeder hose yourself to connect to the tap. The instructions are basic, so I found it a little fiddly to put together at first, but with a little common sense I was able to water my garden effectively. As it’s 20m long, it didn’t quite reach all the areas I would have liked in my 30m-long garden, but it does offer a good variable spray gun with seven modes that gave me flexibility to water the bushy wisteria and the more delicate roses.

The expandable hose has a triple latex core with a polyester outer layer that is built to withstand continuous water pressure without leaking or tearing. As I only used it for a month in my garden, it’s hard to say whether it will stand the test of time, but the design felt well-made and comes with attractive gold alloy adapters.

I did my research online before buying this hose, and here’s what I found from the various online retailers I looked at:

The tap connector piece has a two way water flow valve so you can use the hose on one nozzle and fill up a watering can with the other hole.I love the compact design of this hose that comes with a nozzle and 20m hose in the set,’ says Tamsin. ‘With a firm pull, it’s easy to unravel the hose pipe as much as you need to make your way around the lawn. The secondary roller that’s raised a little higher than the main roll makes winding and unwinding the hose easier, since it feeds in and out of its roll with less kinks.

Now, if this expandable hose can burst under the ridiculously low water pressure I have at my property, I hate to think what would happen under decent pressure. They are perfect for the modern family home, as they require minimal effort. The last thing you want is a hose left out on the floor to trip over.When I took the Xhose home and unboxed it, I was immediately not that overly impressed with the quality. It felt kind of cheap and a bit plasticy – the connectors on either end of the hose as well as the spray gun attachment seemed poor quality. (It seems Xhose have since remedied this by introducing metal connectors with their Xhose Pro) It took me a while to assemble this design as there are quite a few pieces to contend with and you’ll need a patch of grass or earth that is soft enough to spike into. There’s a rod included in the kit that helps you leverage the spike into the ground, but it did require a bit of effort, so bear this in mind when setting it up. I particularly like the way the hose automatically retracted smoothly with the help of the guide, so there were no kinks to contend with.

Next thing you know, theres this bulge appearing from the hose length about two thirds of the way down and it pops and water starts shooting out. I don’t recommend this expandable hose as the Flexi-Hose and TheFitLife’s hoses were far superior in build quality, especially the fittings and the sleeve. How I Tested This Hose There are two types of people in this world – those that complain about rain and those that jump for joy because it’s good for the garden. If keeping your lawn lush during a dry spell is your top priority, one of the best garden hoses for 2023 will see you in good stead ( hose pipe bans allowing, of course).This expandable hose has brass fittings, thank goodness that manufacturers seem to have stopped using plastic ones now as they were just never up to job. Expanding hosepipes can be connected from the tap to the pressure washer but remember that it may shrink once switched on. I have a feeling that if you buy the Superhoze, you’ll probably be claiming the warranty, so keep your receipts. The Overall Quality Upon connecting the replacement to the tap, it leaked at the point where the hose entered the fitting. If you want to use it for sprinklers or anything that requires a constant flow of water, it won’t stay expanded at its full length and will shrink unless you can control the flow rate, so look for hoses that allow you to do this.