Apex 988VR-50 Professional Duty Garden Hose, 3/4-Inch by 50-Feet

I bought this hose after trying several different rubber and pvc hoses. Like many others, I've had hoses that kink, twist and bend, reducing or cutting off the water flow. Almost every hose I've bought has allowed the tap to leak some water. That gets old fast because you're robbing the nozzle/power washer of water AND making a mess at the tap. A number of hoses get wrapped up in hedges, grass, rocks or whatnot.This thing is a champ. The fittings are huge; so big, in fact, that at first I thought they wouldn't fit either my tap or my power washer. They fit and, wonder of wonders, created a tight seal. The 3/4" diameter and heavy duty construction allows plenty of water through and makes the pipe difficult to bend or kink. The differences were visible - no water leaking at tap or power washer - and measurable - the power washer was able to reach its rated maximums. I've dragged this thing around, over and under all sorts of stuff and it doesn't care. It just keeps pumping out water.The downside is that it is bulky and heavy. So it may not be for everyone. But if you're looking for a serious hose that allows you to focus on the task instead of the tools, this is a contender.

Update, now been 5 years and all these same hoses (I bought several) are just fine and dandy, no leaks but tiny dribbles from some of the female ends but only sometimes, fittings in great shape. I leave them out in the field in sun and snow and still little if any deterioration. Went to 5 stars as the way I treat these hoses having lasted 5 years now and looking like many more years to go.Have had no problems with this brand and model of hose, good price and larger diameter has better flow since I sometimes need 600'. Here it is 2 yrs later. Hoses themselves are great, don't kink, robust. As other reviewers have said...yes replace the gaskets and yes the female ends leak, for me just a little and it hasn't been an issue, and yes...solid brass (no). But hey, still compared to OTHER hoses out there these still rate a 4 star for my use.

I was trying to replace the best hose ever which happens to be the APEX brand. It is black and has a yellow stripe so I thought this might be the hose. The old one is almost like a rubber hose. It is a truly amazing hose. This one is good, but not amazing. It is heavy duty, it doesn't kink, but it's almost to heavy and doesn't have the flexibility of the rubber hose that I inherited. This one is better than the average hose you will buy, but it's not the best. Still hoping to find the black wonderful APEX hose I thought this might be. That thing is amazing and has lasted for YEARS.

Quality hose but probably best for farm, garden or other use where you can leave it stretched out. Took a long time to get the"coils" out of it during first use and I had to lay it in the sun for awhile. Still, a great price and it certainly tough enough for what I am using it for. Stiff in could weather. Heavy. Quality brass ends.Well.....Let me add a bit more. The second hose I bought had so many kinks in it that it was unbelievable!Even after heating in the sun it took probably half an hour by myself to get the hose to lay flat and for theformerly kinked sections to relax back to normal diameter. This is a hose that you really need two people touncoil when first bought. One at each end to turn the hose every which way to unkink. Yeah, these are heavyquality hoses but you'd better leave them stretched out and not try to coil them for storage. Like I wrote, farm or garden use is where they belong.

Apex 988VR-100 Contractor Work Site Tough 3/4-Inch-by-100-Foot Hose: $63.12 deliveredWhy pay $63.12 for a garden hose? Because hoses that crack, or break-off at the faucet right when they're needed aren't worth it! Bought this after my second cheap hose failed me. This is designed to do its job and let me forget about it. The spring at the faucet end keeps excess force off the swivel at the faucet. The hose is thick and strong. Don't know how well it would wind around a spool. I keep it in long, 10' loops on the ground near the faucet. Doesn't kink on me, probably because following the advice in other reviews, I laid it out flat (after rotating it many times to uncoil it) on my lawn overnight after it arrived. Assuming it winters well, will consider this hose ideal. If it doesn't, I'll update my review.

The first issue - the gasket/washer inside the female end needs to be replaced right away. It's a pretty heavy hose, but they use a dainty white washer suitable for a small 1/2" hose. I suggest the o-ring style, which ensures a watertight connection. Your local big box home improvement store will have these. Buy a bunch, they are handy to keep around. The thicker red rubber washers are also good.Second - these are aluminum fittings, coated to look like brass. Aluminum will corrode and is more easily bent than brass.They are light duty. They'll be fine if you're not taking the hose off and on all the time.Third - very stiff hose in temperatures below about 65. This will work best on a hose reel where you can straighten the hose out and reel it back in straight.Fourth - the strain relief coil at the supply end of the hose is pretty much eye candy. It looks nice, but is too thin to protect much. The stiffness of the hose will help prevent kinking at the supply more than the spring coil will.The good news is that the flow rate is very good, as it should be for a 3/4" hose. And it's not a bad value for the price, but it's more of a heavy duty homeowner hose than it is a professional contractor hose.