Flat Garden Hose
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What is a Flat Garden Hose?
Most of us have grown up using traditional pipe garden hoses - the round ones that resemble over-sized spaghetti. We've fought with the kinks, the wanton disobedience when trying to wrap them up and even questioned the amount of lead that some contain. They are the quintessential tool in our yards but they could be usurped by the growing demand for a flat garden hose.
Yes, the flat garden hose already exists and has for a few decades now. But the popularity has never taken off for a number of reasons. First, the initial options were cheap and of poor quality. They were very easily punctured and fittings and repair kits were either unavailable or hard to obtain. Most flat hoses were plastic and seamed with glue which meant they didn't take long to leak or rupture completely.
The second reason for their lack of market penetration as they were too darned hard to roll up. In the packet they looked "snug as a bug" but once you've used them it was like trying to get a tent back into it's original bag - not going to happen! However, today's flat garden hose is a distant cousin - one that's less recognisable and holds fewer remnants of the family's genetic pool. Nowadays they're tougher, better constructed and have most of their problems ironed out. But can they compete with our round garden hoses?
Yes, the flat garden hose already exists and has for a few decades now. But the popularity has never taken off for a number of reasons. First, the initial options were cheap and of poor quality. They were very easily punctured and fittings and repair kits were either unavailable or hard to obtain. Most flat hoses were plastic and seamed with glue which meant they didn't take long to leak or rupture completely.
The second reason for their lack of market penetration as they were too darned hard to roll up. In the packet they looked "snug as a bug" but once you've used them it was like trying to get a tent back into it's original bag - not going to happen! However, today's flat garden hose is a distant cousin - one that's less recognisable and holds fewer remnants of the family's genetic pool. Nowadays they're tougher, better constructed and have most of their problems ironed out. But can they compete with our round garden hoses?
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Flat Garden Hose Reel Site Contents
Old "Round" or "Pipe" hoses
The typical garden hose your used to has always served its purpose, until clean up. After a month or so of use it always seems like the traditional hose never wants to coil up the way it's supposed to. At the end of a long day of gardening the last thing anyone wants to do it fight with putting away the very tools that were made to help you. 
Because of the on going battle with putting away standard hoses many people have become lazy and just left them out. By leaving your hose lying around it causes many safty hazards. Not only is your saftey at risk due bacteria growning in water left in it but now you've got a tripping hazard. Because of this laziness even the reel's have become lazy. Check out this picture of a hose "roll". 
What are the Pros and Cons of the Flat Garden Hose?
Pros
As their name suggests, they're flat. This makes it easier to pull out from a reel and also to pack up. Without a reel you're probably wasting your time as these will curl and contort better than a swami trying to escape a straight jacket. But their flat-ness gives them the benefit of saving space.They can handle being run over much better than their round counterparts. If you often have to cross a driveway with a hose and chances of it being straddled by the family car are common, then this is the hose for you.
More resistant to kinks. They're not completely impervious to the odd kink especially if you let your children play with it but they seem to be less likely to contract this dreaded hose disease.
Usually cheaper. For some reason it seems that the construction of round walls on a garden hose require more architecture and therefore increase the price. These flat alternatives offer just as strong construction but without all the fabric inlays that keep normal hoses round.
Cons
One of the big downsides of the flat garden hose is the ease in which it can be punctured. The prong of a garden fork may bounce off a round hose but it will always sink deep into the surface area of the flat option. Most hoses are becoming tougher these days but it still pays to be mindful where they are in the garden.Flat garden hoses don't go around corners too well. Obviously due to their shape they're not as maneuverable as their round peers so meandering through garden beds, landscape features and the like can often be fraught with problems - and make them more vulnerable punctures. In a straight line these hoses are perfect but corners and curves seem to throw them a little.
Flat Sprinkler Hose
One outstand option flat hoses have over the old round hose is that they can also be used to water much larger areas. This picture for example shows how a flat sprinkler hose can water across a much longer distance then just out of the nozzel area. This option saves both watering time and the need to adjust the standard hose/sprinkler combo every so often.
Guestbook Comments
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Tipi
Aug 18, 2011 @ 10:47 am | delete
- I like the neat storage and light weight of a flat garden hose.
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naturegirl7 Aug 10, 2011 @ 4:33 pm | delete
- I have been looking for one that has the wheel to roll it up on. It's nice to know that they exist and the pros and cons. Sprinkled with dust from the Angel of the farmyard on a Back to School Field Trip.
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goo2eyes
Aug 5, 2011 @ 3:21 pm | delete
- never seen them. oh, yeah. i've seen the flat fire hoses but not garden hoses.
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