Head-to-head · Best Garden Hoses

Dramm ColorStorm Premium Rubber Hose, 5/8 in. x 50 ft. vs Flexzilla Garden Hose with SwivelGrip, 5/8 in. x 50 ft.

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

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The short answer

Dramm ColorStorm Premium Rubber Hose, 5/8 in. x 50 ft. and Flexzilla Garden Hose with SwivelGrip, 5/8 in. x 50 ft. score essentially the same (4.7 vs 4.7). Pick the one whose trade-offs match your priorities — the strengths and watch-outs below are where they actually differ.

Ranked #2 in Best Garden Hoses

Dramm ColorStorm Premium Rubber Hose, 5/8 in. x 50 ft.

4.7

4 sources$79.95

Dramm's answer to kinking is geometric rather than chemical: the ColorStorm is extruded in a hexagonal Sure-Grip profile instead of a round one. Good Housekeeping's lab named it best overall after stomping on the fittings, TechGearLab gave it 86 out of 100 and a Top Pick, and Gardening Products Review scored it 5 out of 5 after a season outdoors with no UV damage. Wirecutter, though, dropped it as a pick over long-term kinking and price. At 10 lb for 50 feet it is a hose for a reel, not a hand.

Strengths

— Good Housekeeping's Home Improvement Lab named it best overall, reporting the crush-free fitting claim held up under deliberate stomping
— TechGearLab scored it 86 out of 100 with a Top Pick, and Gardening Products Review gave it a straight 5 out of 5
— Hexagonal Sure-Grip profile rather than a round one, which every outlet credited for its kink behaviour and its grip

Watch-outs

— Wirecutter dropped it as a pick over "a combination of long-term kinking issues and the newly elevated price tag"
— Gardening Products Review's own long-term update concedes it "started to experience occasional kinking" after several years
— Heavy: 10 lb for 50 feet, which Good Housekeeping warned "might be more trouble than it's worth" on a small property

$79.95 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

Ranked #1 in Best Garden Hoses

Flexzilla Garden Hose with SwivelGrip, 5/8 in. x 50 ft.

4.7

5 sources$42.98

The SwivelGrip collar is the reason to buy this over the plain Flexzilla: a rotating sleeve at each end lets the coupling spin while the hose stays still, so threading onto a spigot does not wind a twist into the last few feet of hose. Gardening Products Review scored it 5 out of 5 and could not induce a kink under pressure across a long-term test. Bob Vila measured it at 8 lb for 50 feet, backed a car over it and made it their bang-for-the-buck pick. The reservations are a black surface film that will not wash off, a warranty with unrealistic return terms, and a hose that has to be depressurised before it will coil willingly.

Strengths

— The SwivelGrip collar lets each coupling turn independently of the hose, so connections thread on without winding up the hose behind them
— Gardening Products Review scored it 5 out of 5 and could not induce a kink under pressure across a long-term test
— Bob Vila measured it at 8 lb for 50 feet, drove a car over it, and scored build quality 5 out of 5

Watch-outs

— Has to be depressurised before coiling; Gardening Products Review found the hose "more difficult to coil" while it is still under pressure
— Develops a black surface coating that does not wash off, which Gardening Products Review flagged as an unresolved complaint with no clear cause
— The limited lifetime warranty requires shipping the entire hose back with proof of purchase and the original retail label, which Gardening Products Review called daunting terms

$42.98 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

How they stack up

Dramm ColorStorm Premium Rubber Hose, 5/8 in. x 50 ft.

The ColorStorm is the length-flexibility answer in this group: it is the only hose here orderable in custom runs to 330 feet and in two diameters, where the Teknor Apex zero-G stops at 100 feet and the Eley 5/8-Inch Polyurethane Garden Hose at 200 feet in one bore. It is also among the heaviest of the six per foot. Against the Briggs & Stratton 8BS50, the other all-rubber hose here, the difference is the hex profile: TechGearLab scored the Dramm well ahead on performance and faulted the Briggs specifically for kinking.

Flexzilla Garden Hose with SwivelGrip, 5/8 in. x 50 ft.

The SwivelGrip collar is unique in this group: the Dramm ColorStorm Premium Rubber Hose and the Eley 5/8-Inch Polyurethane Garden Hose both use fixed hex fittings that want a wrench, while the Flexzilla threads on one-handed. At eight pounds for fifty feet it sits between the Teknor Apex zero-G and the rubber hoses, and unlike the zero-G it holds usable pressure with no nozzle fitted. Its published pressure ceiling matches the Eley's but falls well short of what the zero-G and the Stanley FatMax BDS6650 are rated for.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	Dramm ColorStorm Premium Rubber Hose, 5/8 in. x 50 ft.	Flexzilla Garden Hose with SwivelGrip, 5/8 in. x 50 ft.
Diameter	5/8 in	5/8 in
Length	50 ft	50 ft
Material	EPDM rubber, hexagonal Sure-Grip cover, 15% thicker wall	Flexible Hybrid Polymer
Coupling Material	Crush-proof nickel-plated brass, hex	Crush-resistant anodized aircraft aluminum with rotating SwivelGrip sleeves
Working Pressure	130 PSI	150 PSI at 70 degrees F
Burst Pressure	518 PSI	—
Weight	10 lb	8 lb
Temperature Range	Flexible to -25 degrees F, hot-water rated to 160 degrees F	-40 to 140 degrees F
Available Lengths	50, 75, 100 ft plus custom to 330 ft	3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100 ft
Warranty	Lifetime consumer guarantee	Limited lifetime
Drinking Water Safe	—	Yes

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