Why Your Next Garden Hose Should Be Flexzilla

– Posted in: Things I Love, Tools and Equipment
4 comments

The last time you went shopping for a garden hose, were you bewildered by all the choices? Did you wonder if the claims about durability and not kinking were really true? At the Garden2Blog event hosted by P. Allen Smith, I was introduced to a garden hose that truly is different–Flexzilla. Flexzilla was part of Garden2Blog because the staff at Moss Mountain Farm picked one up at their local hardware store and liked it so much they went back for more. Now it’s the only hose they use.

P. Allen Smith, Rachel (Weems) Perez, Mary Ann Weems, and Bob Weems put the Flexzilla hose through its paces. #g2b14

P. Allen Smith, Rachel (Weems) Perez, Mary Ann Weems, and Bob Weems put the Flexzilla hose through its paces.


I liked learning that the company that invented and produces Flexzilla is family owned by the Weems’. Bob Weems stood in front of his audience of bloggers and put three coils of garden hose into a cooler chest filled with ice water. One was a length of Flexzilla and the two others were national brands. Bob, Mary Ann, and Rachel talked to us about various aspects of Flexzilla and the history of their company. After about fifteen minutes he walked over to the cooler chest and pulled out national brand #1. Because of the cold, it held itself in the coil shape in which it had been placed into the cooler. The same thing with national brand #2. But when Bob grabbed an end of the Flexzilla, it uncoiled itself as he pulled it out. The cold had not affected its flexibility at all.

That really impressed me.

It turns out, Flexzilla stays flexible to -40F. Now I hope all cold climate gardeners know that you should have your hoses drained and stowed before it ever gets that cold. Truth is, if you leave your Flexzilla hose full of water and it freezes solid, it will burst. But Flexzilla garden hoses are made out of the same material that Flexzilla air hoses are made out of, and I guess there are some places that use air hoses where it gets rea-a-ally cold. That’s how they know.

After the Weems family finished their talk, we had a hands-on demonstration. Two bloggers had a race, one pulling a Flexzilla hose out of coil to its full length, and another blogger pulling another brand the same way. The blogger pulling the Flexzilla finished first–easily–because the other hose kept kinking and wrapping around itself. No one seems to have published a video of that, but you can get a similar idea from this challenge that P. Allen Smith issued to his brother:

This video is humorous, but P. Allen Smith should not be watering his flowers that way. Spraying them with water like that just encourages fungal diseases. He should use some kind of drip irrigation or soaker hoses, and water the soil, not the foliage. Just so you know.

Of course, I didn’t just take these friendly folks’ word for it that Flexzilla was different. They were kind enough to send a fifty foot Flexzilla hose to each of the Garden2Blog 2014 attendees. I put this hose through its paces as I washed down a discolored outdoor glider bench with deck cleaner.

Flexzilla garden hose is great for DIYers

The Flexzilla hose never kinked or twisted around itself as I moved around the glider, spraying as I went.

I didn’t even think about the hose as I circled around the glider, back and forth. The hose just followed me around without getting knotted up. It was a pleasure to use.

If you are dissatisfied with your current garden hose, I’d recommend replacing it with Flexzilla. It may cost more initially, but it will save you a lot of aggravation and will last longer, too.

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

What differentiates a bulb from a perennial plant is that the nourishment for the flower is stored within the bulb itself.…There is something miraculous about the way that a little grenade of dried up tissue can explode into a complete flower.

~Monty Don in The Complete Gardener pp. 142

Comments on this entry are closed.

Frank August 22, 2014, 10:23 pm

I never have good luck with hoses so when I find a good one I stick with it (you should see how many times I mended the only one I ever liked!) I’m going to keep my eyes out for this one since I might be the type to leave a hose out all winter, and I might be the type to get really angry when it won’t unwind in the cold!

Mary Ellen August 22, 2014, 10:22 am

I love my Flexzilla hose Kathy. Summer is typically hot and dry in Arkansas so my hose gets daily use. It’s nice to have one that I don’t have to fight with.

Donalyn@TheCreeksideCook August 22, 2014, 8:30 am

Good to know, Kathy. I just replaced my back garden hose last year, and the front garden hoses are over 20 years old and still working perfectly [we bought them at a yard sale!] , but when we need another one, we will look for this brand.

michaele anderson August 22, 2014, 6:13 am

This kind of first person testimonial is worth its weight in…black gold (compost). I will treat myself to one for the place I use a hose the most frequently.