Best Hose Reel in 2023

Whats the best type of automatic retractable water hose reel to use? This is the topic of this roundup, and it's going to be a long one, so you might want to pour yourself a cup of coffee.

If you don't have a hose already, first look at our best garden hose buying guide, since most of the reels in the list don't come with a hose. You'll probably need something that can handle high water pressure anyways.

If you're short on time or don't want to know all the trivial details, here're the best ones for every use case you might have;

In order to  find the best one for your needs, use the tool below we've created for you.

Best retractable garden hose reel: GARDENA

I've already posted an in-depth Gardena retractable hose reel review before. I bought this product 6-7 months ago, and have been using it daily here at ColumbiaFlorist since then.

It's Gardena's latest hose reel and easily one of my favorites. With easy wall installation, it's ready to go out of the box. 180-degree swivel bracket enables easy access to every corner of your garden. Thanks to its 10/10 kink-resistant premium hose and smooth retraction makes watering your garden easier than ever. And best of all, it comes with a 5-year warranty!

Best side mount hose reel: AMES 2388340 ReelEasy Side Mount Reel

It's the new upgraded version of Ames reels, and they no longer break from the connection. I have one of these, and it's quite affordable compared to my Gardena reel.
It winds up the hose on the side, and it has no problem with rewinding my very thick hose. No fancy pull/button push rewinders, or even a hose guide inside, just plain simple side hose reel that keeps your garden organized and gets the job done.

I've had this one long enough to know if you're gonna have any issues with it.
It's made from cheap plastic and doesn't feel premium. But you get what you pay for.

All in all, we're using it a couple of times a day to water our indoor flowers, and it works just fine.  No leaks or anything.

I wouldn't recommend installing this product outdoors since it provides no heat or cold protection. You could install it indoors and easily pull the hose out since it can hold up to 100' 5/8" hose absolutely fine.

Best cheap hose reel: Liberty Basics 501 Garden Hose Hanger

It's a nice and cheap option if you need light-duty reel and rarely use your hose. It comes with about 5 feet of leader hose and does what it promises. A simple, wall-mounted reel with small storage space for your gardening tools. No mechanical, moving parts, no electronics, nothing to break on the job!

All the mounting hardware comes in the box, and it's the easiest reel to install in the list. You can easily remove it off the wall with a little up pull and move indoors during freezing cold to protect your hose.

All in all, it's a clean and simple, no bells and whistles reel that holds up to 100' hose. It's especially great for outdoors because the plastic won't rust and create a mass on your wall.

One problem its users are reporting is, the leader hose inside it kinks by design because there isn't enough room from the connector to where it mounts on the wall. But it's cheap plastic and weighs less than a pound, so I don't expect it to be a huge problem.

Best heavy duty retractable garden hose reel: Power 

This one is for those who need a heavy duty garden hose that can stand high water pressures.

Yes, it has a bit smaller leader hose compared to my Gardena, and it could mean about 15% less water pressure.

But who cares!

If you're mainly going to be using it to water your plants, it's great hose and it's lighter and easier to carry around your garden.

The reeling mechanism is a bit slow then I'm used to, but it surely beats cranking 100' long hose by hand!

You could even argue that it's slow by design to avoid kinking inside and giving the hose enough time to settle in place. Things could get messy when you reel fast, especially when there's water trapped inside the hose.  If you're not sure whether your hose can handle high water pressure or not, check out my best garden hose for pressure washer article

Best wall mounted hose reel: AMES 2416500

Winding your hose is a snap with the Ames NeverLeak water hose reel!
Just a short pull on the hose, and it automatically winds back on the reel. The auto winder retractable hose reel also comes with 100 feet long hose pre-install, so you don't need to purchase it separately.
The NeverLeak reel swivels 180 degrees, so it goes where you need it and when you need it!
It can also fold flat against the wall when you're done to save space and keep it out of the way. The aluminum never leaks water system used inside the reel is 8 times stronger than the plastic material many other reels use. And the aluminum threads won't strip or corrode, eventually causing water leaks.
When you store it away in winter or use it in another part of your garden, simply slide it up and it's ready to go!

When you want to adjust the tension of the spring, just remove the side cover, fold out the handle, and crank it 5 times clock-wise to increase the tension, or 5 times counter clock-wise to reduce the tension! It's a feature I haven't seen in other hose reels.

You can also adjust the stop ball to allow more or less hose to be exposed.

You can even choose between metal cabinet or plastic cabinet while ordering. Tho I'd recommend the plastic one for obvious reasons. First of all it's going to be lighter and if it'll  be installed outdoors, metal can get rusty after years of weather exposure. But of course, if you care about the premium look, go for the metal case.

Best automatic retractable hose reel: TACKLIFE Hose Reel

From heavy duty commercial work, watering your garden, ground cleaning, washing your car to giving your dog a shower, it's the perfect all in one hose reel for every purpose.

You can pick between the 65+ 7 feet or 90 feet long hose version. Hose comes pre-installed with the reel, but you can replace with your if you wish to. You most definitely won't need it for many years since it's a rubber elastic hose. These materials tend to be more kink resistant.

All in all, if you be gentle with this product, it'll last you for years to come. However, I wouldn't recommend pulling the hose so hard or forcing it to rewind when there's water inside the hose because the hose guide inside the reel might break.

It's a good reel, but not great.

Best self-retracting garden hose reel: RL Flo-Master 65HR8

It's the Flo Master's best selling 65 foot self winding garden hose reel.

I don't know about you but I get sick of having to rewind the hose twice a day after watering my flowers or washing the car. That's where the RL Flo Master comes in.

It has a long leader hose that plugs in to the water source. And the main source easily pulls out without having to apply much force, and when you stop, it stops too. When you want it to go back up, all you have to do is give it a little fast pull and it'll retract right back in its place. Thanks to the hose guide inside, it rewinds slowly and evenly to avoid any kinks and twists from developing and damaging your hose.

Unlike the many other reels on this list, this thing comes with the hose and the free sprayer head. The head is very useful and practical, it has shower mode, center spray, flat, and soaker for watering your garden, mist and jet mode for spraying the water far away. All you need to do is pick your mode and push the button right under your thumb.

Everything about this garden hose reel is awesome and it works really really well.

To protect your reel just make sure you turn off the water and let the pressure out.

Best water powered hose reel: Suncast Aquawinder

Best aluminum garden hose reel: Liberty Garden 707

It happens to anyone who use a garden hose. The kinking, twisting and the annoyance... Liberty Garden 707 aims to solve this problem for you once and for all with this state of the art, beautifully crafted aluminum garden hose reel.

The 707 is different from other wall mounted metal hose reels on the market with its innovative hose guide feature.

Simply set the locking pin, pull your garden hose effortlessly and keep it on track as you reel it in using the cushion grip crank handle. With fluid movement the 707 keeps your hose neatly wrapped with no kinks and twists whatsoever.

It can be mounted to any brick or wood studded wall and holds 5/8 garden hose. It's powder coated durable construction makes it durable for any weather conditions. It also includes a useful shelf for your gardening tools and accessories or even for your favorite potted plant.

Best hose reel cart with wheels: Liberty Garden 870-M1-2

It's an industrial heavy-duty hose reel that you can take anywhere you want. Perfect for your home, professional, or landscaping needs. This hose reel cart with 4-wheels holds up to 300 feet of 5/8 inch hose! This is insane long compared to other reels we have on the list. Keeping your hose neat and ready for use.

4, 8-inch pneumatic tires provide smooth transportation even on rough terrain.

The low center of gravity prevents the cart from tipping, adds stability and strength.  Just insert your leader hose to the swivel connector. The patented 90 degree connector prevents the hose from damaging and kinking by turning to wherever you pull it from.

Now attach your garden hose to the brass adaptor on the galvanized teeth. All galvanized and brass connection offers ultimate frost protection. Its made from steel construction. Reels easily for storage and pulls out effortlessly when you need it.

This cart is durable and rust-resistant with a powder coat finish. No cheap, fragile plastic anywhere.  

Types of retractable hose reels

There are basically three types of self-winding hose reels out there.

Water, or hydro hose reels

It basically hooks up to the water source, and uses the water pressure inside the tube to rewind the hose. The problem is, they waste a lot of water because there's gonna be some gushing water as its rewinding your entire hose.

Hand crank hose reel

This is the type of hose reel most people have. Using it as simple as it gets. Simply crank the stick and rewind the hose. But the problem with this is, over time, many kinks will unavoidably develop because they're cheaply made from rubber, and they get ruined by the weather.

Self-retracting hose reels

These are mechanical systems that rewind the hose back when you pull the hose or push a button on the reel.  Simply pull the hose straight out a little bit when you want to water your flowers, and the hose will stop where ever you want it to stop. And when you want to reel it back in, pull it a bit more, and the guide inside will automatically reel it back perfectly and evenly to avoid any kinks and twists from developing.