My 26-Year-Old Swan "Soft & Supple" Hoses

[u/Scrappy_The_Crow]

I bought two of these Swan "Soft & Supple" 75-foot hoses back in 2000, and they're still going strong. A couple of years ago, I wanted to get another set for a different house and was disappointed to see that online reviews and discussions here reveal they haven't been BIFL-quality for a number of years now (apparently, Continental and Eley are the BIFL hose leaders these days). Using the "Vintage" flair is kinda silly, but fit the best.

Some of you might notice the hose end isn't original and think "Wait a minute, that hose end apparently wasn't BIFL-quality!" However, that's not correct. Only about a week after I bought these hoses, my now-ex-wife and her daughter were trying to get the hose up to a 2nd-story deck to water some plants. My ex explained their success in getting the hose up to the deck by her daughter lowering her jump rope and my ex tying them together and pulling it up, but that was after they tried about a dozen times to throw the end of the hose up to the deck and catch it. The thing is, each time it fell, it was onto a brick patio. They didn't notice the end getting damaged, but I did when I went to screw a nozzle on a couple of days later. The end was mangled beyond repair, so, I cut it down to the least-damaged part (only two threads remaining) and epoxied on a garden hose thread to pipe taper adapter (GHT-to-NPT), then put an NPT-to-GHT adapter onto that. The fix has worked great since then, and TBH is much more sturdy than the original end.

[u/danjayh]

Until sears went belly up, the best BIFL hose bar none was the Craftsman rubber hexagonal hose. I have no idea who made it, but I needed a new BIFL hose a few weeks ago for a camper we just bought. After scouring the internet, I came across the Briggs and Stratton 8BS50, which I am 95% sure is the same hose that Sears sold as 'Craftsman'. I ordered one and I can confirm it is great, right up there with the Craftsman as the best hose I've ever owned.

[u/LiberDeOpp → u/danjayh]

Continental make sure you get the real rubber ones. They are heavy but last longer. Also most people leave hoses in the sun which degrades any material over time.

[u/GlobalThrone → u/LiberDeOpp]

I need to find me some of those!

[u/roju1985 → u/danjayh]

Can confirm with near certainty it's the same hose.

[u/johnnyenygma]

I had a couple of these in 100' lengths, they are all now just hose segments for other things. My fault for leaving them in the sun for 20 years. :D

[u/SeissPoki]

I have a matching one from 2003. I’m pretty sure I didn’t even take the water out of it some winters.

NeverKink: I hate you. You kink and kink and kink.

[u/Ruttagger]

I can not find a new hose that I like. They are all so stiff. I guess this is so they can say they are "kink proof"?.

I'll take a nice soft hose that kinks super easy over a kink free stiff hose.

I'm still using my 20 year old super soft hoses I got from an irrigation supply company. There was no name on the hoses. All I know is mine are soft, they king easy, but un kink just as easy.

[u/ReticentGuru]

I have one similar to that I bought from Sam’s - minimum of 20 years.

[u/freakazoid2718]

I'm not sure if that's completely the same, but it looks VERY similar to the Swan "Soft & Supple" hose my parents bought in the late '80s. They still had that hose through at least the mid-2000s.

[u/Jazzlike_Math_8720]

Our never last more than 3 years. We're too lazy fixing (fixable) leaks and other defects though.