The best hose reel for most homes is a wall mounted steel reel like the Liberty Garden 708, which holds 125 feet of 5/8 inch hose, arrives assembled, and bolts flat to the house. If you would rather the hose put itself away, the retractable Giraffe Tools 130 foot reel is worth its price.
Most hoses die of storage, not use. Left coiled on the lawn, a hose bakes in the sun, kinks where it was folded, and sooner or later meets the mower. The reel that stops that is either a fixture you forget for a decade or a plastic shell that cracks in its second season. Four things separate them: the mount, the real 5/8 inch capacity, the swivel, and what happens to the water inside in January.
Best hose reels at a glance
| Reel | Best for | Why it wins | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
Liberty Garden 708 steel wall mount (best overall) |
Most yards with a spigot on the house | Powder coated steel, 125 feet of 5/8 inch capacity, and 5 feet of leader hose in the box | amazon |
 Giraffe Tools retractable reel, 1/2 in. x 130 ft. |
Ending hose clutter without cranking | Auto rewind pulls the whole hose back into a closed case on a slight tug | amazon |
 Liberty Garden Model 840 four wheel cart |
Beds a long way from the spigot | Four never flat tires, a low center of gravity, and 250 feet of 5/8 inch capacity | amazon |
 Suncast Swivel Smart Trak Hose Hideaway |
Hiding the hose in plain sight | A closed bin that holds 225 feet and hides the reel from the street | amazon |
 Yard Butler 180 degree swivel wall reel |
A spigot near a corner, or a wall you care about | The whole reel rotates so the hose pays out toward you instead of across the siding | amazon |
 Yard Butler galvanized hose hanger |
The cheapest fix that still lasts | Galvanized steel that will not rust, no moving parts to break, holds up to 100 feet of hose | amazon |
What is the best hose reel?
The best hose reel for most homes is the Liberty Garden 708, a powder coated steel wall mount that holds 125 feet of 5/8 inch hose for about $64. It bolts flat to a wall, arrives fully assembled with 5 feet of leader hose, and has no plastic body panels to crack in the sun.
At this money the choice is usually between a steel frame and a plastic one, and the frame is what carries 100 feet of wet hose on a lever off the wall. Check one more line on any listing before you buy: whether a leader hose is included, since that short length from reel to spigot is a separate purchase on many reels. Pair the reel with a hose that does not fight being coiled and both last longer, which our guide to the best garden hoses covers.
The best hose reels, by job
A wall reel, a cart, a hose box, and a retractable case solve four different layout problems. Where your spigot sits decides which one you want.
1. Liberty Garden 708 steel wall mount: best hose reel overall
The Liberty Garden 708 is the reel most people should bolt to the house and stop thinking about. The drum takes a full 125 feet of 5/8 inch hose, the frame is steel under a weather resistant powder coat rather than plastic, and it arrives fully assembled with 5 feet of leader hose already on it, the part buyers usually discover they are missing on installation day. There is a small shelf on top as well, which is where the nozzle and the shutoff valve end up living.
It suits the ordinary case squarely: a spigot on the back of the house, 50 to 100 feet of hose, and a gardener who trades twenty seconds of cranking for a hose that is never underfoot. At about $64 it is the cheapest pick here that is not a bare hanger. Two things to know before it ships: neither the hose nor the mounting hardware is included. Where it loses: the body does not swivel, so a spigot near a corner still means walking hose across the wall.
2. Giraffe Tools 130 ft retractable: best retractable hose reel
A retractable reel is the only kind that puts the hose away for you. The Giraffe Tools 130 foot reel mounts to a wall, locks at any length you pull out so the rest stays in the case, and rewinds on a slight tug, with an aluminum guide laying the hose in even turns where sun and frost cannot reach it. The bracket rotates through 180 degrees, so you can water both sides of a corner without moving the reel or sawing the hose across the mount. A seven pattern nozzle comes with it.
This is the pick for people who water most days and have quietly stopped coiling, and for front yards, where a closed case reads as a fixture rather than a pile of hose. The trades are money and flow: about $162, roughly two and a half times the 708, on 130 feet of 1/2 inch hybrid hose plus a 5 foot lead, a bore that favors reach over volume. The case lifts off its bracket on a quick release, which is how it gets into the garage in November. Where it loses: filling stock tanks or running two sprinklers wants a 5/8 or 3/4 inch hose.
3. Liberty Garden Model 840: best hose reel cart
When the beds are 100 feet from the only spigot, no wall reel helps, because you still carry the hose out and back. The Liberty Garden Model 840 is a four wheel cart on a 13 gauge steel frame, rated for 250 feet of 5/8 inch hose, with brass fittings and four 10 inch tires that are puncture resistant and never need air. Four wheels and a low center of gravity are most of what you are paying for: a loaded cart carries a lot of water, and that weight wants to tip.
Roll it to the work, crank out what you need, and roll it back with the hose already stowed. At about $121 it sits mid pack here, and it ships flat, so plan on assembling it. Carts want a route, though. Wheels sink in soft mulch and catch on sloppy bed edges, so cutting a clean edge with a Spear Head Spade D-handle once a season keeps them on the path. Where it loses: a cart is one more large object to store, and it is the wrong answer when the spigot is already ten steps from the beds.
4. Suncast Swivel Smart Trak Hose Hideaway: best hose reel box
A hose box is a reel inside a cabinet, and it exists for the front of the house. The Suncast Swivel Smart Trak Hose Hideaway costs about $140, and capacity is the number that matters. At 225 feet it holds more hose than any wall reel here, enough to reach the far corner of a deep lot from one spigot. The lid shuts over everything, so what the neighbors see is a storage bin.
Buy it when the reel has to sit in view and the run is long. The rating is stated in 5/8 inch vinyl hose, so the 225 feet is the number you can actually spool, and two stakes anchor the base. Where it loses: a box takes ground where a wall reel takes none, it is heavy to move once the drum is full, and a bin at ground level collects the leaves and grit a wall reel stays above.
5. Yard Butler 180 degree swivel: best premium metal hose reel
The Yard Butler swivel reel fixes the one thing a fixed wall reel cannot. The whole body rotates through 180 degrees, so the hose pays out toward wherever you are standing rather than scraping around the reel edge and along the wall. If your spigot is near a corner or on painted clapboard you would rather not scuff, that rotation is the difference between a reel you use and a reel you resent.
The build is powder coated steel, rust resistant, and it installs on standard wall studs. Buy it when the reel is visible from the driveway. Where it loses: capacity is 100 feet of 5/8 inch hose, less than the 708 holds, at about $160, two and a half times the price. You are paying for the rotation and the finish, not for drum size.
6. Yard Butler galvanized hose hanger: best budget pick
Not everyone needs a reel. If the hose comes out on weekends and lives ten feet from the spigot, the cheapest thing that holds up is a hanger, and the Yard Butler galvanized hanger is the one to get for about $39. It supports up to 100 feet of hose, and the galvanized steel will not rust even in coastal salt air. There is no drum, no crank, and no plastic gear to strip.
It buys the main benefit of a reel, a hose off the ground and out of the sun, for a fraction of the cost. Where it loses: you coil by hand every time, and hand coiling puts in the loops and twists a drum and guide iron out.
How to choose a hose reel
Five decisions cover the whole category.
- Capacity is quoted in 5/8 inch hose. A reel rated for 125 feet means 125 feet of 5/8 inch, the standard size for home watering. Some listings give plain footage with no diameter named, which is another reason to leave margin.
- Match the type to your layout. Wall reel if the spigot is near what you water. Cart if your beds are a hundred feet out. Hose box if the reel will be seen from the street. Retractable if you water most days and have stopped coiling by hand.
- Swivel and leader hose are the two specs nobody reads. A swiveling body lets the hose leave the reel at an angle instead of grinding over the frame, and it is worth real money on a corner. The leader hose is the short length from reel to spigot. Check its length, because a two foot leader on a spigot four feet up is useless.
- Mount into structure, never into skin. A steel reel loaded with 100 feet of wet hose can approach 40 pounds, hanging off the wall on a lever. That load belongs in studs, a bolted on board, or rated masonry anchors, never in siding or plastic wall plugs. A siding hook is fine for a light hanger and nothing heavier. Giraffe calls for a mounting post bigger than a 4x4.
- Plan for the freeze now, not in November. The failure mode in cold country is water left in the drum and the couplings, so buy a reel you can drain and disconnect quickly. Retractable cases come inside or get covered. Make it part of your fall garden shutdown.
Frequently asked questions
How much hose does a hose reel hold?
Most wall mounted reels are rated for 100 to 150 feet of 5/8 inch hose, carts for 200 to 300 feet, and hose boxes for about 100 to 225 feet. Ratings assume 5/8 inch. A 3/4 inch hose takes up roughly a third more room, so plan on a third less length.
Are retractable hose reels worth it?
Yes, if you water often and hate coiling. A retractable reel pulls the hose back into a closed case with one tug, which keeps it out of the sun and off the lawn. You pay two to three times the price of a manual reel, and the included hose is usually 1/2 inch.
Can you leave a hose reel out in winter?
The reel can stay outside. The water cannot. Before the first hard freeze, disconnect the leader hose from the spigot, open the nozzle end, and let the drum and hose drain fully, because trapped water splits couplings. Take a retractable case off its bracket and store it inside, or cover it.
Is a wall mount or a hose reel cart better?
A wall mount is better when the spigot is close to what you water, because it stays put, holds the hose off the ground, and never tips. A cart is better when your beds are 100 feet away, since it carries the hose to the work instead of making you drag it there.
How do you mount a hose reel on vinyl siding?
Never anchor into the siding alone. Screw a pressure treated mounting board through the siding into two wall studs with lag screws, then bolt the reel to that board. A light hose hanger can sit on a siding hook. On brick, set masonry anchors rated for the loaded weight.
The bottom line
Buy the Liberty Garden 708 if you want one reel on the wall that holds a real length of hose for about $64. Choose the Giraffe Tools retractable to never coil again, the Model 840 cart if the water and the plants are far apart, and the Suncast box if the reel has to look like furniture. Drain whatever you buy before the first freeze. For containers a hose never reaches, our best watering cans guide takes over.
Disclosure: some links in this guide are affiliate links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, Spear Head Spade earns from qualifying purchases. This is at no extra cost to you, and it never changes our honest, use-based recommendations.
