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50 metre garden hose buying guide

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have walked from the outside tap to the far bed and the distance looks close to a full coil, so a 50 metre garden hose buying guide has to start with a tape, not a star rating. Fifty metres is a lot of pipe to drag, rewind, and push water through. Buy it when the run needs most of that length, and leave it when a shorter hose already reaches. Peter F., editor for DIY and tools, updated this on 21 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Measure first, then use the [50m garden hose comparison](/hub/garden-watering/50m-garden-hose) once the coil label matches the title.

You have walked from the outside tap to the far bed and the distance looks close to a full coil, so a 50 metre garden hose buying guide has to start with a tape, not a star rating.

Our top picks

TW Wholesale TW Wholesale (50 m)

Best overall

TW Wholesale TW Wholesale (50 m)
7.8/10about £32.99
View offer
Draper Draper (56315)

Alternative

Draper Draper (56315)
7.8/10about £33.78
View offer
Faithfull Faithfull (50 m)

Rank 3

Faithfull Faithfull (50 m)
8.1/10about £34.30
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Measure the run before you buy 50 m
  2. 2.Bore, tap thread, and fittings
  3. 3.Wall, braid, and pressure words
  4. 4.What to verify on delivery

Measure the run before you buy 50 m

Start at the outside tap, not the back door. Run a tape to the furthest point you water, then add a couple of metres of slack. If the tap-to-border measurement is 18 m and you add 2 m of slack, a 20–25 m hose is the tool, and a 50 m listing is spare plastic. If the same tape reads 45 m, 50 m is the length that still has a little slack. Printed weights in this set run from 4.95 kg to 6.6 kg, and that mass needs a reel rated for 50 m.

Bore, tap thread, and fittings

Domestic reinforced hose in UK sheds is usually about 12.5 mm inside, the old half-inch bore. Faithfull’s title says 12.7 mm, Hozelock’s title says 12.5 mm, and Draper’s title says 12 mm. TW does not print a bore. A 19 mm hose moves more water and needs larger tails. The outside tap thread is a separate measurement. A 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch BSP thread is the metal the tap connector screws onto. It is not the bore of the hose. None of these four listings includes a connector.
TW Wholesale TW Wholesale (50 m)

Testsieger

TW Wholesale TW Wholesale (50 m)
7.8/10about £32.99
View offer

Wall, braid, and pressure words

A reinforced PVC hose here is an inner layer, a polyester braid, and an outer jacket. The braid limits stretch. It does not stop a kink. BS 3746:1990 covers PVC garden hose for cold water at working pressures up to 7 bar, and it is not a drinking-water pipe. For a 12.5 mm bore the published wall band runs from 1.5 mm to 2.8 mm. Faithfull prints a nominal wall of 1 mm and does not claim BS 3746. Draper’s Amazon bullets say a minimum 2 mm wall and manufactured according to BS 3746. Draper’s own page for yellow 56315 states the 2 mm wall and does not repeat that line. Faithfull’s 20 bar line is a bursting pressure, not tap pressure.

What to verify on delivery

Open the parcel and read the coil label before you fit a connector. The label is the length and the bore you paid for. On Hozelock Select, ASIN B01AXKVX2A, the title says 12.5 mm by 50 m and prints code 100-100-577. The item-length field says 500 centimetres. A Hozelock range table uses 100-100-577 for a 15 m Select and 100-100-609 for 50 m. Those facts cannot all be the length in your hand. On Draper 56315 the outside-diameter field says 12 mm beside a 12 mm bore and a 2 mm wall. Those three figures are not one circle. This page does not pick a winner.

Common questions

How do I measure for a 50 m hose?
Measure from the outside tap to the furthest point you water, then add about 2 m so the hose is not bar-tight around a corner. Buy 50 m when that total is near 50 m. If the tape stops around 20 m, a 50 m coil is spare weight and spare friction. A reel has to be rated for the length you keep, not for a shorter hose you used to own.
Is 12.5 mm enough at 50 m, or do I need 19 mm?
12.5 mm, or the 12–12.7 mm titles in this set, is the usual domestic bore and is enough for cans and border watering. A 19 mm hose keeps more flow at the far end of a long run and is heavier, with different tails. Step up if a sprinkler on 12.5 mm is too weak. Do not treat a shop rule of thumb as a requirement at a set distance.
What is a believable wall thickness?
For a 12.5 mm bore, BS 3746:1990 tables put the wall between 1.5 mm and 2.8 mm. Draper’s bullets say a minimum of 2 mm. Faithfull prints 1 mm and does not claim that standard, so read 1 mm as thinner than the usual band, not as a failed certificate. Discard TW’s 5 inch diameter and Hozelock’s 6.25 mm wall. They do not describe a garden hose.
Why do burst bar and tap bar differ?
A bursting pressure, such as Faithfull’s up to 20 bar, is a failure figure. Working pressure is what the hose is meant to see in normal use, and BS 3746:1990 talks about cold water up to 7 bar. Household taps are often described as about 1–4 bar, which is a rule of thumb, not your measured supply. A hose can still split at a kink on a modest tap pressure.
Will the hose arrive with connectors?
No. Faithfull and Draper list the hose only. Hozelock and TW do not list included components, and their bullets describe the hose. You need a tap connector for the BSP thread and a hose-end connector for about a 12.5 mm tail. The tap thread and the bore are different sizes.
When is 50 m the wrong length?
It is the wrong length when the measured run is much shorter, when you have nowhere to store about 5–6.6 kg of coil, or when the reel is only rated for 30 m. It is also the wrong product if the coil label shows 15 m or 5 m on a listing whose title said 50 m. Check that label before you fit anything.

Related pages

Best 50m garden hose

Reinforced hose versus expandable

How to fit a 50m garden hose

50m garden hose

Hosepipe ban rules for a 50m garden hose in the UK

Sources

Public UK sources used for hosepipe bans, BS 3746, backflow and the maker pages. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved on 19 October 2026. No laboratory test.

  1. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. Ofwat — hosepipe bans (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. Water UK — hosepipe ban FAQ (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Thames Water — temporary hosepipe ban (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. BSI — BS 3746:1990 PVC garden hose (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. WaterSafe — hosepipe backflow (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. Draper — 56315 reinforced watering hose (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. Hozelock hose comparison table (retrieved 22.10.2026)