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Metal vs plastic garden hose spray gun

Updated: October 2026

The gun in your hand is the one that gets dropped on the patio, left damp overnight, and then blamed when the joint weeps. A metal versus plastic garden hose spray gun choice is about that knock and that weight, not about a lifetime printed on the box. Plastic in this amazon.co.uk set still does the watering. Metal still depends on a washer and, often, on a plastic clip. The Products Compared editorial team compared the seven gun listings in our [spray hose comparison](/hub/garden-watering/spray-hose). We did not drop them, freeze them, or time them over a summer. Expandable hoses are kits, so they stay off this table.

The gun in your hand is the one that gets dropped on the patio, left damp overnight, and then blamed when the joint weeps.

Our top picks

Onarway Onarway metal spray gun

Best overall

Onarway Onarway metal spray gun
9.4/10about £15.74
View offer
Hozelock Hozelock Multi-Jet

Alternative

Hozelock Hozelock Multi-Jet
8.8/10about £20.20
View offer
Ibergrif Ibergrif M22210

Preis-Tipp

Ibergrif Ibergrif M22210
8.8/10about £6.83
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the listings call the body
  2. 2.What weight and a drop change
  3. 3.What still fails on both
  4. 4.Plastic, metal, or skip the gun

What the listings call the body

Three guns are plastic or ABS on the pages we captured. The Hozelock Multi-Jet is plastic, 120 g, £20.20, with 4.4 from 15,414 reviews. The Ibergrif M22210 is ABS, 240 g, £6.83, with a locking ring and no thread size. The RnCop is 260 g with a TPR grip. Its exterior finish is plastic. Its material field says polytetrafluoroethylene. Do not treat that PTFE line as a metal body. Four guns state a metal body. The Draper 25342 is aluminium and brass in the finish line, £12.49, 4.3 from 6,328 reviews. Ignore the 20 g weight next to a gun 23.5 cm long. Reviews still describe a plastic trigger, a plastic lock clip, and plastic outer collars. The VOXON is zinc alloy, 380 g, £12.99, and it states 3/4 inch BSP. The Onarway is zinc alloy with a rubber coating and brass fittings, 460 g, £15.74. The FANHAO is zinc alloy, 325 g, £26.99, and the thread is 3/4 inch GHT. A brass fitting does not, by itself, mean the whole gun is metal. If you are still choosing the thread, the buying guide is the page for BSP and GHT.

What weight and a drop change

A 120 g Hozelock is the light hold. A 460 g Onarway is the one you notice after a row of pots. The Draper's 20 g stays in the listing-mismatch column. A drop is the argument for metal, and it is only an argument. These pages were not a drop test. A metal barrel still ends in plastic clips and rubber washers. If your hands are sore, the FANHAO lever is the metal option aimed at a weaker grip, and it is also GHT and the dearest gun here. The Ibergrif's locking ring is lighter if the missing thread size still matches your hose. Jobs sit on the best spray hose page.
Onarway Onarway metal spray gun

Testsieger

Onarway Onarway metal spray gun
9.4/10about £15.74
View offer

What still fails on both

Frost does not respect the shell. Hozelock reviews describe seams that split after water was left inside over winter. The RnCop listing tells you not to leave it outdoors below 0°C. A frost claim on some other brand's sprayer is not a claim you can move onto the Ibergrif, the RnCop, or the Multi-Jet. Metal does not opt out. A Draper review says an internal spring rusted after the gun was left outside. The Onarway feels solid in reviews, and the same reviews mention orange plastic lock tabs. The connector is the shared leak. A brass thread with a missing or twisted washer weeps whether the barrel is zinc or ABS. Store both kinds indoors, drained. We will not claim that metal lasts longer as a measured fact.

Plastic, metal, or skip the gun

Choose plastic if you want light and cheap. The Ibergrif at £6.83 is the best value. Choose metal if you drop tools and you accept the grams. The Onarway is the top pick when a 1/2 inch quick-connect is acceptable. The FANHAO is the lever, if you can adapt GHT. Choose neither gun if what you actually need is a new pipe. The Flexi Hose, the XPendHoze, and the Yofidra are kits, not a third body material. Choose a watering can if a hosepipe use is prohibited. A zinc barrel does not change the supply.

Common questions

Will a metal gun last longer than a plastic one?
Nobody in this set has proved that on a clock. Metal is the better bet against a drop. Plastic is lighter and, in the Hozelock reviews, able to split when water freezes inside. Both leak at the washer, and metal guns in these reviews still have plastic clips, triggers, or lock tabs. Buy metal for knocks. Buy plastic for weight and price. Drain either one.
Is the RnCop metal if the material says PTFE?
No. The exterior finish is plastic, the grip is TPR rubber, and the weight is 260 g. Polytetrafluoroethylene in the material field is not a zinc or brass body. The bullets talk about rust and wear resistance without calling the shell metal. Treat it as a plastic gun with a confusing material line, and keep the 0°C storage warning.
Do metal guns still leak?
Yes. Reviewers describe the connector, the washer, or a handle joint, not a hole through the zinc. FANHAO reviews include leaks and a handle that failed. A new washer is the first fix.
Are metal guns too heavy if my hands are sore?
The Onarway at 460 g is the heaviest stated weight here, and the FANHAO at 325 g is the one with a lever instead of a held trigger. A sore hand may prefer the lever even though the gun is heavier than the 120 g Hozelock, or it may prefer the Ibergrif's locking ring on a 240 g ABS body. Try the control first. The metal word does not reduce the grams.
Should I leave a metal gun outside because it is stronger?
No. A Draper spring rusted after the gun was left outside. Disconnect it, empty it, and keep it indoors. Strength against a drop is not strength against ice. Plastic guns in this set have the clearer split-after-frost reviews.

Related pages

How to use a garden hose spray gun

Spray hose

Best garden hose spray gun UK for the job you have

Garden hose spray gun buying guide for your UK tap

Hosepipe ban and a spray gun, and what still counts

Sources

Public UK sources from the digest for this comparison. amazon.co.uk listings were captured in October 2026.

  1. Environment Agency, dry weather in England, 2 to 8 October 2026 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  2. Ofwat, hosepipe bans and what they mean for you (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  3. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  4. WRAS IRN R060, double check valve on an outside tap (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  5. Hozelock, how to measure your tap (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  6. HoseFitFinder, GHT to 3/4 BSP (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  7. Hozelock, which spray pattern to use (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  8. RHS, garden watering methods (retrieved 17 October 2026)