Best metal hose spray gun UK: lock or cheaper pick
Updated: 21 October 2026
You are at the outside tap with a split plastic nozzle, choosing the best metal hose spray gun for a UK hosepipe that still runs. Onarway is the top pick if you want the highest score, a rear thumb knob, and an integrated lock. Draper is the best value if about £12.49 and thousands of reviews matter more than a two-point gap. Prices and stars are from ten amazon.co.uk listings kept on 19 October 2026, not a lab test. Peter F. set this shortlist from those listings. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The wider set is the [metal garden hose spray gun comparison](/hub/painting-supplies/metal-garden-hose-spray-gun).
You are at the outside tap with a split plastic nozzle, choosing the best metal hose spray gun for a UK hosepipe that still runs.
You are at the outside tap with a split plastic nozzle, choosing the best metal hose spray gun for a UK hosepipe that still runs. Onarway is the top pick if you want the highest score, a rear thumb knob, and an integrated lock. Draper is the best value if about £12.49 and thousands of reviews matter more than a two-point gap. Prices and stars are from ten amazon.co.uk listings kept on 19 October 2026, not a lab test. Peter F. set this shortlist from those listings. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The wider set is the metal garden hose spray gun comparison.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Lock | Patterns | Inlet | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Onarway Onarway metal spray gun | Yes, integrated | 10; mist, shower, flat and jet named | 1/2 inch quick-connect | 8.5 | about £15.74 | View offer |
| Alternative |  YMTEEDIO YMTEEDIO 8-pattern gun | Yes, in reviews | 8, from mist to jet | 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch BSPP | 8.2 | about £16.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Draper Draper 7-pattern gun | Reviews mention a pressure lock clip | 7, names not listed | 1/2 inch barb in the details | 8.3 | about £12.49 | View offer |
On this page
What best means on this page
Best on this page means the highest score under one rule, on the ten metal guns kept from amazon.co.uk. Stars are multiplied by 15, halves rounded up, then a review-count point is added, then three points when the body is metal or alloy and the listing has at least 100 reviews. Onarway, at 4.7 from 262 reviews, lands on 85. Draper, at 4.3 from 6,328 reviews, lands on 83. The star gap outweighs the larger sample.
Gardeners' World, in a 2026 watering review, treated a heavy Hozelock Ultramax as its durability pick and scored a Draper 7 Pattern Aluminium at 4.3. Onarway is not in that test. A quoted price of about £11.15 is not the about £12.49 listing scored here.
Onarway, if you want the lock and the knob
Onarway suits you when you water a long border and you want the flow on a rear thumb knob, with a lock so the squeeze does not last the whole bed. On 19 October 2026 the amazon.co.uk listing was about £15.74, rated 4.7 from 262 reviews. The body is zinc alloy, with rubber seals, brass in the fitting, and 10 patterns on the head. You pay a little over £3 more than the Draper, for a much smaller set of reviews.
The orange plastic release tabs are the limit. Reviews call them fiddly. Leave that lock on while you shift an eight-metre hose and the border floods, because a locked trigger is an open tap. If those tabs already sound like a fight, Onarway is the wrong first buy even though it leads the score.
Draper, if you want the cheaper next score
Draper is the best value when about £12.49 on 19 October 2026 and 6,328 reviews at 4.3 stars matter more than Onarway's two-point lead. The listing is aluminium with a brass fitting and seven patterns, and it states a 7 bar maximum. Read 7 bar as the maker's ceiling. Ofwat's floor is 0.7 bar in the communication pipe, not at the nozzle. One reviewer reports a plastic clip that snapped, and another a leak after about 13 months.
Gardeners' World's 2026 table records a lifetime warranty on a Draper 7 Pattern Aluminium. The listing scored here does not show that warranty, so this page does not add one. In their test the trigger lock needed two hands. A high review count still does not open every connector.
Who should skip both
Skip Onarway and Draper together when the hose is a Hozelock-style water-stop. FASBET reviews, on a listing that prints FNPT, and Ibergrif reviews already include guns that never open it. A score of 85 does not change the inlet. Match the connector on the hose spray gun fittings page.
YMTEEDIO, at about £16.99 with 4.5 from 888 reviews and a score of 82, is the near miss if you want more reviews than Onarway. RAINPOINT, the 1020-Y at about £21.99 with 4.5 from 617 reviews, is the thumb gun if you refuse a sustained squeeze. Do not buy one of these to wash a car during a ban: a spray gun counts as hosepipe use. Further checks are on the metal garden hose spray gun buying guide. The weight question is on metal versus plastic hose spray gun.
Common questions
What is the best metal hose spray gun in this comparison?
Onarway is the top pick, with a score of 85 on the ten amazon.co.uk listings from 19 October 2026. It was about £15.74, rated 4.7 from 262 reviews, with a zinc-alloy body, a rear thumb knob, and an integrated lock. That score uses stars and review counts. It is not a magazine test.
Who should buy the Draper instead?
Buy the Draper when you want the best value at the next score down. On 19 October 2026 it was about £12.49, rated 4.3 from 6,328 reviews, in aluminium with a brass fitting and seven patterns. It scores 83, two points behind Onarway. Take it when price and review history matter more than the thumb knob.
Is Onarway the winner of a UK magazine test?
Onarway leads this page on a listing score of 85. The magazine tests checked here do not include it. Gardeners' World in 2026 named a heavy Hozelock Ultramax for durability. Auto Express in 2026 and Carbuyer's 2020 archive wrote about a Draper. Their prices belong to those tests, not to the about £12.49 listing scored here.
Does the Draper have a lock?
Gardeners' World, on a Draper 7 Pattern Aluminium in 2026, found a trigger lock that needed two hands. Auto Express described a flip-over wire lock. The about £12.49 listing does not show that lifetime warranty. If one hand must hold the hose, Onarway's integrated lock is the clearer match.
Is a 4.7 from 262 reviews stronger than a 4.3 from 6,328?
On this rule the 4.7 scores higher, and the 6,328 is the larger sample. Stars times 15, with halves rounded up, plus a review-count point, plus three points for a metal body with at least 100 reviews, gives Onarway 85 and Draper 83. The Draper pile is the clearer record of leaks and snapped clips.
What if your hose is a Hozelock water-stop?
A Hozelock-style water-stop stays shut until the male spigot opens the valve. Neither Onarway nor Draper is a sound first buy until that inlet matches. FASBET, whose listing prints FNPT, and Ibergrif already dsaved reviews where the water-stop does not open. UK hosepipes are commonly 3/4 inch BSP.
Can you use the best gun to wash a car during a ban?
Do not buy Onarway, Draper, or any gun here to wash a car during a hosepipe ban. On 20 October 2026 Water UK still listed temporary use bans, including at Thames Water. A spray gun counts as hosepipe use. Exemptions differ by company, so check your supplier.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for this set on 19 October 2026.
- Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Flood and Water Management Act 2010, section 36 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Water UK, hosepipe bans (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Thames Water, temporary use ban (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Water Regs UK, hose union taps (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- WaterSafe, hosepipe backflow (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Ofwat, water pressure (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 20 October 2026)