Pocket Hose Silver Bullet Review

The Pocket Hose Silver Bullet is one of the best expandable hoses we tested. It has great expansion capabilities, shrinks down to size well, and is durable enough to withstand more than a little wear and tear from the rigors of yard work. We felt like the included nozzle, while a nice touch, could have been more thoughtfully designed. However, adding on an aftermarket nozzle easily solves that issue. Many expandable hoses aren't available in the same length options as standard garden hoses, and the Pocket Hose is no exception, though you'll likely find a length that meets your needs. Overall, the Pocket Hose is the expandable hose that we'd recommend to most people for most situations.

Performance Comparison

Convenience

As a rule of thumb, most expandable hoses are convenient and easy to use, and the Pocket Hose is one of the most impressive in this category. When evaluating convenience, we considered how easily the hoses shrink back to their original size and how that impacts storage, as well as how flexible and maneuverable it is. The Pocket Hose excelled on both accounts. We also assessed how easily the hose connects to spigots and nozzles.

The Pocket Hose expands on its own with water pressure. At its baseline state, we measured the hose to be 17.1 feet long. After connecting it to a spigot and pressurizing it with water, the hose expands to 52.1 feet when stretched straight, marking an almost 300% expansion rate. Once the hose is completely empty of water, it shrinks or retracts back to its original size.

Even when pressurized and full of water, the Pocket Hose remains flexible and maneuverable. The hose becomes semi-rigid and holds its shape well, but doesn't become stiff or catch on yard obstacles that prevent movement. At 1.8 pounds, or 0.04 pounds per foot, the Pocket Hose was about average in our weight per foot of hose measurement.

Screwing on the Pocket Hose to a spigot or a nozzle is relatively easy, but nothing fantastic. It has aluminum round hex connectors that are easy enough to hand-tighten.

Performance

A hose might be easy to use, but if it doesn't perform the way you need it to, it won't be of much value. To assess performance, we checked for leaks, flat spots, and kinking, as well as the spray performance of the hose or nozzle, if included. The Pocket Hose performs moderately well, but we were not impressed by the included nozzle.

During our testing, we noticed no leaks from the Pocket Hose. Connections stayed snug and secure, even when the hose was left on and pressurized for extended periods. It also actively resists kinking; owing to the pressurization effect that occurs, kinks tend to snap right out if they accidentally twist into the hose. Because the hose is naturally flat, no flat spots persisted in the hose even after being crushed by a car tire.

The Pocket Hose comes with an included nozzle, a must-have feature to use the hose given it requires pressurization to work. Without a nozzle or valve to retain water, expansion hoses won't expand. The included nozzle on the Pocket Hose is a twist-style nozzle; spinning it will enable you to expand the water spray from blocked to a wide-angle spray, all the way to a fine jet stream. The variance between the wide angle and jet was impressive. However, the nozzle we tested broke after our very first use, leaving us unable to stop the flow of water. To continue testing, we used a standard nozzle during all our other tests and had no issues with water pressure or volume.

Construction Quality

We tested these hoses over a period of several months, using them to water plants on our patio, wash cars, and more. To assess construction quality, we looked for signs of wear and tear from day-to-day uses, prolonged exposure to heat and sun, and noteworthy user reviews. Overall, the Pocket Hose was slightly below average in this metric, though still perfectly adequate for normal usage.

The most significant detriment to the Pocket Hose's construction quality score was the nozzle that broke during our very first use of the hose. As far as the hose itself goes, we experienced and noted no issues. The sheath is abrasion-resistant, and we felt the connectors would withstand bumps and bangs from being stored in a garage or shed.

Variety of Options

Expandable hoses aren't frequently available in a large variety of options, mostly due to the specialized nature of their use. The Pocket Hose can be found in a few different sizes, though, and is likely suitable to meet most needs.

There are three length choices for the Pocket Hose: a 25, 50, and 100-foot option. All lengths are available in the standard ¾ inch diameter. The Pocket Hose is one of the few expandable hoses that doesn't include a valve, although it does come with a twist-style nozzle.

Should You Buy the Pocket Hose Silver Bullet?

If you're looking for an expandable hose, the Pocket Hose is one of the best we tested. It's ideal for jobs around the house that require more than a watering can but don't require a heavy-duty rubber hose. The Pocket Hose shrinks and coils easily and is flexible enough to twist and wind through obstacles on your patio or garden. If its convenience and performance aren't enough to attract you, the Pocket Hose is also one of the most economically priced hoses in our lineup.

What Other Expandable Hoses Should You Consider?

Most of the expandable hoses in our selection of the best expandable hoses performed quite similarly. The spread from our highest-scoring to lowest-scoring model — excluding one outliner — is only 13 points. Rest assured that if the features or even color choices of one model versus another are more attractive to you, we're confident you'll get adequate performance. An upgraded expansion hose pick is the Flexi Hose. This model performed on par with the Pocket Hose, but we feel it has more durable materials. This is our recommended option for boat, RV, or home users who don't mind paying a little more for quality materials. Another expansion hose with a little more variety in length options is the AmazingForLess Expandable, available in five different length options and includes a great nozzle with seven spray modes. One last expansion consideration is the Flex-Able Xtreme. This hose has some of the best spray performance out of all the expansion-style hoses we tested.