Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm fairly happy with this hose reel. I have a heavy 100' "contractor-grade" hose from one of the big-box stores and it fits easily. Winding is not hard but it does take a bit of elbow grease, especially for longer hoses. I have a few tips if you decide to buy it: 1. When mine arrived, one of the plastic hinges on the cover had become separated and the cover was flapping around. I noticed that there was a white plastic pin holding one side in, but this was missing on the other side. I called customer service... they must get this call a lot. The woman told me that the current design only uses a single pin, and if you force the other hinge back together, the pressure will hold it tight. Still she offered to send me out a second pin at no charge, just for peace of mind. I was happy with the response. 2. As some other reviewers have said, if you use it on a hard surface and are unable to stake or otherwise attach it, it will slide around as you're playing out the hose. The book recommends using masonry screws to attach it but I don't feel like drilling into my driveway. Just be ready for it to travel and keep an eye on the leader hose. One of the other reviews mentioned that you can lock the base so it doesn't swivel and this can help with positioning, but I haven't found any way to do this. 3. The washer that comes with the leader hose is not very good and mine dripped no matter how much I tightened it. I replaced the washer with a thicker rubber washer I had from an old hose and added a bit of teflon tape and now it's fine. I don't recommend disconnecting the leader hose except to bring the whole thing inside at the end of the season. If you want to use your spigot for other things, get a Y-style splitter so the leader hose can always be connected. 4. When rolling the hose for the first time, I recommend laying the hose out completely straight on the ground first and getting all of the kinks out. If the hose has no kinks when you start then it will roll without kinks. If you let the hose twist and kink as you're rolling it, then it will roll this way and your water pressure will be greatly reduced if there's a hidden kink somewhere on the roll. 5. When re-rolling the hose after use, make sure the end is open. If you have a sprayer attachment on your hose, either remove it or lock it in the open position. The hose will compress while rolling, forcing out a lot of the residual water, and this water needs someplace to go! Given that some of the other hose reels are three or four times the price, I don't regret this purchase at all; just remember that a few extra steps on your part will get it working at its best.