HFZG510YW - Flexzilla Garden Lead-in Hose

I have a large back yard, a pool and a stationary hose reel bolted to the house that holds around 250 feet of hose (depending on the hose). During the summer especially, we use this hose a lot. The reel had 200 feet of pretty good quality, heavy duty residential hose on it. That hose lasted over 20 years but was starting to show it's age and had been repaired several times. What's more, my wife hated the stuff. Her primary complaint was how heavy it was. She really struggled to drag it around the yard or wind it back on the reel. So it was time to replace it. My criteria: brass fittings, reasonably heavy duty and durable, decent price. Her criteria, lighter! So I searched the reviews and looked at damn near everything amazon sells and picked this stuff. I ended up buying two 50 foot hoses and one 100 foot hose. So, here's what I think. The hose ends are heavy duty brass and well crimped. The little bits of plastic sleeve on each end are just branding and don't provide any other useful purpose. This isn't a criticism, just an observation. I cut them off. As others have mentioned, the female fittings are crimped a little tight. This makes it somewhat difficult to tighten them without twisting the hose. I put a little white lithium grease on mine and held the things in my hand - twisting back and forth until they lubed up and loosened up. No harm, no foul, I'd rather a little tight than loose. Once that was done, I connected all the sections and stretched the whole thing out in the yard. I connected one end to the faucet (hose reel), slapped a nozzle on the other end and turned on the water. It was a warm summer day, I let the hose fill with water and then went down the entire 200 foot length untwisting and straightening it all out. Then I left it bake in the sun for a couple hours under pressure. After that I turned off the water, and started inspecting the hose. I have about 80lbs of water pressure, left under pressure and cooking in the sun, the hose definitely swelled a little diameter wise, but no bulges or anything untoward. Connections all looked good, no leaks or malfunctions. So, I turned off the water and took off the nozzle and started winding it up on the reel. Now right away I could tell that this stuff was more pliable and significantly lighter then the hose it replaced. I carefully spooled it up on the reel and threaded a brass shutoff and brass quick connector on the end. That was the middle of June, 2023. It's now December 2023. The verdict. I like the stuff, and more importantly, so does my wife. From my perspective, I like the color, it's easy to see and find in the grass, I don't trip over it or worry about not seeing it before I run over it while cutting the grass (you can laugh, but that accounted for one of the previous "repairs" I mentioned earlier). Now, when you pull hose off a reel, it tends to come off pretty straight, which automatically alleviates a bunch of twisting and kinking issues. Still, as you drag this stuff around the yard it keeps its shape pretty well and doesn't twist up or kink. It's flexible and yet "stiff" enough to drag around corners without issue. The hose itself has definitely faded a little colorwise, the end that gets the most use is less orange then the hose that spends most of its time wrapped on the reel, but not unduly so. After a summer of use, I'd have to say it's held up well, without any signs of terminal wear and tear. What does my wife think? She loves the stuff. It's much easier for her to use and wind back up. She really is the primary user, she does 90% of the pool "stuff", plant tending, gardening and watering. If she likes it, I'm good. So, we'll see, in a couple more years, if this hose doesn't hold up, I'll come back and let you know. For now I'd have to say, if you need a new hose, try this stuff.

5 stars without hesitation. This Flexzilla Garden Hose 5/8 in. x 100 ft. is legitimately one of the best hoses I’ve used. It’s actually flexible like advertised, doesn’t fight you every time you move it around, and it feels way more durable than the cheap stiff hoses from big box stores. I honestly don’t understand a lot of the complaints, mine has held up great, doesn’t kink nearly as bad as others I’ve owned, and is super easy to coil up. Solid hose.

Best hose I've ever owned. It's light weight and easy to pull around to water. And a pretty color. Doesn't kink all the time like a cheap Walmart hose

I bought this hose 2 months ago and really like how light it is and easy to pull around the yard. However, I am having a problem with it kinking all of the time. It is really frustrating to have to go back and straighten it out when I am watering.

great hose works well for what i need it for, its super easy to put together and easy to install. its very flexible which is great and it doesnt kink up when being used

Not as flexible as the stainless coil-armored ones but those eventually rupture at the fitting. These ones are full flow hoses and fittings. Those armored ones are 1/2” dia with restrictive fittings and are def not full flow. These feel sturdy but are somewhat heavy. My Flexzilla air hoses led me to think these might be as light and flexible but they are not. I use garden hoses to connect a 12v pump to a whole house filter and then to a sprayer to give me pressurized rainwater at the sink. I use that hose many times a day and they often rupture at the end fitting. These ones are not a good substitute because they’re quite stiff in those close quarters, and they’re heavy. Outdoors these might be great - I’ve never tried. I’m giving them 5 stars for quality of construction even though they don’t meet my albeit weird need.

TL, DNR ; PVC hose from Taiwan with a high level of toxic phthalates ; invaded by ineradicable sticky black mold in a few months ; the aluminum fitting can fuse to brass spigots by corrosion ; an unfriendly warranty, utterly distrustful of their customers. UPDATE. By early 2026 none of the health risks associated with this hose have decreased and remain a matter of high concern, particularly under the light of medical studies of phthalate toxicity. __ These are garden hoses produced by a company in Taiwan, which was listed in the past as a buyer of recycled plastic scrap. They are sourced by the marketer Weems Industries Inc. (IA), also doing business as Legacy Manufacturing Co., and sold under its Flexzilla brand. MATERIAL. The hyped "hybrid polymer" of Flexzilla hoses is just a plasticized polyvinyl chloride [PVC] compound. The hose consists of three layers. As described below, the analysis of a Flexzilla hose by a third-party professional lab discovered a high concentration of phthalate esters in all layers. Phthalates are toxic chemical additives widely used to make PVC flexible, and the lab finding indicates large amounts of PVC, even in the innermost layer touted as safe for water drinking. WATER SAFETY. In general, a PVC hose is much more likely to contain toxic contaminants (such as heavy metals, flame retardants, and phthalates) than a non-PVC hose, in particular when the PVC were recycled, and this is relevant to water safety. I did not find in the Legacy nor the Flexzilla website verifiable evidence supporting the PR pitch that the hoses are safe for water drinking. But in response to a 2017 customer query about water potability on the old Customer Q&A section --now later replaced by the 'ask Rufus' A-- Legacy claimed "the hose meets or exceeds the standards set by the National Sanitation Foundation" (amzn.to/2LCiKT6), which is a testing and certifying group that changed its name to NSF International more than 30 years ago. Nonetheless, at the time of this review, the NSF website does not list Legacy, Weems, or Flexzilla among those with NSF-certified products. Since the Legacy's claim could have meant testing by another party for conformance to water health-effect standards, I further searched the Web for NSF/ANSI test reports of Flexzilla hoses. I did not find any. But what I found was the _Garden Hose Study 2016_ from the Ecology Center (MI), a 55-year-old independent organization that tested 200+ hoses, including a 50-ft 5/8" Flexzilla garden hose whose material is listed just as "PVC". Multiple phthalates were detected in all layers of the hose, so --contrary to Legacy's touts of safety-- the hose was rated "HIGH" for phthalates, and received the negative evaluation of a "high overall level of concern" (see my figure with such test results). TOXICITY. Phthalates are additives for softening the PVC's vinyl and making it flexible. They are soluble in water and not bound to the vinyl, so they can easily leach into the water or the surface of a PVC hose, quite particularly if the hose were heated up by the sun. Phthalates can break down and enter the body via contact with the skin, along with ingestion or inhalation, where they act as estrogen-like anti-androgens. Exposure to them has been linked to feminizing effects on males by acting as endocrine disruptors, being able to reduce testosterone levels and impact hormone-sensitive brain development. Medical research has linked phthalate exposure to reproductive problems (PMID: 32961939), breast cancers (PMID: 30995175), and cardiovascular disease (PMID: 37269565). In fact, a global study of April 2025 estimated that about 350K heart-disease deaths were caused in 2018 alone by one phthalate still in use for tubing and other flexible plastics, even though it has been reported to cause chronic inflammation of arteries including those in the heart. These and others phthalates are commonly present in numerous other products. Despite this, only seven of the many industrially produced phthalates are restricted in the US (15 US Code §2057c), but just in products for children under 3 years of age, and toys for under 12. Be aware the current NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 standard does consider phthalates. This standard's purpose is to ensure that products and materials in contact with drinking water do not leach harmful contaminants into the water at unsafe levels, including phthalates. Further, all products sold in California containing any of a number of phthalates must display the Prop. 65 Warning: "this product contains one or more chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm", and Health & Safety Code notices of violation have been publicly filed against Legacy or Weems, or both, about phthalates in their products in that state. In spite of a clear familiarity with Prop. 65, Legacy did not disclose the warning on its Amazon webpages over several years. Further, Its reaction to queries about phthalates posted on the old Customer Q&A ranged from simply ignoring them, like a 2014 query (amzn.to/3cbugD9), to answers containing false claims that were never corrected, despite ample opportunity to do so, like its 2017 reply claiming the Flexzilla hose was "phathalate [sic] free" (amzn.to/2D5xQjT). Finally, perhaps relenting to criticism of non-transparent practices, in 2021 Legacy disclosed the Prop. 65 warning as a "Legal Disclaimer" above the Consumer Reviews section of this webpage. But even that was sloppily done -- in 6/2021, the warning did not appear if the 100-ft hose were selected; in 7/2022, it did not appear for the 50-ft, 75-ft, and 100-ft hoses; and in 1/2023, it again disappeared for the 100-ft hose. All diameter and length models of Legacy hoses deserve the toxicity warning. MOLD. Legacy claims the hose's outer layer "resists [...] mold". Nonetheless, about 4 months after I attached the new hose to a reel (so it was kept dry off the grass or any other wet surface), it began developing black mold, first only on its surface but later deeper. One of my attached pictures (taken after rubbing the hose with a dry paper towel to remove dirt) shows the initial surface mold, while its inset shows the same hose at the time it was installed. Not long after that, handling the black-moldy hose left sticky dark stains on my hand. This fungal invasion is neither an isolated nor a rare case, as evidenced by the large number of reviews here complaining about it (or as a "sticky goo" when touched). Mold-invaded objects are a potential health risk, and mold development in the hose's inner surface is a _major_ water safety risk. Black mold can produce highly potent mycotoxins, trichothecenes, which can reach harmful levels depending on fungal strain and growing conditions, and it can also release millions of tiny spores causing lung, ocular, and skin reactions in sensitized persons. Plasticized PVC is susceptible to fungal attack since the additives serve as a nitrogen or carbon source. The hose needs to be flushed thoroughly to wash away the mold flecks in the standing water inside. With a melamine sponge, I could remove some mold on the surface but not deeper in the tube's wall or inside -- surface cleaning is but a temporary cosmetic fix: the mold returned even after I removed the hose from the spigot and kept it in the garage. This is shown in my third photo, taken some months after having removed the moldy hose (which was hung in position for the sake of taking the picture). I contacted Legacy and spoke over the phone with a Tech Support agent, who told me, with the polite laconism recommended for legal cross-examinations, that the company does not deal with the mold invasion. After pressing the issue of health risks for my children, I was told "no mold was found in the inside of a moldy hose" Legacy claims to have cut open. Evidence of such a dissection or its results are not publicly available. In contrast, reviews here show the mold can indeed develop inside the hose. My opinion is that the company could hardly be more apathetic in relation to the potential health risk of the hoses it sells. WARRANTY. Its terms are customer-unfriendly. A defective hose would be replaced if you: [1] fill a form online ; [2] cut off both ends of the hose ; [3] cut off its defective part ; [4] cutoff the print band "Flexzilla by Legacy 5/8" ID Type 150 PSI W" on the hose, along with the 4-digit number ; and [5] mail the cut pieces to Legacy at your expense, along with [6] the proof of purchase and return mailing instructions. The hose has aluminum fittings, but no warranty coverage is provided for the highly likely possibility of the fitting _fusing_ to the brass thread of typical US house spigots due to galvanic corrosion. According to the Legacy's Tech Support, but not affirmed by judicial opinion, the mold development is not covered by the warranty -- tough luck for customers who bought hoses that became Moldy Black, a color quite unlikely to be trademarked by Weems anytime soon. It is censurable that Legacy imitates the three legendary Japanese monkeys, albeit changing the proverb to SEE NO MOLD, HEAR NO MOLD, SPEAK NO MOLD, and it is fair to conclude Legacy considers the development of mold too frequent to be covered by its unfriendly, penny-pinching warranty. ~~

This is the 2nd one I've ordered and they are awesome. Very flexible, easy to use and easy to roll back up. Attractive too.

Ok. The hose does kink initially, as others noted, but once it’s laid out it seems to relax. Doesn’t have the easy connection of the traditional green Flexzillas either. The black sleeves at the end serve little purpose that I can see, and are flimsy vinyl. The fittings are, as someone else noted, cheap plastic, not brass. Will keep it, but will not buy again to replace other hoses. (Yes, I have many hoses. I am the hose queen.)

Correspond à la description et semble robuste: à voir avec le temps. Le pas de vis est peut-être un peu difficile pour tomber correctement avec le robinet: j’ai connu des systèmes plus aisé à viser.

Excelente manguera. Flexible y de muy buena calidad. La uso para conectarla a mi hidrolavadora y me es muy útil

No swivel on the ends, to screw on you must turn the entire hose and when I got it there were 2 NASTY kinks in the hose, I hope over time with pressure inside the hose it will uncrimp itself.

I use this hose for general purpose stuff around my house. I became aware of Legacy / Flexzilla products when I was recommended to buy one of their air hoses for roofing. After being impressed with the performance of that hose and being frustrated with my kinky, non-coil-able current hose I decided to upgrade to this. Like the air hose the water hose performed the same. Its light, its strong, its easy to coil. Yeah, it will kink of course if there are loops in the hose. If it does kink, however, it will not be a permanent crease in the material and it won't have a "memory" of that kink occurring. When hose (and rope) products are made they are coiled at the factory and stored that way for a while. Because of this the side of the hose around the outer edges becomes slightly stretched (its a larger radius on the outside than the inside / more distance to cover). This means that when you recoil this kind of product (not exclusive to Legacy) you need to coil to that natural state and it will be obvious when you begin to coil as it will naturally want to go a certain way. Work with it, not against it. You need to turn the hose (or rope, or whatever) as you are coiling it as well. Practice, you'll figure it out as the hose will guide you on how it wants to lay. I went into depth on that because I think that might be a cause for some of the negative reviews but its really a user problem and not the hose. I've only used it for a few weeks but I'm pleased with its flexibility, durability and just general overall impression. Zero regrets - it was worth every penny. My neighbor has commented on it as well.