Best hose spray guns at a glance:
- Best Buy for performance: Homebase Premium Metal Spray Gun
- Best Buy for functionality: Spear & Jackson Kew Gardens Collection Multi Function Spray Gun
- Best Buy for sustainability: Gardena EcoLine Watering Sprayer
- Best Buy for aerated flow: Hozelock Multi Spray Pro
- Best Buy for removable filter: Gardena Comfort Multi Spray
- Best Buy for value: Draper 7 Pattern Aluminium Spray Gun
- Best Buy for budget: Wilko 8 Pattern Spray Gun
- Best Buy for lightweight: XHose 8 Speed Spray Nozzle
Jump to:
- How does a hose spray gun work?
- How should I chose a hose spray gun?
- Will I need any connectors?
- How much should I spend on a hose spray gun?
- Best Buy hose spray guns
- The best of the rest
- How we tested
How does a hose spray gun work?
How should I choose a hose spray gun?
Will I need any connectors?
How much should I spend on a hose gun?
Spray guns – Buyer’s Guide video
Best hose spray guns on test in 2022
Homebase Premium Metal Spray Gun
RRP: £15.95
Our rating: 5/5
Pros:
- Comfortable and light to hold
- Large, responsive lockable trigger
- Eight spray patterns
- Metal head
A BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award-winner for performance, this spray gun is very robust and features a metal head, so it’s built to last. One of the most comfortable spray guns to use on test, it feels sturdy to hold and has a generously-sized, lockable trigger with an ergonomic grip. We also like the design of the roll-lever to control flow and reduce water use, which is accessible and smooth to use. It has eight different spray patterns, including cone for delicate watering, centre for targeted cleaning, soaker to water the base of plants, full to fill watering cans quickly, shower for watering flower beds and pots, flat for gentle cleaning, jet for powerful cleaning and mist, which creates a fine cloud of mist for seedlings. In addition to this, the descriptions are written around the edge, so it’s quick and easy to choose the one you want. It’s also drip-free and comes with a two-year warranty.
Buy the Homebase Premium Metal Spray Gun from Homebase
Spear & Jackson Kew Gardens Collection Multi Function Spray Gun
RRP: £23.99
Our rating: 4.5/5
Pros
- Comfortable and light to hold
- Thumb switch
- Nine spray patterns
- Brass connector
Cons
- Black handle gets hot in the sun
With a whopping nine patterns, the Spear & Jackson Kew Gardens Collection Multi Function Spray Gun is a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy-winner for the best functionality. Our favourite of these patterns is the ‘angle’ pattern, which sprays water downwards at a 45° angle, making the gun much more comfortable to hold. Like the Draper 8 pattern gun, the shower function is powerful enough to reach the very back of flower beds and it has a sliding thumb catch, which can be moved with one hand to vary the water flow. It also means you don’t have to hold down a button if you’re watering for any length of time, which makes it one of the most comfortable guns to hold and use. It has a high-quality brass connector too, but bear in mind that the black handle gets hot in the sun.
Gardena EcoLine Watering Sprayer
RRP: £19.99
Our rating: 4.5/5
Pros
- Eco design made from recycled materials
- Frost and UV protection
- Lockable trigger
- Five-year warranty
Cons
- Only one spray option
- Small head
A BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award-winner for sustainability, this gun is made using at least 65% recycled household waste for the plastic parts and the stainless metal parts consists of more than 45% recycled material. It’s light and neatly designed, featuring an ergonomic handle, which means it’s comfortable to hold and use. It also has a lockable trigger, and a roll-lever at the back of the spray head, so you can adjust the flow whilst you’re watering. However, it only has one spray pattern, which is a gentle shower, so you’re limited to general watering jobs, but if you’re prepared to compromise on the spray pattern options, this is a great eco-friendly alternative to plastic spray guns. It also comes with integrated frost protection and a generous five-year warranty.
The Gardena EcoLine Basic Set is also available, which includes an adjustable jet nozzle as well as a tap connector, adapter, hose connector and water stop.
Hozelock Multi Spray Pro
Our rating: 4.5 out of 5
Pros:
- Very easy to use
- Feels robust and long lasting
- Has a water saving aerated flow and smooth adjustable flow
- Comes with a three year warranty
Cons:
- It’s expensive
- It starts to rub and is a little uncomfortable to use after a while
This BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy winner for aerated flow is sturdy and built to last. It comes with a water-saving aerated flow and the adjustable flow works well and efficiently. It’s a well-designed and thought out spray gun. The different spray patterns simply click into place along the dial and it feels solid and secure in the hand.
Read the full review: Hozelock Multi Spray Pro review
Gardena Comfort Multi Spray
Our rating: 4.5 out of 5
Pros:
- Comfortable and easy to use
- The trigger lock and adjustable flow can easily be used with one hand
- Has a gentle, water saving bubble spray
- Comes with frost protection in case its left outside through the winter
- Has a filter in the base of the handle that can be removed and cleaned
Cons:
- High price to pay for a plastic spray gun
This BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy winner for it’s removable filter. Easy and smooth to use, the large spray head has a good range of sprays and it comes with a long warranty. It has five spray patterns including a soft spray, a fast jet, a bubble spray, a fine mist and a flat spray, and all performed well with a strong jet of water. Although other spray guns have more spray patterns, these were enough to cover most jobs in the garden, from filling up cans, watering fragile seedlings and irrigating borders and pots.
Read the full review: Gardena Comfort Multi Spray review
Draper 7 Pattern Aluminium Spray Gun
Our rating: 4.3 out of 5
Pros:
- Comfortable and light to hold
- Has a durable brass connector
- Each spray has excellent pressure
- Comes with a lifetime warranty
Cons:
- The trigger lock needs two hands to engage
- The adjustable flow is fiddly and slow to change
This BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy winner is easy to use and has excellent pressure. There’s a good range of sprays for different situations and it feels durable and built to last. It has a simple dial that has the type of pattern written around the edge, and it clicks clearly into place with each twist. However the ring lock on the top of the handle that holds the trigger in place needs two hands to engage, and adjustable flow behind it is fiddly and stiff to twist up and down.
Read the full review: Draper 7 Pattern Aluminium Spray Gun review
Wilko 8 Pattern Spray Gun
RRP: £4.75
Our rating: 4.25
Pros
- Comfortable and light to hold
- Lockable trigger
- Eight spray patterns
- Low RRP
Cons
- All plastic
- Some spray patterns are the same
- Need two hands for the trigger
The Wilko 8 Pattern Spray Gun is aBBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy-winner for the best budget hose spray gun. It’s less than half the price of most of the guns on this list. Though it has eight different spray patterns, the stand-out pattern is the shower setting, which creates a gentle, soft shower of water that’s great for watering flower beds and borders. It’s easy to move between the spray patterns, but some of them are very similar – the cone and mist functions are almost identical, and the stream and full functions are also very similar. Made from plastic, it’s lightweight and comfortable to hold, but you need two hands to push down the lockable trigger.
Buy the Wilko 8 Pattern Spray Gun from Wilko
XHose 8 Speed Spray Nozzle
Our rating: 4 out of 5
Pros:
- Simple, light and comfortable to hold
- Has 8 spray patterns
- Has good pressure
Cons:
- Needs two hands to lock the trigger which is engaged by a ring on the top
- Doesn’t feel very durable thanks to the light plastic finish
- No adjustable flow option
This BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy winner is light and comfortable. Its eight spray patterns are easy to change and it has no leaks and comes with a one-year warranty. It’s a simple spray gun that has eight different patterns – shower, soaker, mist, angle, full, cone, flat and centre – so it covers all gardening and household needs. The trigger lock is a ring on the top of the handle and needs two hands to flick into place, which is not ideal, and the adjustable flow is a fiddly little switch that takes ages to wind up or down, making it fairly ineffectual. For general spraying and watering, though, this is an easy-to-use spray gun for less than a tenner.
Read the full review: XHose 8 Speed Spray Nozzle review
The best of the rest
Although some models didn’t quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, they still have great features that make them worth recommending. Browse our pick of the best of the rest on test.
Flopro Softflo Advanced Gun
RRP: £19.99
Our rating: 4/5
Pros:
- Lightweight
- Mixes air and water for extra-soft, water-saving flow
- Useful hook for hanging
Cons:
- Handle rubs on hands uncomfortably
- Awkward to reach flow lever with smaller hands
- Dribbles when using some spray patterns
The Flopro Softflo Advanced Gun has four functions –a container-watering shower, gentle enough for delicate plants, a car-washing setting, ideal for watering borders, a softer, aerated bubble-flow and a jet for filling watering cans, even cleaning. The jet is very strong, so while it can’t match a pressure washer, it got some dirt up off paving slabs. The best feature is the bubble flow, which mixes air and water so it’s better for the environment, reduces your water bill and is softer on plants. We love the roll-lever thumb switch, too, which allows you to further control the amount of water use. This spray gun is lightweight, but the ridges on the handle rub on hands uncomfortably, and although the hook is useful, it gets in the way when you’re watering. We also found it inconvenient that the functions are labelled with unclear diagrams rather than words, and it drips, so it wastes water. Other guns, like the Wilko 8 pattern and Spear and Jackson 9 pattern also have more functions. It comes with a one-year warranty.
Hozelock Multi Spray Soft Touch
RRP: £24.49
Our rating: 4/5
Pros:
- Lockable trigger
- Five spray patterns
- Adjustable-flow trigger
- Soft-touch grip
Cons:
- Dribbles whilst using
- Made from plastic
This spray gun is ideal if you have mobility issues thanks to a soft-touch grip and lockable trigger, which make it easy to squeeze and comfortable if you’re watering a large area. However, it’s made entirely from plastic and feels a bit flimsy compared to the more robust Wilko 8 Pattern and Flopro Softflo Advanced Gun, which are also plastic. We like the simplicity of the roll-lever flow control, which you can easily reach with your thumb while using the spray gun, and it features five spray patterns. However, it did dribble on test, but comes with a one-year warranty should it need to be replaced.
Buy the Hozelock Multi Spray Soft Touch from Argos
Draper 8 Pattern Spray Gun
RRP: £11.50
Our rating: 3.75/5
Pros
- Eight spray patterns
- Brass connector
- Low RRP
Cons
- Stiff to move between different spray patterns
- Heavy
- Black handle gets hot in the sun
This gun offers eight different spray patterns, from gentle mist to jet. The best of these sprays is the mist, which makes tiny droplets that are perfect for gently watering cuttings and seedlings and keeping tropical plants humid. We also love the shower pattern, which, like the Spear & Jackson Kew Gardens Collection Multi Function Spray Gun, is powerful enough to reach the back of flower beds. It features a high-quality brass connector, which feels smooth to connect and the thumb-switch works well. It means this gun can be used with one hand so you can choose exactly how strong you want the flow. It’s also great value with a relatively low RRP of £11.50. It was initially stiff to move between the different spray patterns, but this eased up with use and while the ergonomic grip is a nice idea it can be tricky to adjust your grip if needed. The brass connector means it’s quite heavy, and the black handle gets hot in the sun.
Buy the Draper 8 Pattern Spray Gun from Tool Stop and FFX
Claber Multijet Pistol
Our rating: 3 out of 5
Pros:
- Good trigger switch
- Easy adjustable flow
- Two-year warranty
Cons:
- Plastic and chunky in the hand
- Hard to tell the difference between the four sprays
- Slow and stiff to change spray patterns
- Expensive for what you get
This gun is simple, with just four spray patterns. It’s expensive for what you get. The trigger lock is easy to click on and off and the adjustable flow is accurate and easy to change, although you do need to use another hand. There are four different spray patterns – shower, concentrated, fan and mist and these are adjusted by rotating the whole head. In reality this is stiff and slow to turn and it is difficult to tell the difference between the four separate sprays. You also need to scroll back to the beginning to find each one.
Read the full review: Claber Multijet Pistol review
How we tested hose spray guns
We tested a range of different hose spray guns, offering a variety of sprays. Each gun was unpacked, attached to a hose and then used to water different plants in a number of locations,including plants in pots and containers as well as borders. They were assessed according to the following criteria with equal marks attributed to each:
- Ease of use. Looked at how comfortable the gun was to hold, the position of the trigger lock and adjustable flow and how easy it was to switch between sprays.
- Performance. Examined the number of spray patterns and the difference between the jets. We also considered the power and reach of spray, the consistency of water flow and whether there were any leaks, trickles or drips.
- Eco considerations. Assessed the hose spray gun according to any eco plus points, including how leak proof it was, could you control the water pressure, did it have an aerated flow, was it made from any recycled materials and would it last.
- Value for money. Considered all of the above as well as the quality of the design and materials, the length of warranty and the price.
For more information on our testing process see How we review.
This review was last updated in July 2022. . We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.
