Ames True Temper Reel Easy Auto Track Deck and Patio Hose 2384575
The Ames Reel Easy deck hose reel serves up some surprising new features–some good, some bad, depending on your needs. The reel’s sturdy all-poly box provides excellent, long-lasting protection for your hose during the winter months and can also serve as an outdoor tabletop in the summer. In addition, the innovative auto-track hose guide is a miracle invention: as you turn the hand crank, the hose feeds through a guide that moves along a riveted track, providing tangle-free, even winding. On the other hand, some might find the box design limiting: you can’t overwind the reel as you can with many other models, so you must be sure to use the right-size hose (the Reel Easy’s capacity is supposedly a lengthy 200 feet, but it varies according to hose thickness). Another design limitation is that the box is not transportable once the hose is attached–for that, get one of Reel Easy’s wheeled versions. Also, a built-in footrest at the bottom of the box fits only small feet at best (though it does provide some leverage when dispensing the hose), and the hand crank is back-strainingly low (about 1 foot off the ground at its lowest point), so you’ll need to prop the box atop something else. In terms of pull-out and put-away convenience, however, this is one of the best reels available to homeowners who use hose frequently.
