Best garden hose spray guns in 2024

Best hose spray guns at a glance:

• Best spray gun for performance: Homebase Premium Metal Spray Gun
• Best spray gun for features: Spear & Jackson Kew Gardens Collection Multi Function Spray Gun
• Best spray gun for sustainability 2024: Gardena EcoLine Watering Sprayer
• Best eco spray gun 2019: Hozelock Multi Spray Pro
• Best premium spray gun: Gardena Comfort Multi Spray
• Best mid-range spray gun: Draper 7 Pattern Aluminium Spray Gun
• Best budget spray gun: XHose 8 Speed Spray Nozzle

Jump to:

• Best hose spray guns
• The best of the rest
• How does a hose spray gun work?
• Will I need any connectors?
• How we tested

In every review we award outstanding products our coveted Best Buy award. To see these and the others we recommend, browse our pick of the best hose spray guns, below.

Best hose spray guns

Homebase Premium Metal Spray Gun

RRP: £15.95

Our rating: 5/5

• Buy now from Homebase (£15.95).

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 features. 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: £21.99

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, plus it comes in totally cardboard packaging printed with water-based ink, so it can safely go on your compost heap or in the recycling. It’s also both frost and UV resistant so it won’t degrade if it’s left out outside and it’s durable and long lasting, which also help its sustainability credentials. 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, there’s no choice of sprays. Unlike others, which offer the choice of sprays, like jet, mist and pulse, you just have the one and for the price - of over £20 we would have liked more. This is a reasonably expensive spray gun and although it comes with a 5 year warranty, once registered, you’re really paying for the eco qualities of this gun. It performs well but it’s limited, so if you’re after more spray options this isn’t the gun for you.
But, if all you need is a gun to water pots and borders and sustainability is important to you then this is a great green option.

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

RRP: £29.99

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

Awarded a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy doe best eco sprayer this spray gun 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

RRP: £22.90

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 it's 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

A BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy winner for best premium spray gun this is easy and smooth to use,has a large spray head with a good range of sprays and 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 perform well with a strong jet of water. Although other spray guns have more spray patterns, these are 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

RRP: £14.99

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

Solid and well-made with quality materials such as a brass connector, this easy to use spray gun has seven spray patterns including fine mist, jet, shower, fan, cone, soaker and mist, which are adjusted by a simple dial that has the type of pattern written around the edge and clicks clearly into place with each twist. It feels comfortable and light in the hand with a trigger that's operated with the palm rather than the fingers and has a soft, textured rubber grip on the handle. However, the ring lock on the top of the handle that holds the trigger in place needs two hands to engage and the adjustable flow behind it is fiddly and stiff to twist up and down. But with the choice of seven spray patterns and excellent pressure combined with quality materials, this is great value for money. We awarded it a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy for the best mid-range spray gun.

XHose 8 Speed Spray Nozzle

RRP: £16.00

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 for best budget spray gun is light and comfortable. It's a simple spray gun with eight, easy to change patterns – shower, soaker, mist, angle, full, cone, flat and centre – so it covers all gardening and household needs and there are no leaks. 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. It comes with a one-year warranty.

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

Flopro Softflo Advanced GunPros:

• • 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

• Buy now from Argos (£20).

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

• Buy now from Tool Stop (£8.86) and FFX (£11.50).

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

RRP: £20.99

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 does a hose spray gun work?

Unlike a more traditional twist nozzle, a spray gun has a variety of spray patterns for different tasks. Once you’ve picked your pattern, a spray gun works as its name implies - you squeeze the trigger on the handle of the ‘gun’ to control the distance and intensity of the jet of water. To choose the right gun for you, think about is what you need your spray gun for. If you’ll just be watering plants, look for a gun with a few different, gentle spray patterns, so you don’t damage leaves and stems. For a more general-purpose hose, look for as many settings as possible, so you can clean your car as well as tend to plants.

Will I need any connectors?

Hose pipe connectors are the plastic or brass clip at the top of a hose pipe. They’re universal, and with very rare exceptions most hose guns will fit your hose. If you don’t have a universal connector or need a new one, we recommend a brass connector, as these tend to last longest.

How we tested hose spray guns

The BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Reviews team tested a range of different hose spray guns, with 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, seedlings, 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 May 2024. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.