2025 test21 productsOutdoor Power Equipment
Which Garden Hose Spray Nozzle Brand Wins?
We compared 21 garden hose spray nozzle options head to head. Fanhao came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Fanhao
Price shown in test: $22
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Runner-up
Sani-Lav
Price shown in test: $68
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Weight | Squeeze Force | Jet Force | Pattern | Flow Test | Throw Distance | Durability | Overall Rank | Cone Diameter | Rain Pattern Rating | Mist Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fanhao$22 | 356 g | just over 2 kg or 4.4 lb, relatively easy on the hands | 544 g or 1.2 lb, performed quite a bit better than average | very nice looking water jet that's very narrow and clean | tied for third place at 70 seconds in the 5 gallon max flow test | 29 ft, came out on top of the water throw distance test | very well constructed and survived without major damage in the drive over test | best average finish of all 21 nozzles at 3.3 | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Sani-Lav small (hot/cold, standard trigger)$68 | 276 g | 2,576 g or 5.7 lb | 630 g, good enough to move into second place behind the Little Big Shot | very nice looking and powerful water jet | second place at 65 seconds | not tested | built like a tank and still works like it's as good as new | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Eden$28 | 346 g | very easy on the hands at only 970 g or 2.1 lb | by far the most concentrated jet stream of all the brands, best multi-pattern sprayer at 604 g or 1.3 lb, the only multi-pattern sprayer to make the top five list | not tested | performing better than average at 1 minute 28 seconds | not tested | not designed to withstand getting ran over; now leaks around the spray head dial | not tested | 23 in | 1.5 (Rain Point rated best at 1) | 1, tied for best, breaks water into very fine droplets |
| 4Automan$9 | 110 g | 2,430 g or 5.4 lb | 460 g or right at 1 lb; produces a broken up heavy stream of water from 6 ft out | not tested | full setting finished about 17 seconds slower than the open hose control, at 1 minute 13 seconds | not tested | very light duty; crushed from the weight of the vehicle | not tested | 24 in, hollow cone | not tested | not tested |
| 5Green Mount$10 | 252 g, more than twice the Automan | 2,816 g or 6.3 lb | 492 g or 1.1 lb | not tested | soaker setting moved it into the lead at 1 minute 10 seconds | not tested | metal construction, survived without major damage | not tested | 32 in, a bit more random and way too scattered | not tested | not tested |
| 6Melnor$13 | 494 g, heaviest of the multi-pattern nozzles | 2,158 g or 4.8 lb, less force despite being the heaviest | ran out of steam at 400 g or 0.9 lb, not quite as intense as the Automan or Green Mount | not tested | 1 minute 17 seconds | not tested | some superficial damage, still working just fine | not tested | 17 in, allows targeting a specific area better than the Automan and Green Mount | not tested | not tested |
| 7Craftsman$15 | 278 g | thumb trigger only takes 564 g or 1.2 lb | very narrow and less intense stream than the Green Mount; 264 g or 0.6 lb, about half the force of the Green Mount | not tested | really struggled at 1 minute 35 seconds | not tested | survived without any major damage | not tested | 12 in, a little too focused and likely to erode loose soil unless water pressure is reduced | not tested | not tested |
| 8Flexzilla$15 | 308 g | requires quite a bit of hand strength at just over 3.5 kg or almost 8 lb | less scattered but not quite as intense as the Green Mount; 424 g or 0.9 lb | not tested | no spray setting produces a lot of water volume; finished in 2 minutes 5 seconds, the slowest so far | not tested | FAILED the 6 ft drop test, leaking pretty badly; catastrophic damage when driven over, broke into pieces | not tested | 16 in, more forceful in some areas than others | not tested | 1, tied for best, fine droplets |
| 9INNAV8$17 | 240 g | thumb knob takes half the force of the Craftsman at 270 g or 0.6 lb | smaller jet stream than the Flexzilla; only 316 g or 0.7 lb | not tested | struggled to produce enough water; 1 minute 30 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested | 20 in, hollow center | not tested | not tested |
| 10Dramm$19 | 296 g | about 2 lb less than the Flexzilla at 5.8 lb or 2,646 g | very scattered spray pattern but delivers 498 g, almost the same as the Green Mount | not tested | soaker setting still not producing very much water flow; 1 minute 43 seconds | not tested | destroyed by the weight of the vehicle | not tested | 15 in, pretty random and more intense in some areas than others | not tested | not tested |
| 11Restmo$20 | 304 g | only 480 g or 1.1 lb, good for hand fatigue or arthritis | less intense than the Dramm; 340 g, very close to 0.7 lb | not tested | 1 minute 28 seconds | not tested | some superficial damage, still works just fine | not tested | 12 in circular, pretty consistent with intensity | not tested | not tested |
| 12Rain Point multi-pattern$27 | 398 g | second place behind the Restmo at 1,030 g or 2.3 lb, performed quite a bit better than average | stream broken up and very inconsistent; struggled at only 226 g or about 0.5 lb | not tested | performing a little better than average at 1 minute 20 seconds | not tested | pretty heavy damage, now leaks around the spray head dial and the trigger fell off | not tested | best coverage from side to side and within the cone of all brands tested so far | 1, best possible rating for creating a natural rainfall pattern | 1, tied for best |
| 13Stanley FatMax$27 | 342 g | requires quite a bit of hand strength at 6.2 lb or 2,792 g | more consistent jet stream than the Rain Point; 382 g or 0.8 lb, about 46% stronger than the Rain Point | not tested | struggled, 1 minute 50 seconds | not tested | damage to the spray head dial, leaking around the dial pretty badly but still works | not tested | 12 in circular with hollow center | not tested | not tested |
| 14Gardena$44 | 430 g | less than average at 4.1 lb or 1,858 g | about 36% less spray force than the Eden; 418 g or 0.9 lb | not tested | aerates the water well on the highest flow setting; 1 minute 30 seconds | not tested | completely destroyed by the weight of the vehicle | not tested | 10 in, pretty intense | not tested | not tested |
| 15Gilmour$9 | 172 g | requires pretty strong hands at 5.9 lb or 2,654 g | second best yet at 548 g or 1.2 lb | not tested | producing a tremendous amount of water volume, moved into the lead at only 60 seconds; came out on top overall for max water volume | 27 ft, second place | plastic cracked but the metal core held up just fine, sprayer works fine | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 16Viking$12 | 164 g | less than the Gilmour at 2,184 g | peak of 400 g or about 0.9 lb; water jet pretty scattered and inconsistent | not tested | trailed the Gilmour once again at 1 minute 18 seconds | not tested | became crushed with the weight of the vehicle | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 17Little Big Shot$13 | 74 g | not tested | produces the best-looking jet stream yet, very narrow and clean; won the jet force test at 682 g or 1.5 lb | not tested | moved into third place behind the Green Mount at 1 minute 11 seconds | tied for third place at 26 ft | became bent from the weight of the vehicle | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 18Chapin$19 | 470 g | requires quite a bit of hand strength at 8.4 lb or 3,816 g | pretty scattered and inconsistent compared to the Little Big Shot; 424 g or 0.9 lb, about 56% less than the Little Big Shot | not tested | 1 minute 35 seconds | not tested | built like a tank, still works just fine | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 19Gilmour Pro$25 | 456 g | hand fatigue might become an issue at 3,852 g or 8.5 lb | narrow and clean water jet but trails the Fanhao by around 18%; 470 g or 1 lb | not tested | performing better than average at 1 minute 15 seconds | tied for third place at 26 ft | still works as good as new | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 20Rain Point single-pattern / twist$29 | 360 g | easiest on the hands for the twist nozzle category at 3.2 lb or 1,474 g | a little more scattered than the Gilmour Pro; 480 g, about the same as the Gilmour Pro | not tested | performed about the same as the Gilmour Pro once again at 1 minute 16 seconds | not tested | very well constructed, but the trigger experienced some damage, still works just fine | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 21Sani-Lav industrial / large, trigger in back$113 | 426 g | requires quite a bit of hand strength at 9.1 lb or 4,112 g | performed quite a bit better than average at 578 g or 1.3 lb | not tested | trails the smaller Sani-Lav sprayer once again at 1 minute 30 seconds | not tested | held up just fine, works as good as new | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- squeeze or thumb trigger force required to activate the spray nozzle
- jet setting spray force
- 5 gallon bucket fill time at max flow (multi-pattern nozzles)
- 2 gallon bucket fill time on shower setting
- spray pattern cone diameter and coverage
- rain pattern rating (subjective, 1 = best)
- mist quality rating (subjective, 1 = best)
- water throw distance
- durability drop test from 6 ft
- durability driven over by vehicle
“the Fanno is a single spray pattern nozzle that came out on top with the best average finish of 3.3. At only around $22, that would definitely be my choice if you're looking for a single spray pattern nozzle.”