I know that this might have been discussed but please don't make me search. It's bad enough that my typing is 'hunt and peck'.

Any suggestions for a good soaker hose?

And what about width or are all of them the same? (Think mine is 3/8".)

Do you have hard water or lots of minerals in water? That tends to clog up soaker hoses pretty fast. And some have said that their soaker hoses sprang leaks.

"Dripline" is one alternative to soaker hoses:
https://www.dripworks.com/drip...
https://www.dripworks.com/drip...

For larger areas, "drip tape" seems to be the commercial choice:
https://www.dripworks.com/drip...

Let's see ... all ATP threads mentioning soaker hoses ...
https://garden.org/forums/sear...
(Before clicking on that link, try setting your "# of posts to display per page" to 100 or more.
After clicking on one, you still have to search that thread for "soaker hose". In my browser, I can just hit "CTRL F" and then type i9n the search phrase.

Man, not much there!

NGA Articles ... many threads that contain "soaker hose", but none with that in the title.

https://garden.org/learn/artic...

I eventually decided that little sprayers are more convenient for me, because I haven't figured out how to hoe around dripline. (Full disclosure: also because I LIKE fiddling with gadgets.)

I hope someone with soaker hose experience chimes in!

I never even used the one that I bought, because the "new tire smell" convinced me after I sniffed it a dozen times that anything THAT stinky might also be toxic.

@RickCorey - I hate to admit that I don't know what kind of water we have. We get a technical flyer once a year. The first time I looked at it I saw that there was a bit of Atavan in our water. I told my oncologist at the time (she'd give me Atavan so I could just sleep while having chemo) but she didn't believe me until she saw it in black & white. A few years later there was a big ta da in the national news that most water supplies had statins (cholesterol drugs) in them. I was working in IT at a hospital and we all had a good chuckle over that one. But when I think back to the 60s and the big scare was that the hippies were going to put LSD in the water supply, well I can't help but snicker.

OK. Enough trivia and back on topic. Yes, soaker hoses are very prone to leaks. I like to use them once in awhile (aka when I remember) to give my trees and yard a good slow drink. Since I have a lot of shredded hardwood mulch in my yard, my soaker hoses are even more prone to spring leaks. I have one (hose, not leak) that I bought last year and recently used it for the first time. I think it came with leaks. Never had one before that leaked on the first use. Small leaks, but still. Anyway, they are a pain to lay out and move them around but when they work they're worth it. So I want to get one or two more. And this weekend is a tax free weekend here in Texas so it would be a good time to buy one. Plus I wouldn't mind getting a good 'regular' hose because it's only money after all.

The hoses come in different lengths and widths (circumferences?). I really don't know what's best. Maybe there's not a 'best'. And maybe not all of them are made from rubber tires. Thus my question.

I'll check out the links you provided and see if I can find anything good. I think I might have done a quick search and agree that there wasn't much there unless it was hidden.

BTW - what are 'little sprayers'?

Dang it! Surfing around I saw a soaker hose that wasn't made of recycled tires. But did I write down the name or bookmark it? No, of course not. That would have been too easy. I guess I forgot that I no longer have the amazing memory I had when I was younger. (or maybe that's a fake memory)

tx_flower_child said: ... BTW - what are 'little sprayers'?

Dripworks calls them "mini-jet sprayers". They are not "spinners": those throw MUCH more water per minute than a sprayer. They are not drippers or bubblers or shrublers or drippers. They spray.

Sprayers are little gadgets that have a tiny opening through which the water shoots at 30 psi, then hits some baffles so it breaks up into a spray. At higher pressures like 45 psi, they tend to put out a mist. Below 20 psi, it comes out as droplets that don't blow around (or evaporate) as much.

You can find sprayers that put out a full circle, 180 degree half-circle, a 90 degree "corner", or a "strip" of water. They should cost 10 to 30 cents each.

You can plug them directly into 1/2" mainline, or run 1/4" tubing around, and then plug one sprayer into the end of the 1/4" tubing.

One sprayer will cover a circle several feet or yards in radius, depending on the style and tbhe water pressure. They come at many different flow rates (which also depend on the pressure).

This has nicely magnified photos of several sprayer types:
https://www.dripworks.com/drip...

Sorry, I didn't find good photos of a "system" showing mainline, 1/4" spaghetti tubing, drippers and sprayers. Often sprayers need to sit on top of a stake so the spray covers a wider circle.