Liberty GARDEN 712 Single Arm Navigator Multi-Directional Garden Hose Reel, Holds 125-Feet of, 5/8-Inch, Bronze

UPDATE: FANTASTIC REEL and OUTSTANDING COMPANY; HIGHLY RECOMMEND BOTH.
UPDATE: 8/12/15I want to post an update about this reel and about the company standing behind their product. My original review and the rating (1 Star) was about only the reel. I would like to make the point that this updated review is about the reel AND the company and I give both of them the 5 Star Rating.First and foremost, I want to let you know that the issue with my first reel and it being “DANGEROUS” has been completely resolved by the company. Megan Miller with Liberty Garden Products contacted me soon after my first review posted (see the comment on my review) and helped solve the problem right away. Megan acknowledged there was an issue with the reel and explained that someone at their factory changed the design, without authorization, and they didn’t find out until the complaints started. Liberty Garden immediately stopped production and returned to the approved design. Furthermore, I want to applaud Liberty Garden for stepping up right away to the issue with customers and taking full responsibility for solving it. There are still good companies around and I believe Liberty Garden to be one of those.Speaking of the design, as soon as I received the replacement part, I knew the problem was solved. It’s really kind of hard to explain, but if you look at the pictures I posted originally, you can see the bolt was stripped. The reason is that basically the bolt was enduring the entire weight of the hose, reel, handle and reel frame. The bolt was underneath the rotation knob (if you look at the company photo) and the motion of the reel caused friction and action on the bolt itself. NOW, the bolt is on top and there is a solid steel shaft that connects the reel portion to the wall mounted portion and the bolt does not endure any friction. I hope you’re not confused, but I’ve have completely dismantled this reel and the approved design works nicely and I complete faith that it will hold up for its intended purpose.Lastly, I only have one issue with the reel now and to be honest, it really is not an issue with me at all. However, other reviewers have noted that the reel does not hold 125′ of hose, as claimed in the product description. The truth is that it will hold the 125′ but it really depends on the hose you use. And in all fairness to Liberty Garden Products, an average hose fits just fine. In fact, the hose I have is a heavy duty, very thick, 100′ hose and it fits, but barely. In my original review I was thinking my hose was only 75′, but since I had to change the reel I decided to measure my hose and it is actually 100′ hose. The point is that marketing is marketing and we have to be fair on both sides and I think Liberty Garden Products is being fair in their claim of 125′ hose fitting on the reel. If you’re going to try to put 125′ of some indestructible, super-thick never-kink hose on this reel, it isn’t going to fit; and I believe it isn’t fair to complain about that. My hose is 100′, but it is also a heavy duty, thick hose and I have no complaints about it barely fitting.In conclusion, I give this reel the 5 Stars because I do love it. It really is awesome to just point the reel where I need the hose and almost effortlessly unroll 100′ of hose. The action is smooth both ways, rolling and unrolling the hose. And while I am more concerned about functionality, this reel looks really nice on the side of the house. The reel is now sturdy and I can fully recommend it.INITIAL REVIEW BELOW AND MY ISSUE DETAILED HAS BEEN COMPLETELY RESOLVED BY LIBERTY GARDEN PRODUCTS:I would still advise anyone who has this reel to be sure and tighten up the bolts on your reel and pay close attention when you roll up the reel. If it is excessively wobbly when you reel it in, you probably have one of the defective units. It should NOT wobble much at all when reeling it in.This hose reel was nice for the two months that it lasted; but, this thing is junk. First, it does NOT hold 100′ ft of ANY sort of “garden” hose. Secondly, if you put 75′ of 5/8 hose, it will fill the reel to capacity. That might be ok if the substructure of the reel could hold up, but it won’t. Those of you who have heavy hoses on this reel need to be very careful. At some point, this unit WILL FAIL because of a serious design flaw. For those of you who have mentioned this reel is “wobbly”, you should be especially careful, because this thing might take off your toes or break your foot when it falls.See my attached pictures: What you see is the SINGLE and ONLY support for the entire weight of your hose, reel and handle that attaches to the other piece of this unit. Depending on this size of hose you have, that could be 40 pounds or more.Look at the manufacturer pictures… See the black knob on top, which is directly above the section that holds your hose? Directly under that knob, hidden underneath (I believe intentionally), is the piece you see in my photos. If you own this unit, you will have a hard time seeing this thing without taking the whole unit apart. You have to completely dismantle this thing to see how it’s designed, but, this bolt you see in my pictures is the ONLY weight-bearing support you have for the reel and hose!The bolt you see is an 8mm bolt and is LESS THAN 1cm long; it is made from a VERY cheap, soft alloy. If you look close at the picture you can see that the bolt is completely stripped and is basically smooth. This is from only two months use. The reel came detached from the support and nearly hit my foot; and I was in flip flops… It’s not IF this thing will fail on you, it’s only a matter of time, when this thing will fail.And this is where Amazon sucks. This unit was bought from Amazon LLC…and they do not stand behind the products they sell. 30 days is a joke. I’ve been a Prime Member for several years and I believe Amazon should have a better return policy, and especially if they discover they are selling a dangerous and flawed product that is certain to injure someone at some point. I am pretty quick on my feet, but if an older person or a youngster gets themselves under this thing when it falls, they could be seriously injured!

Quality Hose Reel
Very ornate and beautiful. Relatively easy to install. Very functional. Nice storage basket built in.

Good reel
Well constructed reel, like the positional option, makes unreeling a lot easier.

Great quality!
This is my second purchase, a well made unit. Easy to mount and assemble. Easy to roll up 100’ of hose, swivel lock keeps the reel secure while pulling the hose out.

I am well pleased with the quality of this product. I had become so accustomed to my leaky and balky old hose reeel, that I’d forgotten how easy to use a good one can be. It’s newly installed so I cannot speak to durability, but the solidity of its construction augers well.I did have considerable difficulty in assembling the product. Some procedures, such as attaching the basket, require a surgeon’s precision which I – Mr. fumble fingers – do not have. Also the instructions seem to be in the wrong order in one place; I mounted the frame, and then had to unmount it to add the basket.Still, the frustrations were worth it, as it works very well.

Easy to assemble, solid wall mounting is an absolute must. After just three days of rain, rust was visible. Here in Spain, no suitable connectors were available, and the included hose… was too short! I’m afraid it won’t last long here in Spain due to the abundant sunshine and high summer temperatures.

Çok kaliteli sağlam. Müthiş.