REASONS TO BUY
Metal construction
Reel rotates 360 degrees
Includes either a shelf or basket
REASONS TO AVOID
Wide mounting base
Hose not included
Liberty Garden Single Arm Navigator Review
This feature-packed option rotates freely and includes a shelf, making it ideal for multi-directional gardens and storing accessories
Hero
Credit: Hale Milano
RELATED: Best Hose Reel of 2024
Our Verdict
The Liberty Garden Single Arm Navigator is a feature-rich manual reel that combines the convenient rotating feature of most retractable reels with the durability and reliability of a manual reel. The metal construction is more than sturdy enough to support a heavy-duty 100-foot hose, and the built-in shelf offers a convenient place to store accessories. We found 360-degree rotation to really help prevent snags and jams when your watering takes you all around your yard. If you're looking for a way to tidy up and store your favorite garden hose, we highly recommend the Liberty.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product Liberty Garden Single Arm Navigator | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Rotating Manual Reel |  Best Overall Hose Reel | Best Premium Manual Reel | ||
| Price | $204 List $170.64 at Amazon | $160 List $149.95 at Amazon | $249 List $249.00 at Amazon | $247 List | $29 List |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | A well-featured manual reel that also boasts a rotating reel, making it convenient for a variety of mounting locations | A high-performing and easy-to-use reel that is just as economical as it is convenient | This attractive model is easy to use and has excellent performance, making it a statement piece in your lineup of garden tools | A premium and high-quality manual reel that features excellent construction quality and performance, but requires you to purchase a hose separately | If you're out to save money and don't need a long term solution, this reel will get the job done, but may leak heavily |
| Rating Categories | Liberty Garden Sing... | Ayleid Retractable... | Hoselink Retractabl... | Eley Wood Post Mount | Suncast Sidewinder... |
| Convenience (35%) | |||||
| Performance (35%) | |||||
| Construction Quality (20%) | |||||
| Variety of Options (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Liberty Garden Sing... | Ayleid Retractable... | Hoselink Retractabl... | Eley Wood Post Mount | Suncast Sidewinder... |
| Hose Length Capacity | 125 feet | 65, 100, 130 feet | 50 & 82 feet | 125 feet for standard or 200ft of extra capacity for 5/8 inch diameter | 100 feet |
| Hose Included | No | Integrated | Integrated | No | No |
| Connector Hose Length | 5 feet | 6 feet | 7 feet | 6 feet | 4.5 feet |
| Retraction Mechanism | Rotating Manual Reel | Retractable | Retractable | Fixed Manual Reel | Fixed Manual Reel |
| Rotation Ability | 360° | 180° | 180° | None | None |
| Nozzle Included | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Coupling Shape | Hex | Hex | Hex and Round Quick Release | Hex | Round |
| Material | Metal | PVC | Anti-UV polymer | Metal | Plastic |
| Coupling Material | Brass | Brass | Brass | Aluminum-alloy | Brass |
| Reel Type | Mountable | Wall Mount | Mountable | Wall or Post Mount | Mountable |
| Dimensions | 20" x 19" x 22" | 18" x 9" x 15" | 24" x 11" x 19" | 19" x 20" x 16" | 16" x 12" x 16" |
| Hose Diameter Capacity | 5/8 inch | 1/2 inch | 9/16 inch | 5/8 or 3/4 inch | 5/8 inch |
| Length Tested | n/a | 100 foot | 82 foot | 125 foot capacity | n/a |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The Liberty Garden stands out from other manual reels in our lineup thanks to its rotating feature, something not normally found among manual reels. It also stands out from other top hose reels with its built-in shelf or basket, depending on which model you choose. This offers a convenient place to store extra nozzles or garden tools all in one spot. The Liberty reel is both convenient to use and very well made. Though you'll need to supply your own hose, we were very impressed with this rotating manual reel.
Types of Hose Reels
We took our selection of hose reels and segmented them into three different types of reels so that you could better identify which kind of reel you might prefer. This preference is entirely up to you based on the design and features that are most relevant to your needs.
-Retractable Reels integrate a storage container, mount, and hose into a single unit featuring automatic winding and latching. Most retractable reels rotate around a pin mount.
-Fixed Manual Reels forego internal mechanics and require you to crank and wind the hose up around a drum. Though you may have your choice of direction, fixed reels don't rotate once mounted and typically require you to have your own garden hose.
-Rotating Manual Reels combine rotating drums with manual winding, blending convenience with durability. They typically also require your own garden hose.
We took our selection of hose reels and segmented them into three different types of reels so that you could better identify which kind of reel you might prefer. This preference is entirely up to you based on the design and features that are most relevant to your needs.
-Retractable Reels integrate a storage container, mount, and hose into a single unit featuring automatic winding and latching. Most retractable reels rotate around a pin mount.
-Fixed Manual Reels forego internal mechanics and require you to crank and wind the hose up around a drum. Though you may have your choice of direction, fixed reels don't rotate once mounted and typically require you to have your own garden hose.
-Rotating Manual Reels combine rotating drums with manual winding, blending convenience with durability. They typically also require your own garden hose.
Performance Comparison
The Liberty Garden requires a large mounting area but is sturdy, durable, and most importantly easy to use.
Credit: Hale Milano
Convenience
A top consideration when evaluating hose reels is the convenience of each model. The intent behind reels is to make it easier to access and store your long garden hose - so testing this is priority number one. The Liberty Garden, although a manual reel, is very convenient and easy to use.
Unwinding the Liberty Garden is as easy as grabbing your hose and walking in the direction you want to go. As long as you have the reel set to spin freely, it can rotate 360 degrees on its mount. That said, you will need to reverse directions before going around too many times, as the leader hose connected to the spigot will eventually get twisted. There is virtually no resistance unwinding, making hauling out a heavy hose a breeze.
The Liberty reel easily rotates to face the direction you're unwinding from, helping to prevent jams.
Credit: Hale Milano
Winding in the Liberty Garden is just as easy, thanks to a large and ergonomic crank handle that rotates freely on itself so you can grip it and wind unencumbered. We found that locking the reel into one of the seven fixed positions is critical to smooth winding; otherwise, it tended to rotate on us unintentionally. A guiding hand on the hose is also required to ensure it lays smoothly in the reel, as there is no track to guide it.
It is easy to position and lock the reel in place, then wind with one hand while guiding the hose in with your other.
Credit: Hale Milano
Like other manual reels in our lineup, there is no lock or latching mechanism on the Liberty. Since there's no automatic hose retraction, this doesn't impact convenience too much. However, it does mean the reel can slip or unwind a little on its own, especially if you take your hands off it in the middle of the winding process. The other rotating feature, the reel itself, does have a very ergonomic and easy-to-use pin lock. The pin drops in place into one of seven positions spanning the full 360 degrees of rotation and locks into the open position with a simple half-twist. In practice, this is very easy to use.
The large radius crank arm and rotating ergonomic rubber handle make winding in even a very heavy hose easy.
Credit: Hale Milano
Performance
Since our selection of manual hose reels do not include an integrated hose or nozzle, we primarily tested the performance of manual reels by evaluating the connectors, valves, and stability and movement of the reel itself. The Liberty Garden scored above average in this metric, and we have no major complaints.
The Liberty leader hose has fantastic large hex connectors. They are easy to screw onto the spigot and reel, and there were no leaks during testing. The built-in connector on the reel for your garden hose is plastic, but we didn't experience any leaks from this connector either.
Screwing on the large hex connectors are easy to hand tighten, but the hex shape makes it easy to use a wrench if they get stuck or frozen in place.
Credit: Hale Milano
The mount for the Liberty is quite large; the mounting holes are 16 inches apart horizontally and nine inches apart vertically. This lets you easily align on studs and provides sufficient leverage to support the weight of a full garden hose. It's incredibly sturdy when mounted, though the reel has a little wiggle and play when winding or unwinding. This does not detract from performance at all but is noticeable when winding it.
We temporarily mounted the Liberty garden on a scrap piece of 2x8 and weren't able to lock in all four mounting holes. We did test it in a different location using all four, and boy is it sturdy.
Credit: Hale Milano
Variety of Options
Since manual reels don't typically include a hose, assessing the variety of available options is focused on how long of a garden hose can be accommodated, as well as other features or available styles from the manufacturer. The Liberty Garden can hold up to 125 feet of a ⅝ inch garden hose.
Although it doesn't come with a hose, nozzle, or valves, Liberty Garden does make several versions of the Navigator. Options include those with a shelf, basket, or both, as well as different decorative styles and colors.
The shelf is a convenient place to store the nozzle or other essential items. Other models are available with a basket as well.
Credit: Hale Milano
Construction Quality
Our hose reels were tested over the East Coast summer and were subject to sun, rain, heat, and humidity around the clock. To evaluate the construction quality of each reel, we looked at manufacturing materials and craftsmanship, noted any common user reviews online, and noted any issues that arose from day-to-day usage of each reel. We also evaluated the included hardware and mounting process. Overall we were impressed with theLiberty Garden's construction quality and durability.
The structural components of the Liberty Garden are thick gauge metal. The mount and reel were more than sturdy enough to support the weight of a 100-foot ¾ inch garden hose completely full of water. We also had no issues with excessive creaking or the mount moving while winding the reel up. Throughout the course of testing, we didn't notice any issues or concerns about the durability and longevity. As an added bonus, the integrated shelf somewhat protects the hose from direct sun exposure, which may help prolong your hose's lifespan.
The Liberty combines high quality parts and manufacturing with easy to use design features, like this simple twist lock and retaining pin that drops in place to prevent your reel from spinning.
Credit: Hale Milano
Should You Buy the Liberty Garden Single Arm Navigator?
The Liberty Garden reel is a high-quality and easy-to-use hose reel that boasts some of the best features in both retractable and manual style reels. Its rotating capabilities elevate its potential mounting locations and make unreeling the hose exponentially easier compared to fixed-direction reels. The materials are also more than durable enough to last many seasons of use and abuse. Overall, we highly recommend the Liberty if you're set on using a regular garden hose but want to store and access it via a convenient hose reel.
The Liberty is a great choice if you already have a garden hose and are looking for storage solutions.
Credit: Hale Milano
What Other Hose Reels Should You Consider?
Many of the manual hose reels in our lineup featured a fixed reel direction, making them slightly less convenient if you're looking to drag your hose in many different directions away from your spigot. That said, fixed manual reels like the Eley Wood Post Mount offer key benefits that may make them an attractive option. The Eley is one of the single most impressive reels regarding construction quality and manufacturing standards, offering unparalleled quality and durability. It also has the ability to be mounted either parallel or perpendicular to your mounting surface, and a separate kit makes it possible to mount the reel on a 4x4 post versus against a wall. If you're set on requiring a reel that rotates, both the Ayleid Retractable Reel and the Hoselink Retractable Reel are retractable reels that include a hose as well as the ability to rotate 180 degrees on the mount. Both of these options are extremely easy and intuitive to use.
The Liberty combines the best of both worlds with a reliable and durable rotating reel, but you'll need to supply your own hose and nozzle.
Credit: Hale Milano
—Hale Milano
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