The Aterod hose is one of the best expandable hoses I tested, and the quality of the polyester fabric casing is outstanding. When filled with water, the hose feels almost solid—and after it retracted to its original state, the casing was unmarred. Pulling it around didn’t leave any snags in the fabric casing, which appears upon closer inspection to be braided rather than woven. The fittings attach with self-locking connectors, which should reduce the risk of blowouts at the ends of the hose.
The hose comes with a detachable shut-off valve on the male-end fitting that connects to the sprayer. This came in handy when I wanted to remove the sprayer, but I didn’t want to go back over to the spigot and turn off the water. I was able to turn the valve lever a quarter turn and stop the flow of water, after which I was able to take off the sprayer without water shooting everywhere. A slight downside to the shut-off valve is how snugly it’s attached; it was pretty stiff, but I suspect it would loosen up with use.