I was surprised at the poor reviews these soaker  hoses have gotten on Amazon. I have been using them for a number of years and they have worked better than any other soaker hose I have tried. I originally came across these at Home Depot but hadn't seen them there in awhile and according to Amazon Gilmour has discontinued this hose. I was glad to see that Amazon still has a supply of them. Originally I bought 1/2 inch soaker hoses because they were all I could find and what I use them for is to keep the soil around my house slab wet enough so that the soil won't shrink causing the slab to sink into the ground. The 1/2 half inch hoses were better than nothing but didn't last long and didn't seem to put out a decent amount of water. I eventually came across these Gilmour 5/8 inch hoses at the above mentioned store and have been using them ever since as I am very happy with how well they work. When I route these hoses around the slab of my house they stay there year round. Eventually the exposure to the soil and the UV rays of the sun will deteriorate the hose after so many years and then I replace it. I replaced a fifty foot section just the other day because it developed a small crack but couldn't remember how many years ago I installed it. I had one spare section that I replaced it with and decided to buy three more sections to replace the rest of it as needed. I am one of the very few homeowners in my neighborhood that hasn't had major foundation damage from the extremely dry weather we have had in recent years and I credit using these soaker hoses with keeping my soil stabilized. I can't speak for any one else but I highly recommend these Gilmour 5/8 inch soaker hoses. They have saved me thousands of dollars in foundation repair costs.