[Update: within a few days of posting this, the US-rep reached out to me to answer a few questions and take down some user-feedback. They've already implemented a few of the easier changes (a foam wrap around the brass nozzle to prevent shipping damage) and a new color way (aahem: still waiting for the gray with orange hose)... Nonetheless, it demonstrates the want for a company to get-it-right.]
[Breakage-alert: The clamp that attaches the nose to the inside reel is not tightened enough and will — over time — slip free if under pressure. Two easy fixes: (1) don't leave the pressure on the hose — turn off the spigot. (2) a half dozen #2PH screws hold the faceplate onto the unit. Remove the screws. Rotate the face a slight turn to release the tabe — and remove. See where the tail end of the hose connects to the reel on the inside? Simply tighten that metal clamp a bit more — easy. Retracta has already implemented a fix on the most recent models.]
It's often the small things that can either make you happy or be the bane of your existence ... and sometimes a single thing can be one and the same. Hose reels are something that you don't think a lot about until you do... and then — if you're like me — it can be all-consuming.
Years ago, we stumbled upon the idea of an auto-retracting hose reel. At the time, Claber and Gardena were the two biggest names in the game here in the US. Both were Italian. Both were cool. Both were expensive. We went with the Claber model. Trouble is, they never lasted more than a few years before the sun faded them badly, the retracting spring gave out, and you started to hate everything Italian. There's nothing more annoying than a pile of 50ft hose under a retracting reel that won't retract. We tried the Gardena model later and it leaked within the day — uggg. So, we just bought the Claber reels every 4 years or so. Then they became unavailable.
[(left) When the Claber was good, it was very good... (right) but when it was dead...]
We started a new search last year. There were tons of cheap import versions with weird names like G-GOODGAIN, OT-QOMOTOP and TwinkleStar. We tried one from Giraffe Tools and it was returned the next day. It's hard to imagine that an idea so simple would be so easy to mess up, but folks can apparently do it. We had given up hope.
Last week, we stumbled across an Australian design/made reel called the Retracta R3. Australia is not known for its sleek industrial design and this model is no different. Like an Ute, it's pretty ugly... you might says it's cute-ugly, but like an Ute, it's made to work well more than look good. Casie — the engineer in the house — said: "Like, all it really needs is a big-ass spring, right?" (... and cue the Crocodile Dundee "Now, that's a spring!").
[Note: I've had a pair of Australian Blundstones on my feet every day for the past two decades, so there's no ire for AUS goods].