This review is for the Orbit SunMate Hose-End 56098 33-Inch Shower Wand with Shut off. "With Shut Off" means its a watering wand that comes with a on/off valve that allows you to turn the water on or off. At the garden center I work for, I water the plants. My original wand which was a Yardsmith 33-in Model #8809. We stop selling the Yardsmith at the store, so I went looking for an alternative. The Orbit SunMate pretty much looks exactly like the Yardsmith in the pictures, unfortunately, it doesn't perform like the Yardsmith I'm use to. Now, because my first was stolen, I've actually purchased two of them. The first in April 2019 and the second June 2019. Not long after using the first one, the switch valve abruptly broke in the middle of watering flowers. Water in the face and everything. Thankfully, I purchased an extra switch valve by Hobbys Garten at the same time that I purchased the wand. While changing the valves, I figured out the inner design of the wand was different from my original Yardsmith. At the time, I didn't see a washer because the breaking of the switch valve completely blew the washer off, but instead of the flat round washer I'm use to, it uses an o-ring (pictured above) that sits in this depression or indentation in the metal. The Hobbys Garten switch valve in combination with the black sleeve that was on the wand worked so well that I had little to no problem with water leakage even without a washer. This wand was stolen so I had to get another. When purchasing my second wand, I also purchased a Gilmour Brass Garden Water Hose Shut off Valve, Watering Spigot Connector, 03V. This set up didn't work so well. The Gilmour Brass Shut off Valve didn't fit the wand as tightly as the Hobbys Garten valve and so there was a greater need for a washer and this issue pretty much reveal more flaws in the way the wand is designed. In the picture I've included, you can see where if you give the valve a good enough tug, then the entire thing can came off no problem whether it has an o-ring or a regular flat round washer. At the top of the valve that I'm holding is a metal piece that came with the wand that the valves screw into and its not secured to the pole. This means when you're watering, the pole can come right out the hole regardless to whether there is a washer or not making it impossible to water. Having a good valve can very much increase the performance of this wand. I think the best that worked with this wand was the Hobbys Garten valve. The downside to the valve was that it was completely metal and flipping the valve on/off starts to hurt your thumb. Thumbs down to the Gilmour valve entirely. It didn't fit well and then it fell apart not very long after using it. My favorite valve is the Yardsmith Brass Restricted-Flow Water Shut-Off, model #8818 which also works well with this wand and the Yardsmith wand. The wand had a good spray on it but I use a Dramm Original 400 Water Breaker Nozzle so I don't know about the durability of the wand's nozzle. Overall, I would give this wand 1 star and a thumbs down. I purchased the last in June 2019 and its the end of August 2019 right now and I still have it for the moment, but I've been struggling with it for awhile. I've tried using both the flat round washers and the o-rings, adding o-rings, simply using the flat round washer and using different valves but there is a major design flaw because nothing keeps the pole from slipping completely out of the metal piece. I have to hold it with both hands in certain positions so the pole won't slip out and this also results in more water on my clothes. And while it may work better using it how it was setup when it was shipped to me, I had no choice but to find another valve. The original broke not long after using it and then when it broke, it shot off in an unsafe manner. So in the future, it's a NO for me.
