The BluBird Hose is the lightest, strongest, most flexible 100% rubber hose. Before the introduction of BluBird, rubber hoses were heavy and stiff, which allowed the introduction of Hybrid hoses into the market. Hybrids are a combination of rubber, PVC, and other low-cost ingredients with higher specific gravity, making the hoses heavier and prone to cracking. Blubird took out the cheap ingredients and added higher-quality materials to make the hose lighter. In the past ten years since we introduced Blubird Hoses to the market, the return % is well below 0.50% despite having a ten-year warranty.

The hose industry knows that rubber is the best material to use. Even hybrid manufacturers use a certain percentage of rubber in their hoses because of rubber's advantages over PVC. PVC is light and flexible but doesn't perform well in cold temperatures. Rubber outperforms PVC in cold weather and also has flexibility, maintaining strength. PVC hoses lose their pressure rating safety factor when it is warm or hot. The pressure rating drops drastically when the outside temperature is over 80-85F.

The warranty covers manufacturing defects.  Should a fitting blow off, a leak occurs at the crimped ends or a hose burst for no apparent reason, the hose needs to be returned and inspected. If a defect is present, it will be self-evident and fully covered by warranty.  Wear and tear and misuse are not covered by the warranty.  Ten years is the best warranty in the market.

Aluminum fittings are lighter than brass but are very soft, and easily crushed if a hose is run over.  Brass is slightly heavier but much more durable, overall a better fitting.

Some manufacturers spiral braid their hoses, and that process doesn’t have the same effect on the strength of the hose.  Braiding helps the core pressure rating as it is placed over the core of the hose before the cover is added.  Woven braiding is the best.  It’s done using machines that weave the braiding over the middle (core) and add strength to the hose. 

300psi is the standard working pressure for most hoses.  The standard is to divide the burst pressure of the hose by 4, and that will give you the working pressure.  Some manufacturers cheat and say their hoses are 300psi when they aren’t, as their burst pressure is less than 4:1 (1200 psi).

The industry standards have always said that a hose should have a factor of 4 to 1.  This means that if a hose says it’s a 300-psi hose, the pressure that will cause it to burst should be 4x the working pressure. 

The pressure ratings for a hose are based on testing at an ambient temperature of 70°F.  As the hose is exposed to warmer temperatures above 70°F and lower temperatures, it will affect the performance of the hose.  Loss of pressure rating and hose integrity.  We test all of the hoses to the highest and lowest temperatures where the hose maintains its integrity and pressure ratings.  Ours is the best in the industry for either warm or cold temperatures.  -50°F to +190°F for the BluBird hoses.

Ozone Weather Resistance is the ability of rubber to withstand the effects of exposure to Ozone. Ozone and UV light can affect a hose, causing the hose to deteriorate over time.  The Blubird hose is an EPDM rubber, which is resistant to the effects of Ozone and UV exposure. 

The BluBird hose is naturally abrasion resistant because it’s made from an EPDM rubber with good abrasion resistance. 

Rubber has no memory, so it lays flat and doesn’t kink.  Kinking is a bend in the hose that restricts the airflow.

The bend restrictor is put on each hose end to protect the end fittings.  The ends are the most vulnerable parts of the hose.  Without the bend restrictor, the fittings can be damaged when bent.  We developed the four-finger grip to conform to the user’s fingers, making the hose easier to hold and handle.  This bend restrictor is proprietary to us.

Our primary offering for the BluBird Air Hose is ¼”, 3/8”, ½” & 1”. These are all I.D. (internal dimension) sizes.

We don’t manufacture fittings.  We source them from fitting manufacturers to meet the specs for our hoses.