Good radiator hoses? (PIC)

https://imgbox.com/NzTefP5G

I bought the premium Gates lower radiator hose and comparing it to OEM it looks to be about 1/3 the thickness.

The origional looks pristine and frankly I think I have more confidence it will go 20 more years.

Is gates just a cheap design? Are there better ones out there?9

Bigger is not always better. Gates has been a great brand and it's all we would use at our shop. If it's a belt or hose, we'll replace it with Gates. Maybe the OEM hoses are thicker, but that doesn't mean the rubber isn't degraded. Matter of fact, 20 years is a LONG time for rubber and I wouldn't trust it much longer.

Thickness alone is not an indicator of goodness. rubber type, reinforcement type has a role to play. also old rubber might be thicker cause it swelled, which means deterioration.

Radiator hoses swell up and get soft as the rubber degrades after years of use.

Rubber hoses deteriorate from the inside out. The dealer replacement works just fine. If you vacuum fill the cooling system then the spring in the lower radiator hose just makes it that much easier.