I agree that almost all of the current sprinklers on the shelves right now are horrible. Few stores have quality sprinklers.
I did find one on the internet that looks promising. The link below shows an all metal one that you can order or look for in stores.

Here is a link that might be useful: Metal Sprinkler

I've got two of the metal sprinklers like above (only painted green) that I got at HD a couple of years ago that seem to be really doing a good job and holding up.

I had to straighten the oscillating bar a couple of times because it will twist a little when being stored or stacked but no problem. Also I had to put some pet. jelly on the female connection to keep it smooth turning, but that's it. I think they are Melnor's too. Around $30 if I recall.

Thanks for replying. The one I got was $25 at Home Depot. (yeah, I know...) It is all metal on the outside, and appears very well made, but has that plastic female connection. Do you think because it was stored outside over the winter the plastic got brittle? Same thing happened to my trigger spray attachment - a plastic piece inside snapped in half.

I do plan to take it back to Home Depot for a replacement or credit. For $25, I expected it to last more than one season! Maybe I should start going to garage sales and find an old one that was made before plastic became common :)

I would take it back and look for the ones that have the metal female too. That's where most of the wear is gonna be.

I love my 100% plastic oscillator. It is so light weight that there is no stress on the plastic female hose fitting to break it.

I used to be a "metal female" kind of guy but no more. The biggest problem with metal female parts is that if (WHEN!!) you get the slightest leak in them, the brass erodes away. Once the brass erodes, you ALWAYS have a leak. My solid brass male to plastic female parts never leak. I do have to be sure they are not leaking though because the brass male part will erode, too. I have a special file I used to resurface the brass male part if it erodes. Then it is as good as new but I have not had any problems at all since I went to the all plastic oscillator.

I have this one...

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and I have a turbo oscillator by Nelson (from Walmart). I would post a picture but GardenWeb has been spammed by the Nelson company and won't let me. It's the yellow one at Wally's for about $28.

I like everything about the first one. It is very light weight, very precise in the adjustments, and has been working fine for years. The Nelson is much heavier from the metal parts. The only thing I like about it, besides the fact that it is an oscillator, is the "turbine" function. The first one seems to dwell longer at the ends of the sweep. The second one keeps moving back and forth almost all the time. The second one has a metal female connector so I know it will erode and start leaking - this is what I like least about it.

Another consideration is to get the best hose you can afford. I bought a Sears Craftsman hose back in 1975. They have a lifetime unconditional guarantee so no matter what happens to it, Sears will take it back without the receipt. I'm on my third replacement for the original and have bought Craftsman ever since. Mine is the Premium Rubber/Vinyl hose. They make one that is 100% rubber but I've never gotten that one. The hose does not kink and has solid brass connector fittings. There are other great hoses with lifetime guarantees available at every garden center and box store, but my problem with them is that I have to have my receipt to return them. Every now and then I inherit a cheap hose with the stamped metal connectors. The first thing I do is cut off the ends and replace them with plastic fittings. If they break I replace them again. The real secret to being happy with your hose is to have a solid (plastic or brass) male end. If you have the knife-edge male end that digs into the washer on the sprinkler, you are going to get unhappy the first or second time you use it. Those things ALWAYS leak because they cut the washer. So the secret to happiness is to have a perfectly flat male end connector that butts up against the washer. If it ever gets less than flat, it will leak so file it flat. Here's a picture of that in plastic. The brass replacement parts are made the same with the flat surface at the end.

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