I have an old old garden hose that is all rubber. It does not kink, it's
pretty heavy. The fittings on the ends are leaking and broken so they need
to be replaced.

The hose is not the typical 5/8" size. It is 1/2". I cannot use the
standard economy 5/8" hose menders. Instead I need to get a metal 1/2" barb
to 1/2" MIP connector which cost like $5 a piece. Then I need another
adapter to go from that to hose coupling - one male one female, and that's
another $5 a piece, and of course two hose clamps. Altogether I would have
spent $24.00 on fittings to repair the hose, when I can get a new one for
$12.99 at the big box store and of course those are lighter but kinks easy.

What would you do?

MC