For cold I would say gardiners microbore is the best hose. For hot the perfect hose hasn't yet been developed, at the moment I use brodex heavy duty microbore which is 4 mm fatter than gardiners.
Pole wise I'd say the slx 25 is a good all rounder with an extreme brush on the end. It may be pricey but the lightness and rigidity will save you time and energy and make you money.
Simon.