Has anybody used those braided hose sleeves.Is there an EASY way to get em to slide over the hoses?

yeah you force the hose over a broom handle to straighten it out, then put the cover on.

But it ends up looking terrible anyway.

I agree, they look tacky. Plus if the hose decides to let go, you wont know until its too late because that crap looking sleeve would hide any defects in the hose. Just my point of view.