I for one am glad that Alex found a supplier to manufacture Thermobore hose for him.
Clive (Discount), myself and a couple others pestered Alex into having some manufactured. Initially it was more expensive than he's selling it for now. As I was one of those who pestered him into selling the stuff I felt obliged to put my money where my mouth was and purchase some from him. My opinion is nothing ventured, nothing gained. Some things just have to be tried. You can't progress forwards if you're not prepared to take a leap of faith and try these new products.
IMO it does retain the heat better than normal minibore through experience of using both types of hose, simply because less heat is lossed. I can't prove it scientifically, the way I compare is to feel the heat of the hose in my hand and compare it to the heat lossed using normal minibore. The thermobore is colder to the touch, therefore less heat escapes the hose.
It is not quite as easy to reel in as normal hot, minibore owing to the thin, metal insulation strip which reinforces the hose but it is still much easier to reel in than cold hose. That's the compromising price to suffer for an insulated hose.
Also, the exterior of thermobore has a smoother exterior surface which I find a little sticky when reeling back in if it starts to tangle up. I would prefer the exterior to be rougher, similar in appearance to normal minibore hose so it doesn't tangle together, but that's just my personal preference.