diff --git a/client.go b/client.go
index 23eb318..a4b11c8 100644
--- a/client.go
+++ b/client.go
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ const (
 
 	// defaultRequestTimeout is the default per-request timeout (was 6s prior to v4.2.0).
 	defaultRequestTimeout = 30 * time.Second
-	// defaultMaxConnsPerHost caps concurrent TCP connections per host.
-	defaultMaxConnsPerHost = 5
+	// defaultMaxConnsPerHost caps concurrent TCP connections per host and sizes the idle pool; extra requests wait for a free connection.
+	defaultMaxConnsPerHost = 100
 	// defaultIdleTimeout sits below the typical 60s LB idle timeout with a 5s safety margin.
 	defaultIdleTimeout = 55 * time.Second
 	// defaultConnectTimeout caps TCP + TLS handshake duration.
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ func WithTimeout(t time.Duration) ClientOption {
 	}
 }
 
-// WithMaxConnsPerHost caps concurrent TCP connections per host. Default: 5.
+// WithMaxConnsPerHost caps concurrent TCP connections per host, which is also the number of idle connections kept for reuse. Default: 100.
 // Ignored when WithHTTPClient is set.
 func WithMaxConnsPerHost(n int) ClientOption {
 	return func(c *Client) {
@@ -209,6 +209,7 @@ func buildDefaultHTTPClient(requestTimeout time.Duration, maxConnsPerHost int, i
 	transport := http.DefaultTransport.(*http.Transport).Clone()
 	transport.MaxConnsPerHost = maxConnsPerHost
 	transport.MaxIdleConnsPerHost = maxConnsPerHost
+	transport.MaxIdleConns = 0 // DefaultTransport's global 100 would otherwise cap the per-host idle pool
 	transport.IdleConnTimeout = idleTimeout
 	transport.DialContext = (&net.Dialer{
 		Timeout:   connectTimeout,
diff --git a/client_test.go b/client_test.go
index 08cc864..48e2b45 100644
--- a/client_test.go
+++ b/client_test.go
@@ -212,8 +212,9 @@ func TestClientDefaultTransportConfig(t *testing.T) {
 
 	tr, ok := httpClient.Transport.(*http.Transport)
 	require.True(t, ok, "default transport must be *http.Transport, not nil")
-	assert.Equal(t, 5, tr.MaxConnsPerHost, "default MaxConnsPerHost = 5")
-	assert.Equal(t, 5, tr.MaxIdleConnsPerHost, "default MaxIdleConnsPerHost = 5")
+	assert.Equal(t, 100, tr.MaxConnsPerHost, "default MaxConnsPerHost = 100")
+	assert.Equal(t, 100, tr.MaxIdleConnsPerHost, "default MaxIdleConnsPerHost = 100")
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, tr.MaxIdleConns, "no global idle cap below the per-host one")
 	assert.Equal(t, 55*time.Second, tr.IdleConnTimeout, "default IdleTimeout = 55s")
 	assert.False(t, tr.DisableKeepAlives, "KeepAlive invariant")
 }
@@ -257,7 +258,7 @@ func TestClientInfoLogOnConstruction(t *testing.T) {
 	got := cap.infos[0]
 	assert.Contains(t, got, "client.initialized")
 	assert.Contains(t, got, "stream.sdk.name=getstream-go")
-	assert.Contains(t, got, "stream.client.max_conns_per_host=5")
+	assert.Contains(t, got, "stream.client.max_conns_per_host=100")
 	assert.Contains(t, got, "stream.client.idle_timeout_seconds=55")
 	assert.Contains(t, got, "stream.client.connect_timeout_seconds=10")
 	assert.Contains(t, got, "stream.client.request_timeout_seconds=30")