Home Gardening Tools Buying guide Buyer’s Guide: The best snow shovel

Buyer’s Guide: The best snow shovel

August 18, 2018

The best snow shovel - for extreme and mild winters

Winter is coming it and it means a lot to all of us of course. Where it means BBQ and cozy nights, it also means huge piles of snow in front of your homes. And that’s a problem, trust me. So, instead of allowing snow to block roadways, streets and your door pavements, take it on and look for the best snow shovel in the market to relieve you of all these tensions.

Characteristics of a really good snow shovel

Picking up a good snow shovel wasn’t even a Herculean task before nor is it now. You just need a simple insight on how it works to understand the main characteristics of a good snow shovel.

A few of which are the following:

Durable: A good snow shovel should always be durable as it is really not expected that you will go out and buy a new one after just a few weeks. When we talk of durability, we usually take into account the kind of wood used in the shovel or whether the quality of steel is substantial or not.
Lightweight: If you are looking for the best snow shovel for you, then be sure that you buy a lightweight one. Honestly speaking, you won’t be even anywhere near comfortable pushing and removing snow with a heavier shovel. If the material used in snow shovel is good, then definitely it would also be lightweight. See, it’s related.
Wider at the base: If you want the work to be speedy, then make sure you buy a shovel that is comparatively wider at the base. Of course, more surface area means more snow will be removed off the way in one push. However, it again questions the durability of the snow shovel especially how much weight can be bore by the handle.
Sheath on the handle: A snow shovel definitely means some good deal of work! So go for the shovel which has a sheath of rubber or synthetic material on the handle so that pushing the snow no longer means a tedious job. The sheath also ensures added protection to your hands.
Longer handle: You haven’t studied Physics but I have! So I suggest you to look for snow shovels with longer handles as they will surely reduce the force required to push snow due to longer movement arms.

Select your shovel by yourself!

It all depends on what are you looking for and what are your requirements for a snow shovel.

Let me tell you a snow shovel works equally well with moving sand or snow depending on what shape they have.

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If you have a shovel with 30 inch wide blade, then just shovel snow with it. It will help you in pushing and throwing snow with it but necessarily not mud or sand. They are mostly made up of synthetic plastic.
Aluminum made shovels are also quite trendy in the market. If you have one then it is quite good as they are efficient as well as rust proof.
We seriously don’t advise scraper shovels. They are good at removing ice or snow but they leave off marks and impressions on the pavement as well.
Round nose shovels are highly recommended. They not only clean up the snow but also shovel what is left in narrow cracks without leaving marks on the surface.
If you have frosted snow or hard ice outside your house or in your porch, we recommend you to go for the square nosed shovel as it is the best in shoveling and scrapping.
Another type is the 24 inch wide shovel which is quite good in pushing but you can’t shovel easily especially if the shovel is made up of metal.

Manual VS Automatic snow shovels

Another mostly asked question is which shovel is better; manual or automatic.

Well I am okay with both but the case can be different too. If it doesn’t snow much in your area or it snows but that isn’t too hard to be shoveled, go for the manual one. Also keep in mind your physical health is this case. You must be muscular enough to work with a manual snow shovel.

However, automatic snow shovel is definitely a luxury! If you want the work to be done fast and efficiently without much physical effort, then go and buy an automatic shovel. It may be a little more costly but I guess it’s okay as long as it serves the purpose. But, don’t only rely on it. Keep a manual one as backup in case it snows and power lines are disconnected.

A few picks of best snow shovel by us!

Still confused about the best snow shovel for you?
No issues, we have enlisted a few of the best snow shovels for you. Just read through and go ahead on buying the right one.

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Our Word

In the end, the only thing that matters is your requirement. How often it snows and how much it snows. It also depends upon the fact if you need a manual one or an automatic one.

Either case just go through the products and buy the one which you think will serve the purpose better for you.

Happy Buying!

1. Garant YSP30DU Yukon 30-Inch Steel Blade D-Grip Snow Pusher – Blue

Garant is one of the most well-known manufacturers of hardware and tools. They have been in the business for long so that’s why we have placed them on the top.

The Garant Snow Shovel has some very distinct characteristics that aren’t quite common otherwise.

Characteristics of Garant snow shovel

30 inch wide stainless steel blade that means it can move considerable amount of snow at a time.
Single sheet of highly durable steel that allows maximum snow to be cleared without giving in.
Small stripes of steel as well as supports that add to the strength and performance of the snow shovel.
A handle with a D shaped grip that allows more adaptability for the user.
A polished hardwood handle that serves the purpose well of providing comfort.

PROS

It is a lot more durable than other snow shovels in the market because of the high-quality steel it is made up of.
It also has a lot more capacity to push snow as it is 30 inches wide and also can bear weight.
It is actually a heavy-duty shovel. Customers are reported to push up to 17’’ of snow using it.

CONS

The only visible con is Garant snow shovel is its manual functions especially when many of the others in the market are automatic.

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2. Toro 38361 Power Shovel 7.5 Amp Electric Snow Thrower

When you talk about automated shovels that are also more powerful as well as are easy to operate, then Toro Power snow shovel is the one to look for.

It is the best brand in the USA that deals with automatic snow shovels run over electricity. And unlike the others, it is quite fast as well.

Toro Power snow shovel has the capacity to shovel snow at the rate of 300 pounds per minute which means it is many folds faster than the manual working of course. Even though it weighs just 13 pounds, still it possesses great features.

It gives you faster means of snow removal and employs two curved blades powered by a motor to remove snow.

Characteristics of Toro Power snow shovel

Leading manufacturer of electric snow shovels in United States
A shovel powered by a 7.5 Amp motor that helps you clean up your alleys and walkways with ease.
Is remarkably fast as it cleans up snow up to the rate of 300 pounds per minute.
Is also very durable as it is made up of heavy duty plastic that can bear substantial weight as well.
Just about 13 pounds, it is the perfect weight to be used easily by anyone.
It also comes with a 2-year warranty which means it is definitely going to last much longer.
The motor, the blades and the steel employed anywhere in the making of the shovel is stainless, rust-less steel.

PROS

Torro Power snow shovel has a long list of pros too. Some of which are

It is a lightweight machine and is a lot easy to use as well.
Operator handle can be adjusted as per requirement
The cord is locked just close to the handle to ensure power isn’t cut off.
It is very easy and almost free to maintain as it doesn’t require any special lubricants to function well.

CONS

Being operated by electricity only is a con especially during harsh conditions and power failure, it is not recommended.

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3. AAA 4004 Red Aluminum Sport Utility Shovel

Available in 3 bright colors, AAA Red Aluminum Sports utility shovel weighs just around 1.3 pounds which is extremely lightweight. The length of the snow shovel handle can be readjusted from 25 inch to 32 inch as desired by the user.

Surprisingly, it is made of aluminum not stainless steel in case of various other shovels and that makes a difference straightaway.

Characteristics of AAA Red Aluminum Snow Shovel

Due to the usage of high quality aluminum in place of heavy steel, this aluminum shovel is very lightweight.
It weighs around 1.3 pounds which is about 4-5 times lighter than the other snow shovels in the market.
Its length is customizable. You can change it from 25-32 inches as desired keeping in view the task.
It is not one whole chunk of aluminum but rather it is 3 pieces joined together that can be stored separately as well.
It is highly recommended for day to day usage as it is also one of the bestsellers in its category at Amazon.

PROS

AAA Red Aluminum Sport Utility snow shovel has a long list of attributes as well.

It is extremely lightweight so is easy to use even for young lads.
It can be stored in 3 constituent parts which means it is customizable too.
It is very useful in emergency conditions as it has all the prerequisites of being available on demand.

CONS

While being in 3 parts makes it easy to store, it also means you have more chance of it being snapped. It is reported quite often.
It is lightweight so it can operate only lightweight. Don’t expect it to work under heavy duty circumstances.

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