Need Help Selecting A Couple High Quality Snow Shovels

[adirondackdestroyer]

I've found with small amount of snow a shovel can push as well as blade (push as in push to a destination, not simply push to the side), but once it exceeds 7 inch or so both will get stuck pusing snow off driveway. Luckily I live on a relative major street so all the snow on street are actually removed within 36 hours of snowing, so I can throw most of it outside and not worry about too much piling up over the winter.

The pusher shovel is much faster than a normal scoop shovel, when it comes to moving snow.
When there is lots of snow it works just as well. You just can't move the snow as far as your normally would (because it starts to pile up).

i just call them all shovels and use what ever i have available.

That's the mindset I used to have, but I knew that there was a better way to do this.

I think "Spencer" was doing it the right way. I picked up one of those large Garant Yukon snow sleighs yesterday from Home Depot in Canada, and I have one of the 36" Garant Pushers coming to the local hardware store on Monday. I tried out the snow sleigh last night and moved some snow back on my lawn. It was so easy I was amazed! It took very little effort at all, and I was able to move a large amount of snow in a short period of time.
I'm thinking that as long as the snow is less 6" or less, then his method is by far the easiest/fastest. You can move all the snow to the side in no time at all with the pusher, and then scoop it all up and put it in a pile on your yard with the sleigh in only a few minutes. This method also means that you don't have the tall mounds of snow on the sides of your driveway, which can block your vision when backing out of your driveway.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

I have a confession to make: I enjoy some of these non-flashlight topics as much or even more than flashlight stuff! Over the years, I've found CPF'ers to be some of the most intelligent, helpful, and knowledgeable folks I've ever met, especially on these "which one is best?" threads.

Two days ago, my father and I spent about three hours taking turns with a sledgehammer and shovel chopping apart the ice on our driveway. For the last month or so, whenever it snowed, we would just drive over it, since it wasn't too high to block our transit. However, over the weeks, it glaciated, turning into a solid, thick sheet of ice. We pulled out the sledgehammer, and got a tremendous workout!

I am definitely going to check out the Wovel, and I never knew about a "snow blade" before this thread; I'll be checking that out as well. 🙂

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

I have a confession to make: I enjoy some of these non-flashlight topics as much or even more than flashlight stuff! Over the years, I've found CPF'ers to be some of the most intelligent, helpful, and knowledgeable folks I've ever met, especially on these "which one is best?" threads.

Two days ago, my father and I spent about three hours taking turns with a sledgehammer and shovel chopping apart the ice on our driveway. For the last month or so, whenever it snowed, we would just drive over it, since it wasn't too high to block our transit. However, over the weeks, it glaciated, turning into a solid, thick sheet of ice. We pulled out the sledgehammer, and got a tremendous workout!

I am definitely going to check out the Wovel, and I never knew about a "snow blade" before this thread; I'll be checking that out as well. 🙂

I also consider most CPFer's to be very knowledgeable in a large array of fields.
I knew when I created this thread that I would get very good responses, and would most likely get the information I was looking for (and I did!).

I have a nice Ames Ice Chipper that I use to break the packed snow (soon to be ice) before it gets to bad. I would recommend picking one of those up so you don't have to pull out a sledgehammer, that is unless you enjoyed it. :laughing:

If anyone has any positive or negative comments toward any snow shovel/pusher, please post them. Don't let the shovel thread die!

 

[moonfish]

Well my snow shovel is titanium and I do have a light mount on it:

And my snow shovel has never seen snow and I have no idea if it is any good with snow. It works great with beach sand though. 😱

Actually, I have a feed scoop like that and I use it for snow. It isn't good when you have 1/2" of fluff but when you have more and it is heavy, it works great. The too wide blade on snow shovels makes them too tippy for the heavy stuff.

 

[jzmtl]

Two days ago, my father and I spent about three hours taking turns with a sledgehammer and shovel chopping apart the ice on our driveway. For the last month or so, whenever it snowed, we would just drive over it, since it wasn't too high to block our transit. However, over the weeks, it glaciated, turning into a solid, thick sheet of ice. We pulled out the sledgehammer, and got a tremendous workout!

I learned that the hard way too, just because you can drive over it doesn't mean you can get away without shoveling it.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Another thing I've used on occasion for tenacious ice is my propane torch that I got for weed burning & other tasks.

 

[mechBgon]

Is that the secret? I better order one then.

So far, my stragegy is working brilliantly. Since I've blown $40 on a new shovel, we've had just a faint trace of snow from then onwards!

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

So far, my stragegy is working brilliantly. Since I've blown $40 on a new shovel, we've had just a faint trace of snow from then onwards!

Incredibly, the same method is working for me! Since purchasing the Yukon Sleigh and the 36" Pusher it hasn't snowed an inch! We'll see how long this lasts.

 

[LuxLuthor]

No such luck here. Last night I had to Wovel another 3-4" of snow.

 

[Lite_me]

You Wov it, don't ya. 😀

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

I think it's time to breathe some new life into this thread...

We had an inch or two New Year's morning, but nothing really major yet. It'll come soon enough.

adirondack, how are those tools you purchased last season working out for you?

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

I think it's time to breathe some new life into this thread...

We had an inch or two New Year's morning, but nothing really major yet. It'll come soon enough.

adirondack, how are those tools you purchased last season working out for you?

We haven't had to much snow yet this year, but my shovels worked great last year! The 36" pusher works great if you have 6" of snow or less. I use the 24" pusher if I have more than 6" of snow, and it works fine, but takes a little longer than the 36" pusher.
I haven't had to use the Sleigh shovel yet this year, but it was a life (or back) saver last year! I don't have to actually pick up any snow at all if I use it, and my back is straight the whole time as well.

 

[blasterman]

You guys most live in low traffic areas, or just deal with lots of loosly packed snow. Here in West Michigan most of the shovels above won't work.

Snow here tends to vary a lot on a daily basis, ranging from dense and fine lake effect to sleet to wet slush - all within a 24 hour period. I also have a fair amount of traffic in front of my house which packs it down within a 24 hour period, and makes a plastic shovel of any sort a big waste of time. This is by far the hardest snow to remove.

I also live in the inner city where there's actually 'sidewalk nazis' that drive and post notices on your house if ice isn't cleared within a few days. Note I said "ice" and not snow. They could care less if you have three feet of snow on your front walk and dead corposes frozen in it that thaw out in the spring. However, god forbid you leave a fraction of an inch of snow on your walk, and it melts leaving a few square inches of ice - then they post notices. That is, until I was home sick from work one day and caught one trying to post a note on my door *after* a city plow made the mess. I haven't seen that guy since after I promised to take his roll of duct tape and seal him in his car.

Anyways, this creates an unusual problem where if you shovel, it *has* to be right down to the cement and very clean. I've found the best tools for a diversity of snow is a combination of a square garden shovel and pretty much any type of lightweight thrower.

The steel garden shovel will get under the densest packed snow or ice, and typically works so well you can run with it and tear up packed ice. It obviously takes more passes that a wider steel pusher, but I'd rather make several passes with no stopping than to hack and slash with a bigger shovel. The thrower then makes short work of whatever remains.

 

[LED_Thrift]

Since reading and learning from this thread last year, I went and did my own mod:




I tested it first on the light powder snow we had just before Christmas. It worked well, but it was on the heavier snow we had two days ago that it really shined. The design means you never have to LIFT the snow, and that's a wonderful thing. Still have to mount a light to it for night work.

 

[kaichu dento]

Since reading and learning from this thread last year, I went and did my own mod:




I tested it first on the light powder snow we had just before Christmas. It worked well, but it was on the heavier snow we had two days ago that it really shined. The design means you never have to LIFT the snow, and that's a wonderful thing.

Nice work! Looks like a real back saver! :thumbsup:

Still have to mount a light to it for night work.

Where would you get such a thing?!?

:lolsign:

I vote for the Quark MiNi with it's fat hot spot and wide, soft flood!

 

[LuxLuthor]

Oh I see you are posting your custom mod in both threads now. It is a nice mod using the www.Wovel.com design. I'm still "Woving my Wovel." It makes shoveling snow fun.

 

[LED_Thrift]

Yes, I posted in both threads cause I was proud of my mod. Thanks for turning me on to the idea. It really does make removing the snow from my driveway and patio much more fun.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

The 36" pusher works great if you have 6" of snow or less. I use the 24" pusher if I have more than 6" of snow, and it works fine, but takes a little longer than the 36" pusher.
I haven't had to use the Sleigh shovel yet this year, but it was a life (or back) saver last year! I don't have to actually pick up any snow at all if I use it, and my back is straight the whole time as well.

adirondack, could you post the link to the 36" pusher you bought?

Also, could you post a link to the sleigh?

I wasn't sure which one you bought of each.

:thanks:

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

adirondack, could you post the link to the 36" pusher you bought?

Also, could you post a link to the sleigh?

I wasn't sure which one you bought of each.

:thanks:

No problem.
The first link is the exact 36" pusher that I have. It works well in light snowfalls and can clean a sidewalk or driveway very quickly if you have only a inches of snow.
The second link is the 26" pusher that I have, but any of their 26" pushers that don't have a metal strip will work just the same. These work great for snowfalls up to 10" or so.
The last link is the sleigh that I have, and last night it was a freaking life saver! I came home from my parents house after being there for 8 days, only to find my driveway covered in at least 30" of snow!!! None of my other shovels were working for crap, but the sleigh made the work pretty damn easy. The sleigh is the ONLY option for super heavy snowfalls if you want to get the job done fast.

http://www.garant.com/html/en/produits/produit.php?idProduit=637&typeProduit=categorie

http://www.garant.com/html/en/produits/produit.php?idProduit=880&typeProduit=categorie

http://www.garant.com/html/en/produits/produit.php?idProduit=1232&typeProduit=categorie

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

I just a bought a Manplow from a guy on the 'bay selling demo units in like-new shape. No affiliation with seller other than he is a really nice guy and they are cheaper than retail. I looked at all my options, and based on the reviews, country of origin, price, and estimated longevity, I went wih the Manplow. I will post my thoughts on it once it arrives and after the next snow...

http://www.manplow.com/