Which snow shovel

Compared to snow blowers, electric shovels are typically lightweight, reasonably priced, and relatively small—making them a good choice for navigating smaller spaces like narrow walkways or steps. Electric snow shovels work similarly to traditional snow blowers.

They utilize a rotating blade to remove snow from a surface and then propel it through a chute. These portable machines usually have to be manually pushed along your snow clearing path. Their smaller size makes them easier to store when not in use, which is a bonus if your storage space is limited.

Electric power is generated with a cord, or they can be cordless powered via a rechargeable battery. While it may vary between models, most batteries will last between 30 to 45 minutes on a single charge. It is also important to consider that most batteries should be stored inside a space that will not go below freezing. Lightweight, easy-to-maneuver shovel removes snow quickly with a powerful cordless design. This rechargeable cordless electric snow shovel works best to clear lighter snow up to 6 inches in height.

Again, for best performance, make sure the battery is stored somewhere at room temperature. No matter how lightweight and brilliantly designed your shovel is, the act of physically lifting scoop after scoop of snow is tiresome. Pushing a heavy load with wheels offsets the amount of energy required to complete the task immensely. Ever pushed a handcart full of heavy boxes? Incorporating the simple science of the wheel into a shovel works particularly well with a pusher-style shovel.

A snow pusher allows for fast removal of larger surfaces like driveways, for example. When wheels are added the task becomes that much easier, reducing the force of friction. Wheeled shovels are a great choice for people with back issues or older homeowners. As with manual snow-pusher-style shovels, the wheeled snow pusher will work best on lightweight snow, while heavy ice and snow may need to be broken up before this can be used to clear the space.

This reasonably priced, heavy-duty metal snow pusher is scratch-and rust-resistant, to last you many winters. However, this shovel is larger than some others, so adequate storage would be required. These shovels act as a two-in-one tool, offering the ability to push as well as lift snow. That means you only need one shovel to clear the snowfall from your deck, driveway, and even the top of your car. The best combination shovels will be durable, ergonomically designed, and lightweight enough to be used comfortably.

A inch steel handle makes this one easy to grip without hunching over too much. A great choice to save space and time, this combination snow shovel is designed with a durable steel handle and a coated plastic resin blade.

The shovel blade has an angled ribbed pattern, which helps prevent snow from sticking to the shovel. An ergonomic bent arm and S-shaped handle help ensure proper posture and reduce back strain. The strength and durability of these is ideal for busting up ice and digging into frozen slush a common challenge on salted and plowed streets , but the small size and relatively high weight of the scoop will move less snow with more effort than a larger poly scoop.

As for materials, the repetitive nature of shoveling means you should go with the lightest scoop. These shovels have a light weight plus the built-in flexibility to withstand sharp impacts on uneven pavement. Though they add durability, they are also soft enough to work on decks and stone walkways without damaging the surface.

Representatives of Horgan Enterprises , a landscaping and snow-removal company located in Boston, told us in an interview that the company steers clear of metal wear strips that can easily scratch wood decks, brick walkways, and bluestone patios.

Most poly shovels that have no wear strip are sharp but easily dented and damaged our current runner-up pick, the Bully Tools Combination Snow Shovel , has no wear strip but is very durable. Because of the curve, the spot where your leading hand grips the shaft is higher off the ground than it is with a straight shovel.

This allows you to keep your back straighter. The scoop of a bent-shaft shovel, in contrast, can swing like a pendulum at the bend, requiring the user to put in more effort to stabilize the shovel while tossing. The effect is especially pronounced when the scoop is loaded with heavy snow.

The leading hand can only go as far as the bend. For even better ergonomics, we discovered multiple academic studies concluding that a secondary handle placed about two-thirds of the way down the shaft greatly reduces back strain by shifting the workload from the back to the arms. All told, we investigated upwards of 75 shovels. Understanding that a secondary handle would be a key addition to our chosen shovel, we first located all of the available tools that come with one attached: the Bigfoot Power Lift , the SnowBow which appears to be discontinued , the Suncast SC Double Grip , and the True Temper SnoBoss , which has a double shaft and a perpendicular handle.

At the same time we also discovered two add-on secondary handles, the Stout Backsaver and the Motus D-grip , both designed to be attached to any shafted tool. To fully explore the ergonomic possibilities, we tested a wide assortment of regular shovels representing the different styles with and without the add-on secondary handles and in a variety of shaft and scoop shapes.

For a control unit, we added the Suncast SN to represent the old-fashioned shovel. For the bulk of our testing, four New England residents used the shovels to clear a driveway, five long walkways, four front stoops, three decks, a long set of deck stairs 14 steps and one landing , a set of fieldstone steps, a set of cobblestone steps, a stone patio, and a brick patio.

The shovelers varied in height and gender, consisting of a 6-foot male, a 5-foot-8 male, a 6-foot-5 male, and a 5-foot female. Testing occurred over the course of eight days and after six snowstorms that totaled about 42 inches of snow.

During this time, a wide range of temperatures caused snow density to vary from light and fluffy to frozen and crunchy to melty and slushy. The shovel stands apart from its competitors with a unique combination of several features we found essential in a good snow shovel: a curved handle, a poly wear strip, and a flexible and durable scoop. All of our testers picked the Mountain Mover as the best, but when we added on the secondary handle, improving the ergonomics even more, our crew of shovel testers went bananas over it.

The Ergonomic Mountain Mover was the only model we tested with a curved shaft made of light and durable aluminum. The arcing shape allows for a straighter back while shoveling and also gives full flexibility in hand positioning up and down the shaft.

The design stabilizes the scooping motion, eliminating the pendulum effect you feel when using a shovel with a bent shaft. The D-grip at the back end of the Ergonomic Mountain Mover is nice and large, and no one in our testing panel had any problems fitting a hand wearing a chunky winter glove into the opening.

We had no problem busting up ice and compacted snow on wooden deck steps with the shovel, and the steps came through the process unmarred. The wear strip is rounded, so it easily finds its way over uneven surfaces like brick walkways or fieldstone steps.

This secondary handle attaches to the shovel shaft and allows you to stand straighter while shoveling. The EziMate clamps to the shovel shaft with two hex bolts. Thanks to the included hex wrench, which you can store directly on the handle, you can quickly loosen the bolts and slide the handle up or down the shaft to accommodate different-size people using the shovel.

It also takes only a few minutes to switch the handle over to another tool, such as a rake or a spade shovel. Our previous pick, the Stout Backsaver, is much more tedious to adjust in this manner. In addition to reducing back strain, the EziMate BackEZ also makes shoveling a long flight of deck stairs much easier. On level ground, the EziMate really pays for itself: While moving snow, everyone on our testing panel, regardless of height, could feel the change in body mechanics and the reduced strain on their back.

Shoveling snow is just plain easier with the added handle. We tested with a new model. The corners of the scoop are beginning to crack a little, but the shovel still works fine.

Another Wirecutter staffer, who has used the True Temper over five winters since , likes its solid feel, ergonomic handle, and wide blade. Wirecutter editor Tim Heffernan bought six Ergonomic Mountain Movers for the maintenance crew of the unit co-op in Queens, NY, where he was board president. This added beefiness makes knifing the shovel under compacted snow or into a semi-frozen snowbank more difficult.

Shovels with metal wear strips can catch on any uneven surface, jarring your shoulders. Such models also damage non-pavement surfaces easily, and in our tests, some of the models without a strip were damaged after just a few hours of shoveling. Only after I saw this True Temper model tested alongside the metal-edged shovels did I realize that such a difference existed. Another downside to the shovel is that the leading edge of the scoop has a slight curve to it. On the models we tested, this was minor, but after multiple reader comments about it, we went to Home Depot and saw that on some units it was more pronounced.

If you feel like this will be overly annoying to you, our runner-up pick, the Bully Tools Combination Snow Shovel has a straight leading edge but it lacks the curved handle. If our pick is sold out—which can happen in the middle of a snowy winter—we recommend the Bully Tools Combination Snow Shovel. This Bully is fully compatible with the BackEZ tool handle , which adds a considerable amount of ergonomic benefit.

If you go with the straight-handled Bully, we strongly recommend also investing in the secondary handle to take some of the load off your back.

The added length on the shaft does help with leverage and makes it easier to push snow across a driveway, but the EziMate really does wonders to relieve back strain. The Bully comes with a inch-wide scoop, so it is larger than our inch main pick and is starting to push the limits of what we would recommend for regular shoveling Bully makes tools with the professional user in mind.

To demonstrate this, the company has a video of someone breaking a cinder block with the handle and another one of the scoop being run over by a truck. We felt this strength in our testing as well and were surprised how well the poly scoop held up, even after a few times shoveling off a set of cobblestone steps. We then spent time smashing it straight into an icy driveway, which did nothing to the scoop.

Because it has a curved shaft, it comes with all of the ergonomic benefits of our main pick and can work with the BackEZ tool handle , plus it offers the added durability and sharp edge of a metal shovel. During our testing, this shovel earned high marks for its ability to chop into frozen and compacted snow.

The scoop is metal, so the edge is much thinner and stronger than that of poly shovels. Thanks to this design, the Aluminum Combo Shovel is also good for breaking up ice. We did notice that when we banged the shovel straight down into ice, the rivets that held the scoop to the handle took on a lot of strain.

This shovel is not without its drawbacks. That may not sound like much, but with repetitive shoveling, such added weight quickly tires out your arms. Also, the weight is concentrated at the scoop end, so this tool feels unbalanced in comparison with the poly combo.

Like the other metal-edged shovels we tested, the scoop will catch on any uneven ground—forget about using it on gravel driveways, stone patios, or brick walkways. Even on a paved driveway, we had occasional problems with the blade hitching on bits of asphalt or snagging on the slightly raised blobs of blacktop patch.

This effect is not only annoying but also prone to giving the shoulders, neck, and back a good jolt. On top of that, the metal blade can leave scratches on more-delicate materials such as wood decks or bluestone patios. During our testing, we used another shovel with a metal wear strip to clear off a mahogany deck, and despite being extremely careful, we still managed to scratch the decking.

Also, as the metal edge saw use, it became even more abrasive as it developed dents and burrs. The tool, which is popular with ski patrols and people clearing backcountry trails, has a solid metal scoop and a two-piece handle that clicks together to form a sturdy shovel.

When disassembled, the three pieces can be tucked neatly under a car seat or in the back with the groceries. Because I keep my truck in a second, unplowed driveway, I often have to clear a quick path for the tires in order to get in and out. Many snow shovels have straight handles, so learning the right grip is important to prevent strain. To shovel safely, place one hand as close to the blade as possible, and place the other hand on the handle grip.

Some rods are even cushioned with foam to lessen hand fatigue. Many models feature wide, D-grip handles, which are shaped like the letter D and provide a more comfortable, firmer grip than a straight handlebar. For extra-heavy snows and larger areas to plow, you may wish to consider a snow pusher with wheels. The wheels make moving and depositing larger quantities of snow a bit easier, while the blade may be made of iron, for greater strength, stability, and weight.

From one of the oldest makers of outdoor tools in America, the True Temper shovel is tried and true. The blade, made of heavy-duty plastic, measures 18 inches wide and features a nylon wear strip to increase longevity. The handle, made of steel, comes with an oversized D-grip handle for comfortable lifting, while the handle itself is curved to lessen back and arm strain. Best of all, despite its high-quality design and construction, the True Temper remains one of the most affordable combination snow shovels on the market.