We needed a new snow shovel. Faced with brand after brand, choice after choice, design after design, I went with the Suncast SCH2790.
This Suncast shovel has a shock-absorbing D-handle grip, 20″ plastic scoop, steel core handle, and galvanized steel leading edge wear strip.
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I ordered it for $30 from Amazon, and it has since sold out and become temporarily unavailable.
I didn’t need a pushing shovel, I haven’t read good things about ergonomic handle shovels, and although I wanted one with an auxiliary lifting handle, I figured I’d do just fine with a traditional shovel design.
Although 51″ long, I wish the handle was half a foot or so longer.
Oh, and the “shock absorbing D-handle grip” was NOT what I expected. I expected a cushioned handle, but what I got was a handle with spring section. But, it seems handy.
So far, I’m not complaining. There’s a small sharp plastic part on the side of the D-handle, which I’ll slice off as soon as I have a chance, but other than that, the shovel arrived in good shape.
The shock absorbing part is very strange, but works well. It’s rigid, but gives in a little when pushed hard. Instead of transmitting a lot of return pressure to my hands, especially when hitting hard ice, the spring stores some of the force.
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Shoveling will make you all kinds of sore, so any kind of relief is going to be well appreciated.
I threw out the label, as it came off with the bubble wrap that was taped around the scoop for shipping, but I believe it said the shovel was made in USA. Sorry, I should have tried harder to save the label.
See Also: Favorite Winter Tools & Supplies
I used the shovel this past weekend, and it didn’t give me any reason to doubt my purchasing decision. I bought a Suncast shovel years ago, for digging out my car in poorly plowed dorm parking lots, and the name stuck in my mind. Aside from that, I didn’t know a thing about Suncast.
I think that shovel was the Suncast SC1350 ($22 via Amazon), which is a more basic 18″ shovel, also with steel leading edge wear strip.
Is this the best winter snow shovel? Probably not. But I spent some time searching for well recommended models, and came across many gimmicks that received very mixed responses.
I need a couple of more snow storms worth of testing before I can tell you how well this Suncast shovel holds up over time. My basic Suncast never broke down on me after a couple of years of use, and so I hold this one to high expectations.
With there being so many unconventional designs, I decided to go tried and true, not knowing about this model’s shock-absorbing handle. There will always be opportunities to try out one of those unique and ergonomic designs.
Back to the point – Do you have a favorite brand/style/size or winter snow shovel that you would consider “The Best?”
The more popular models are probably all sold out by now, but hopefully your input will still help with others’ research efforts for next year.
And if you’re looking for snow-clearing gear for your car, check out these recommendations:
Why I keep an Avalanche Shovel in My Car (via GearGuyd) – I’ll need to replace mine soon, since 6+ winters of snow-chopping and asphalt-scraping hard use has really roughened up the front of the blade.
I Still Love Mallory Heavy Duty Snow Brushes – After 6 winters of use, my first Mallory snow brush is still going strong, albeit with a slightly worn scraper blade.
Chrisk1970
My favorite snow shovel is my Craftsman 9.0 hp snowblower
David
Not a shovel, but my favorite reasonably priced snow broom/scraper: SubZero’s 50″ extendable model. Menards carries it up here, and it is very nice for the price. The curve keeps your hand out of the snow, the brush rotates and locks nicely, and the plastic scraper is sturdy enough to last for years. I know some people swear by bronze blades, and that’s probably the only improvement I’d want if I was designing a more expensive model.
My favorite feedback on these comes from a co-worker who was raised in northern Wisconsin who I gave one to. Every year she thanks me for the awesome scraper multiple times during our lake effect snowfalls. The long extension lets her reach the top of her crossover and across the entire car with ease.
http://www.menards.com/main/outdoors/snow-ice-removal/50-telescoping-crossover-super-duty-snowbroom/p-1444430971535-c-12409.htm?tid=8699472153742421767
Amazon carries it too for those who aren’t near a Menards: http://www.amazon.com/14039-Subzero-Crossover-Super-Duty-Snowbroom/dp/B00D2QLEO0/
Justin
Just want to chime in here and give a hearty second for this magnificent snow brush. I bought a couple at Meijer on Black Friday 2014 and while it doesn’t get much use as I have a garage, it makes short work of cleaning up a Pontiac Vibe in a parking lot in a flurry.
Allen
I just threw away a copy of your old Suncast SC1350. I loved how light it was, but it was worthless for scraping the ice down to the asphalt. I hit a rock during the first storm and it cracked. Is the spring in the handle supposed to help with this?
Bret
My favorite snow shovels are like the one pictured that I buy on sale for about $8-10 at the local Farm & Fleet store or Menards. I do like a 27″ wide plastic Suncast pusher for clearing light snows or cleaning up after the snowblower. The plastic makes a lot less noise and is a lot lighter than my all metal one. I also use a plastic one (without a metal wear strip which would be damaging) for our composite deck. I haven’t had any problems with plastic shovels cracking even when it is really cold (-25 degrees F).
jeffrey
I have had the Yo-Ho 24″ braced one or about 5 years. The ergonomics and balance is pretty good. It actually is kind of enjoyable to use. I did not even pull the Honda snowblower out even once this year. Any wider and it would, probably, be too heavy for me. I sharpen it on the bench grinder before every winter,so there is a couple minutes of maintenance a year. I definitely do not put it in the same category of the disposable ones. It is a simple and perfect design, and I like it.
Bruce
All second the Yo-Ho 24″ I have 2, one for work and one for the house. It’s the aluminum model with the replaceable steel edge. I’ve got enough sidewalk to clear so I end up doing the work edge every year. So of my guys like the 36″ but I simply don’t have the body mass to make it effective.
Julian
I find that shovels with a steel leading edge wear strip like the one featured here are susceptible to corrosion. If I leave them sitting on my concrete garage floor that melted snow leaves a strip of rust on the floor. Hanging a shovel to dry can still lead to rusty water dripping off. Because of this is usually buy all-plastic shovels when I can.
Patrick
I have a super cheap and simple shovel I love, so much so that I have worn about an inch of plastic off the edge from use.
Drew M
The YOHO 18″ Shovel, natural aluminum blade, Poly D Grip 36″ Wood Handle [ #03040_YH ] looks like the one my mom had and I used for many many years. I didn’t think anyone made one in that style anymore. They may be a little hard on your back but you can move a lot of snow with one of them.
Last year, after my cheap plastic shovel broke, I got an aluminum ‘grain’ scoop. It worked pretty well last week when we got 12″ or so but I wish the handle was longer. Our driveway is gravel so none of the ‘pusher’ scoops really work for us. Some day we may pave the driveway but I doubt it will be any time soon. Also we don’t really get enough snow here to warrant buying a snow thrower. I’ve thought about getting a cheap electric one in the past but shoveling the snow really isn’t all that bad until we get more than about 8″.
G
I have shoveled many decks and walkways in my life. My go-to shovel will always be a True Temper Grain shovel. Plastic is nice for the sticky snow, but tends to crack easily. Aluminum last forever and can withstand any beating that I give it.
R Dogg
Grain Shovel from Ace Hardware (although I’m sure available elsewhere)
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3495129&cp=2568443.2568444.2598674.2601435.2602647
mine says 88903 on wood handle
Chris T
Second this type of shovel. Works great at throwing.
Scott Horton
Snow Dominator is my favorite. Nice long handle for us tall guys, no metal edge to bend and corrode, very tough plastic head, and generous scoop size to clear a lot of snow
Hang Fire
That shovel looks fine.
I think everyone with real snow removal needs requires 3 shovels- a push (which can be all plastic), a large scoop with at least a metal edge, and a standard transfer shovel, for breaking up really heavy and icy spots (like the ice wall the municipal plow leaves at the end of your driveway).
pete
Tools in action had a electic snow shovel on their channel a little while ago. It looked pretty cool. I would certainly buy one if i needed it.
Nathan
what’s this snow stuff y’all are babbling about?
sorry someone had to do it. We don’t get pretty snow – we get sheet ice. I am curious though because if I move much further north I will need something.
Hang Fire
We get sheet ice, too. Every morning after a big snow.
max
I have a 40 year old metal pusher-style bladed one. It is almost 3 feet wide. My dad bought it new when he bought his house. I’ve had it for 6 years. The reinforced blade finally wore through last year. My neighbor welded on a new one from scrap metal. I suspect one of my kids will end up with it. I like it for lighter snow and ice.
I also have a bent handled one (right angle at the top) which is much better on the back and works well for moving deep stuff. It is probably 20 years old. Unfortunately the blade is pretty worn so it leaves trails. It is sunny enough here that it all melts fairly soon so doesn’t matter much. Sometimes it doesn’t and I hit it with the other one later.
Unfortunately the markings are worn off of both so I have no clue about the brand. I would like to get a new bent or hybrid one. I doubt I will by a new straight handled one.
I also have an old single stage snow thrower from Montgomery Ward (1982). I would like one that was bigger, but it belonged to my gramps and I have it for sentimental reasons. I haven’t used it yet this season. It does best with fluffy snow. Does not do well with wet snow.
Nigel
My snow weapons are, we have a gravel driveway. We park our cars near the end of the driveway – less to clean this way.
1. Push broom – for the several inch snow falls. Used to be Craftsman because of their life time warranty.
2. Grain scoop of some sort – much better as a snow shovel. AM Leonard has a really nice poly scoop shovel. I got the Titan Big Grip Poly Scoop from AM Leo – it has a 2nd handle above the scoop.
3. Just got a push blade for my Worx cart. I was using another brand last year.
4. The long discontinued snow paddle Trimmer Plus accessory. I got two off eBay. When I actually need to throw snow.
5. I finally found a Stihl Kombi power broom at a good price but we haven’t had enough snow to try it this winter.
6. When I need to break up a sheet of ice during the spring thaw. A Union Razorback Walk Scraper Edger or something similar like their 7in Multi-Purpose Scraper aka Big Mutt, 4″ is the Mutt.
Chris
I have a typical 2-car width cement driveway, and I’ve been using a 48″ pusher from SnowPusherLite for 8 years now. By far the fastest snow removal tool I’ve ever used. It’s basically a handheld plow. I can clear 99% of the driveway with just 4 passes, and then a couple more for the overflow that runs over the edges. I can do my entire driveway in less than 10 minutes.
Its one drawback is that it’s only a pusher – you can’t lift/scoop snow with it, so if you get a blizzard overnight and wake up to 8″ on your driveway then you’re in trouble. Fortunately I’ve only had that happen once. If you’re home when it snows and don’t mind going out every few hours to clear then it’s great. We got 40″ of snow in January of 2014 and I had no problem keep up with it. I do remember having to clear my driveway 8 times in one day once, but since I was only out there for less than 10 minutes at a time it wasn’t that big of a deal.
http://www.snowpusherlite.com/
They have some videos on their site, or links to some on YouTube.
If I had it to do over again, the only thing I’d do differently would be to ask if I could get a squeegee blade on both sides on the pusher instead of the standard arrangement of a squeegee on one side & metal edge on the other. I found that the metal edge wanted to skip a bit on the pavement, so I only use the squeegee side, and it still hasn’t worn down much after 8 years.
Adam
First, does anyone really have a favorite show shovel, or just a favorite one to curse at?
With that, we have been pleased with the Garant brand. I find them in Ace Hardware typically. Option of all plastic or one with a metal edge.
I will always hang out shovels, not so much for the shovels benefit, but preventing a rust line on the concrete
Wayne Ruffner
Second for Garant – made in Canada, where they should know what’s right regarding snow.
I always get plastic edges, they wear to a perfect edge, and really, so long as Honeypie doesn’t try to chip ice with it, lasts a long time. And when I go through a whole store’s stock of metal edges, I’ve yet to find one that’s straight.
JMG
So far this year, my favorite snow mover has been a Makita 18v x2 blower. I can clear as much walkway with it in ten minutes that can take my neighbor as much as thirty minutes with a small snow shovel. Granted, it might not have worked as well if there had been a heavy wet snow, but so far so good.
Jason
The new 36/40/56/80v leaf blowers work great on small powdery snow storms. I’m sure if you had a nice gas powered backpack blower you could handle even more snow.
JMG
I do have a gas powered blower, but battery power is so much easier to deal with in inclement weather.
Mnoswad
The best snow shovel is not the typical “snow shovel”
For a coule inches on sidewalks and drive ways the snow pusher design works best when used as a snow plow.
But for heavy and deeper snow or hardened snow on top of ice that’s stuck to the pavement the best shovel is……..
A long handle steel grain shovel.
The short d handles are going to wreck your back. The longer the handle the better for you to keep the shovel at the correct angle to chisel up the underlying ice. The long handle allows you to dig and shovel out snow without bending over too much.
I removed the d handle and swapped it with the longest straight replacement handle I could find at the hardware store.
So it may seem that the best snow shovel is not readily available.
Drew M
This year, I found myself wishing for a longer handle on my grain scoop but I would still want the D handle on the end as it makes it easier to keep it from rotating. I might just get a long straight handle one and put my own D handle on it.
mnoswad
sounds like a good modification, i might try that too.
Jimmie
I used to poo-poo those curved-handle shovels until I decided to try one a couple years ago. Last year my wife and I fought over who gets to use it and who gets to use the old straight-handle shovel so this year we have two curved handle shovels. They really do make it easier on the back.
John
For an emergency shovel I keep in my truck/vehicle I got a:
Black Diamond Transfer Shove:
http://amzn.com/B00LX1NLCY
Collapsible, packable, small, aluminum not rust. If its good enough for search and rescue its good enough for me and has really gotten me outta jams.
If for your regular shovels if you need a good grip attachment the “Stout Backsaver ” you referenced is a very good choice and has served well for when I’ve needed it.
Joel
I have a Poly Pro Tools one-piece shovel that I bought after breaking two plastic and one wood-handled shovel two winters ago trying to break through ice on our driveway. They have a video on their website of the shovel being run over by a truck and not breaking. So far, through 1.5 Canadian winters, it hasn’t broken on our ice, either.
Drew M
I have their Hinja. It’s a teaspoon of a shovel and it feels like it is going to break every time I use it. Technically, the one I have is my second as the first broke and they replaced it.
Either way, I was trying to remember who made it. Thanks!
Sean
My favorite is the Snow Plow brand of snow shovels. They’re light an extremely durable.
Rod Takata
If you live in an area that may require moving a lot of snow, I would recommend a good pusher like this: http://www.jmenterprises.com/. They come in various widths from 24″ to 48″. The best thing about these is that the blade is made of UHMW. Heavy, but cold weather durable and slippery, thus no sticking. It also has about the best brace attaching the blade to the handle. Never broken one yet. This from a Minnesota dweller.
Bryan
I have a 30″ and LOVE it. Highly recommend it.
Yadda
Occasionally I get to miss out on the conversation. This is one of those enjoyable times. #liveinhouston
David Funk
Here is my favorite 36 inch poly from The SnowPlow, they are tough and smooth. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BVR96TW/
Jon
I bought that same Suncast several years ago and it’s the best snow shovel I’ve ever owned. Why? Because I have a gravel driveway. If you’ve ever been walking while pushing snow and got hit in the gut with the handle because of a frozen rock in the ground, you’ll really appreciate that shock absorber!
Peter H
I’ll second Yo-Ho. Great tools, made in Iowa. I love my braced spring steel pusher. I have a number of shovels, but this one gets the most use.
I didn’t get particular about my snow tools until I moved to Minnesota. I live on a corner lot with plenty of foot traffic. If I don’t do a good job shoveling, there’s a good chance that the weather will get colder, and whatever I didn’t shovel will turn to hard-packed ice.
In addition to my pusher, I have a stiff push broom for very light snow, a few different scoop shovels, a transfer shovel, and an ice chopper. And if I need to break up some thick gutter ice, I’ll bring out the San Angelo bar.
Eric
I move more snow every snow every year than any of my neighbors that have a snow blower. I do my driveway, the sidewalk for 2 blocks to the kid’s bus stop, and typically 1-3 driveways that belong to elderly neighbors.
The key is to stop lifting the snow. I use what is referred to a Yooper Scooper (a person from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the UP, a Yooper).
I have been using this style of snow shovel for years. I cannot recommend it highly enough. After years of watching me clear snow, I now have at least 3 neighbors that have one as well.
http://www.silverbear.biz/products/scoops/index.html
Watch the Silverbear video on their site for proper usage. This will be the next one I get when my current one wears out. The all metal construction means that it will last for many years.
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3994134
This is what I currently have. It is nice, but the plastic is wearing out and will not last much longer.
Jonathan
I’ve got two of the Stout back-savers that I picked up on clearance years back. I use one on a 42″ landscapers rake and the other one on a 10 tine mulch fork. I use the tools in my livelihood, they have held up well, they just are awkward for transporting while on my truck because they don’t fit in my truck rack tool caddy because of the additional handle.
Jonathan
I did see this the other day and thought I’d share I don’t deal with much snow, but I deal with a ton of mulch, sand, wood chips, soil and sand. I saw this and have been chewing on picking up the “Shovelution ” Ergonomic Snow Shovel Adapter, it has a flexing design that straightens for scooping and then springs for throwing the snow.
http://www.easydigging.com/ergonomic-snow-shovel-shovelution.html
Bill Clay
I like ones that have a plastic (not steel) edge. It keeps my deck from being damaged while shoveling it. These are actually hard to find…
Honest Abe
My favorite shovel is The Snowcaster Complete 70SNC : https://youtu.be/NGXQFjKLWyA
I like it because it takes a lot less time to complete the snow removal and is easy to push. The only downside I see is if you have a lot of uneven/flat surface. It is also pricey.
Jason
Hi Everyone,
Can someone please point me in the right direction on getting the shock absorbing handle? I’m only after the handle and don’t need the shovel part. I’m in Perth Western Australia and believe it or not we don’t get much snow over here. We do however have a lot of sand and for landscaping I think these handles would be great!
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks
Minnesota Steve
I realize it’s May… But I saw this and I saw The SnowPlow snow pusher at Ace last winter and wish I’d bought one. It has a UHMW blade which looks pretty tough. Ain’t cheap, about $50.
Not sure if it could get ice, but it sure could scrape hard packed snow.