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What are the best now shovels out there? I think we may need some new ones this year and wanted some opinions on the best ones. I noticed there were ergonomic ones now a days too.

monica, Not that I am even thinking of looking for one. But if I were:
Durable ... Light weight...& something that fits you... I am 6' 5", a snow shovel that fits me would most likely not be very handy for someone else:wink:...
There are going to be a lot of them showing up... give them a grab hold try...
The ergonomic designed ones are even more tailored to your height, than the standard straight handle... :smile:KennyV

I had to look what I have been missing out on in the snow shoveling field...

Has anyone got the "Sno Wovel Wheeled Snow Shovel" ??
about $120.00
Here is a short video clip...
Wovel Shovel | Sno Wovel Wheeled Shovel | ActiveForever.com
I'm not too sure this will work as easy as it looks in the video..
Any one actually use this? :smile:KennyV

monica123 said:

What are the best now shovels out there? I think we may need some new ones this year and wanted some opinions on the best ones. I noticed there were ergonomic ones now a days too.

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My favorites are from Menards, they feature a D handle, seem to be extra long (although I am a short guy) and have a reinforced plastic blade. Sears sells some that have these features, but the blades are so curved I actually hate to use them...they work great for actual shoveling, but I prefer to shove the snow aside or scrape it rather than lift or snow. On a hard surface where the shovel will easily slide, I often prefer to flip the shovels over and scrape the snow or ice off, rather than lift and throw. Try flipping a shovel over and see how well that works for you. Some shovels like the ones Sears sells also have a huge blade, they add a lot of extra weight and it adds up fast. Plan to spend about $15 for a good one, they last for years if taken care of. As Kenny says, try them out in the store, and my advice is, imaging using one bundled up in a heavy coat and wearing gloves...some handles feel fine when you use them barehanded but are awkward with gloves on.

Personally, I like the old straight handle shovels. Straight wood handle with a D handle grip and plastic scoop 18" wide with a metal wear strip.

My husband likes the old school scoops but those are some hard to find these days, they don't seem to make them anymore, you know the ones you scoop and push them and it will push a path for you.

We don't have snow here. So it would be strange to find snow shovels here. But I can't help but be amused by this shovel:


It's from the site cited by KennyV. Do any of you use that kind of shovel? I think with little modification this design can be used for sand and dirt too.

adan said:

I think with little modification this design can be used for sand and dirt too.

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An engineless wheel loader...? HA ha...
:laughing:KennyV

So I assume that's a "snow tire" on that thing for traction, right? It's quite the gizmo! I'm sure it must also have brakes for use on hills?

I like the wide "pusher" shovels, where you push the shovel and the curved head curls the snow up and over like a snow plow. It's hard to find a good one that will curl the snow properly, and many of them that curl well are narrow. For some reason the very best ones have an orange head.

In my snow removal arsenal, I have a "professional" snow shovel (that's the way they marketed it....) The metal blade is about 21 inches wide, and maybe 10 inches high and it curves out from top to bottom. It's like a small snow plow on a stick.

We have four snow shovels, and the one "Mean Machine" just mentioned is my favorite. It's big and heavy, and not meant for picking up snow. My wife prefers one a lot like it, but a little smaller, with a D-handle and everything very light. That's made primarily for picking snow up. We also have a smaller metal curved one, like those but with a smaller aluminum head. The kids use that one to both push light snow and pick it up. Finally, we have one with a large, square head on it, that's made for picking up 2-3" snow falls.

I use the first one like a plow, for lighter snow falls. First I make a pass down the sidewalk, never picking up the blade, keeping the head tilted at a slight angle. This plows the snow to one side. Then I make two or three more passes with the head tilted even more, to keep pushing the snow toward one side. At some point, the snow won't stay on the side of the head that I want, and I make a few sweeping motions as I go, that make piles on the side. Then I or someone else come through with the second shovel I mentioned, and pick the now piled snow off the sidewalk and push it to the tree lawn.

For the driveway, I use that same plow shovel like a push broom. Works great.

It may sound like more work, but the first passes with the plow shovel are about one minute per pass, and then the scoop shovel makes quick work of the remaining snow. Using the two shovels that way, we clear up to a two inch fall in 5-10 minutes on our 75' sidewalk and short driveway. The only ones who do it faster are the folks with snowblowers.

AndyMan said:

I like the wide "pusher" shovels, where you push the shovel and the curved head curls the snow up and over like a snow plow. It's hard to find a good one that will curl the snow properly, and many of them that curl well are narrow. For some reason the very best ones have an orange head.

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Those are the ones my husband likes too but to find a good one is like hard to do. The one we had was old, we got it from someone else, but we definitely need to find a new one before we get too much snow.