Anyone have experience with the yellow Ames Snowboss shovel shown here?
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What I like about it is that the left hand has a handle to grip so the hand doesn't slide up a slippery pole away from the blade toward the top handle. But I'm not wild about its being made of plastic. And its 24" width can make the snow load heavy, especially on a warm day when the snow has melted and is heavy.
What's been your experience with shovels with offset poles (like the blue Ames Superlight 18" shovel to the right of the yellow one)? The claim is that they are easier on the back.
In snowy parts of Canada (here 10 to 15 ft. total every winter, 4 months) we distinguish between true shovels (to lift snow) and pushers (to push it along the ground. They require different technique, according to snowfall and terrain. Shovels are no more than 18" wide. Actual market purchases suggest no preference for bent or offset handles.
After most snowfalls, I push and throw with the pusher. The lifter is for when the pushed-piles are too heavy. I still push as much as I can into piles along the edge of the driveway or walkway and then lift and throw smaller loads with the lifter.
For the deck, it's all lifter since I have to throw it over the railing.
I tend to shovel "wide" - a few feet up onto the lawn - and I throw the snow as far as I can. Not only is it good exercise, but if it doesn't melt fast enough, you can quickly find yourself having to lift the snow onto taller and taller piles as the winter goes on. I go "wide and far" from the beginning of the season so I'll always have a place to put snow if the big one comes.
BTW...I bought one of these in the fall, so I won't be pushing as much snow around this year, but I sure can throw it farther.
I don't care for the offset versions and can't see how it helps your back. Also one shovel isn't sufficient. I have one steel blade shovel for the icy slushy stuff that the lighter shovels won't touch and two different widths of pushers.
Another thing I noticed is that the steel wear strips are made from junk steel anymore. Snow shovels used to last for many, many seasons. Now the strip is usually worn out after one.
I drilled out the steel strip and removed almost as soon as I bought the pusher many years ago.
All it does is get caught on the driveway and walkway.
The plastic glides a lot easier over all surfaces, including the frozen grass.
Is my shovel a little smaller than it was a few years ago? Probably, but it's never been a problem.
I've looked at the pushers without the steel strip and they're just not as sturdy as mine. If I ever replace the one I have, I'll look for a sturdy one with the steel strip and then drill it out and toss it.
It looks like that would be a good shovel to push snow. I wouldn't have one for *lifting* snow.
I had a couple of those (they don't last forever). They are *great* for lifting snow, like the crap the snowplow leaves at the end of the driveway. The bent handle makes using your legs to lift/throw more natural. They really are back savers. As noted above, the only drawback of these is the aluminum blade is rather flimsy. They really have to be to make them as light as possible (saving the back more). OTOH, ice will ruin the blade.
Ames is also a very good company. Not that you'll need it with a snow shovel, but I found their customer service to be superb.
Of course, the best solution is to move far enough South that any snow is self-shoveling. ;-)
" snipped-for-privacy@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
I think it depends on the person using it, like anything else. I hate the curved/offset handle, and prefer a straight one. Ever notice that you never see curved/offset handles on regular shovels?
I prefer a smaller, plastic-bladed shovel, lifting smaller loads many times rather than larger loads fewer times. The lighter the shovel, the more snow can be moved with the same ultimate effort.
I'm seeing a lot of shovels up here being sold without the metal strip. After one of mine fell off, I discovered that the shovel actually worked BETTER than it did with the metal strip. It does wear down (in the manner of beavers' front teeth), but in the process it self-sharpens, aiding in scraping packed snow. I now only buy the ones with no metal strip.
I picked up a similar one at a True Value store last week. I actually felt pretty good in my hands. I'm pretty happy with my 24" pusher with a straight wooden handle. It takes care of 3" quite well. Over that and I reach for a snowblower.
It seems to be an interesting compromise between a pusher and a lifter-- not sure how that would work in practice.
I've got one of those in the shed with just enough scratches on it to show that I tried. I never got used to it. I don't lift much snow, though-- and I'm an old fart and resistant to change.
You may not believe it, but it works for anyone taller than the shovel. You don't have to reach down as far to grab the handle. It really is a back-saver.
Completely different tool with different action. You use your feet on a spade to sink them into the ground. Snow shovels aren't used this way.
Nonsense. If you believe that, why don't you use a teaspoon?
I can see a steel strip on an aluminum shovel, but steel on steel makes no sense. I wouldn't waste time on a plastic shovel. Well, maybe at the beach.
After a couple of attempts to get used to a snow shovel with an offset handle I gave up. They are slightly easier on the back (if you don't know that you can actually bend your knees), but that benefit is more than offset by awkwardness in use. As someone else noted, you don't see regular shovels with offset handles as they are not a benefit.
I have three shovels which I use. A curved steel pusher, a fair-sized plastic "scoop" shovel, and a shallower plastic shovel. The snow slides off the shallower plastic shovel more easily and doesn't build up, where the scoop shovel holds a bunch more but the snow sticks a bit. I've tried the Pam spray thing, and that's not worth the effort. I just bang the scoop shovel on the ground every once in a while and that works okay. The shallower shovel lets me work with stickier snow and because it doesn't hold as much I can swing the shovel faster.
Whether you can see it or not, it works for me too. The plastic edge gets sharpened every time it slides along the concrete or pavers. Some people also use the metal edges on the plastic shovels to chop ice, which is not what the metal strip is there for, and that quickly beats up the strip and shovel. Another drawback of the metal strip is also a "user error" problem. People bang the metal edge into the metal uprights on railings, chip the paint, and the bottom of the wrought iron starts rusting. And finally, I have some nice, light colored, stone steps at the front stoop and along the drop in elevation of the front walkway that I don't want getting beat up. I also have snow-melting cable under the stoop and front walk, so that only requires an occasional touch-up, and the plastic-only shovel is fine for that.
I like the offset shovel and that is my #1 choice if I'm going to shovel. Regular shovels are for heavier loads of dirt and digging, holes thus the straight handle. I don't see them a direct comparison in use.
Getting back to the OP's question, you usually need more than one shovel, just as you need more than one hammer, screwdriver, or kitchen knife. Deep light snow needs a different tool tan a few inches of heavy wet stuff or a light coating.
My favorite tool though, is the snow blower. Mine is a cheap single stage, but it is easier on the back than any shovel. Only ting better is when my neighbor comes over and he blows the heavy stuff the plow leaves.
I won't buy anything EXCEPT plastic blade snow shovels anymore, and the "bent" handles really do help the back. I like 24 inch or wider, but then I only use the shovel when the snowfall is a couple inches at a time - heavier snowfalls warrant getting the blower out.
Then again, when it gets REALLY sloppy, the blower just plugs up, so it's out with the shovel. Sometimes I really wish I had a narrower one, but that's not very often compared to when the wide one is nice.
You've just not given them a chance. They really are better on your back.
Then WTF were you talking about?
You just said that a smaller shovel was more efficient. Well, isn't a teaspoon small enough?
The most efficient is the tool that allows you to move the least and not overload (injure) the muscles. Wasted movement is not efficient.
I've used them. They suck in all types of snow. It really does take different shovels for different snow situations, but plastic isn't the answer for *any* of them.
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