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Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
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Credit:
Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
A comfortable, ergonomic shovel versatile enough to plow, scoop, and scrape. Read More
An affordable, basic snow shovel perfect for clearing compact, obstacle-heavy spaces. Read More
For an aluminum shovel, this tool is quite heavy. It is sturdy and scoops quite a bit of snow, though. And you'll have a tough time beating the price. Read More
The two-handle design of the Shovelution makes shoveling heavy snow easier on your back. It also breaks down for easy storage. Read More
A decent plow shovel that maneuvers well, but leaves a lot of snow behind. Read More
For something that brought us so much joy as children, a forecast of snow can inspire feelings of dread in an adult. Clearing driveways and digging out vehicles that are buried in snow can be a nightmare, but with a good snow shovel, a snowstorm doesn’t have to be such a pain.
Still, though, shopping for a shovel can be quite difficult because there are so many options. Should I get one with an ergonomic handle? Plastic blade or metal? Snow pusher or scoop? What about a sleigh-style shovel?
For these reasons, we put the top snow shovels currently on the market to the test. After hours of scooping, maneuvering, and pushing, the Suncast SC3250 18-inch Snow Shovel/Pusher Combo is the best snow shovel for most people. Featuring an ergonomic shaft, not only is this combination snow shovel great for lifting and tossing snow, it does an excellent job of plowing, making it one of the more versatile shovels on our list.
If you’re looking for something a bit more basic, our best value shovel—the True Temper 1627200 18-inch Mountain Mover (available at Walmart)—will absolutely make it through any shoveling job that you have.
People who get frequent snow also may want to consider a snow blower or an electric snow shovel, but even then, a snow shovel is a necessary tool. Here are our favorite shovels available:
The Suncast SC3250 is the best snow shovel we've tested.
The True Temper Mountain Mover offers a great blend of value and performance.
Big scoop size
Sturdy metal wear strip
Affordable
Heavy
Shovel could corrode over time
Stows away easily in small spaces
Dual handle design minimizes back pain
Sturdy and durable
Unusual design takes some getting used to
Not for all types of snow
Plows a full load easily
Maneuverable
Handle difficult to control
Snow falls off shovel
Plows well
Has a second handle to pick up snow
Too large for some areas
Very heavy when full
Easy to use
Maneuverable
Price
Hard on back and knees
Not great at plowing
Compact and lightweight
Durable blade
All-composite blade not ideal for icy conditions
Durable blade
Ergonomic steel tube shaft
Top handle with single screw may not last long
Could be better at plowing snow
Moves a lot of snow
Durable
Cannot lift snow
Large scoop gets too full
Moves a lot of snow
Gets stuck easily
Snow falls out of scoop easily
Can’t lift snow
None that we could find
Not durable
Not well-balanced
Snow slides off shovel while throwing
Jean Levasseur is a property manager and has been shoveling since he was 12, so he has a good sense of what’s important when it comes to the best snow shovels. He also doesn’t have the greatest back for shoveling, so he’s picky when it comes to “comfort” in a shovel.
Levasseur recently retested and added new products to this list, working off the previous tests and notes from Dan Roth, who has also written about everything from the best cordless drills to the best windshield wipers.
The best way to test a snow shovel is to shovel some snow.
Both testers put the shovels to work around their homes, starting with well-worn suburban asphalt driveways with cracks and imperfections. They also tested shoveling off deck stairs and into a larger drift to get a sense of how easy it was to use each shovel at varying heights.
Due to the unpredictability of winter and the timing of our testers’ availability, about half of our shovels were tested before the first snowfall and half were tested after it snowed. We designed two different test scenarios because of this, working hard to make sure that we gathered the same kind of relevant data.
Shovels were tested after two snowstorms: The first was about 3 to 4 inches of wet, heavy snow and the second was more than a foot of light, powdery snow. This gave us a good idea of how each shovel functioned in different snow conditions.
Testing was relatively straightforward. Shovels were used on a driveway to see how they cleared snow. Also, shovels were tested to see how they dug down through the ice and slush on the driveway to determine which could get to bare asphalt and which left a slippery mess. Additionally, shovels were used on walkways, decking, and front and back stairs to see how maneuverable each was.
During the initial round of testing, we simulated light, powdery snow by using fine pine shavings normally used for livestock bedding. Its weight and consistency are similar to the kind of snow you get when temperatures are in the 20s or below. Wetter, heavier snow was simulated with a yard of wet mulch. Additionally, we simulated wet, heavy snow conditions by going to an ice rink where Zambonis are emptied, which helped inform our impressions and expectations.
Ergonomic shafts help the shovel work with your body.
The idea of a snow shovel is simple, but start shopping for one, and the choices pile up. Here’s what to look for to optimize your snow removal:
Blade material: The age-old question, at least for the last 50 years, has been plastic or metal? Plastic is lighter. Depending on the type of plastic, it’s also just as heavy-duty as metal, and not prone to rusting or denting. Plus, it’s significantly cheaper to make a shovel out of plastic.
Wear edge material: The business end of the shovel, the wear edge, is where it comes in contact with the ground, which helps you get through ice. Metal will hold up better than plastic overall, and steel is the best option. Aluminum is more malleable, so it will deform more readily.
Blade design: Some shovels are like an ice cream scoop—a good tool meant for picking the material up. Others are like miniature versions of the plows that clear your street.
The two different designs have overlapping talents. If you have a large area of flat pavement to clear, a plow-type shovel is going to be very efficient. It’s almost like mowing the lawn—start at one end, walk the shovel all the way over to the other. Snow piles up in front of the blade and gets pushed along.
The head, the joints, handle, and blade are all failure points on a snow shovel.
On the other hand, the best type of shovel for stairs, tight areas, and undulating pavement is your typical scoop-type snow shovel. These are more versatile, allowing you to deal with clearing any area of any kind of snow.
The plow shovels become a workout if the snow is wet and heavy. They are also incapable of actually lifting the snow, so if you need to move the snow up onto a pile to get it out of the way, these are not going to be a realistic option. If you like the idea of a plow-style shovel, just know that you will also need a traditional scoop-and-throw shovel to supplement.
Ergonomic handle: Because the bend in the ergonomic grip handles looks less than graceful, they’re not the most widely-loved shovels. On the other hand, the idea actually works. An ergonomic handle is designed to reduce back strain.
Shoveling with a more upright posture keeps the strain off your back muscles and makes your biceps and shoulders do most of the work. These shovels are a little bit more of a hassle to store because of the shape.
Construction details: How well put together is the shovel? Remember, snow can be heavy, and you can wind up moving tons of it just cleaning up after a single storm. Tiny hardware and thin-wall tubing limit how long a shovel will stand up to use, and how well they’ll accept repairs.
Consider the spot where the handle connects to the blade—it needs to be strong so you can pick up a heavy shovelful of snow and confidently put it where it needs to go, instead of wobbling or flexing around.
Jean Levasseur
Contributor
Jean Levasseur became a professional writer over a decade-long career in marketing, public relations, and technical writing. After leaving that career to stay home to care for his twin boys, Jean has continued to write in a variety of freelance roles, as well as teaching academic writing at a local university. When he's not reviewing tools or chasing toddlers around the house, he's also an avid fiction writer and a growing woodworker.
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