The best snow shovels of 2020
Whether you plow or scoop, here are the best shovels to clear your snow.
Products are chosen independently by our editors. Purchases made through our links may earn us a commission.
Snow brings us such joy when we’re young, but the charm doesn’t last. It really starts to go when we have to start shoveling the driveway and digging out our cars. When that time comes, we grab our shovels and gloves and head out to make sure we can get to work and our kids can head off to school. However, we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to snow shovels. Do we get one with a straight or ergonomic shaft? What about plastic versus metal? Plow or scoop?
To satisfy our curiosity and to help you pick the best shovels, we decided to put some highly-rated snow movers to the test. After hours of scooping, maneuvering, and pushing, we reckon that the Forest Hill Homeowner Aluminum Scoop Shovel is the best pick for most people. Not only is this model good at moving snow, but it can serve as your year-round shovel when Spring eventually comes.
The best overall: Forest Hill Homeowner Aluminum Scoop Shovel
The Forest Hill not only works as a snow shovel, but can serve in the summer as a garden shovel as well.
While technically Forest Hill came in second in our scientific scoring, we like this shovel the best. Yes, it’s the most expensive among the shovels we tested, but it’s also the best looking with its beautiful wood handle and shiny blade made of thick aluminum. Aesthetics are not why it won, though.
In practice, the Forest Hill shovel isn’t just for snow. It’s more versatile and useful for garden or farm tasks. Its shorter handle makes it slightly more compact than most of the other shovels, and it’s well-balanced. This is a shovel that just feels good in your hands and is easy to use. The thick aluminum of the blade didn’t show much wear after use, so even without a steel edge, you should still expect the Forest Hill to last a long time.
The design of the blade is best-suited for scooping, and it can pick up a lot of snow (or dirt, or other materials) at once. There’s a limited amount of plowing action, though. We were concerned that snow would stick to the aluminum blade, but it never did. At 5 ½ pounds, you’ll get a good upper body workout with the Forest Hill, but it’s a joy to use.
Get the Forest Hill Homeowner Aluminum Scoop Shovel on Amazon for $64.99
The best value: True Temper Aluminum Combo Blade 20-inch Shovel
The True Temper has a lower price, but is more difficult to use than the Forest Hill.
Our other favorite snow shovel is the True Temper Aluminum Blade Shovel. It has all the things the Forest Hill lacks, from an ergonomic shaft to a lower price, to a wear strip (True Temper says it’s the industry’s only steel wear strip for an aluminum blade—putting those two metals together usually means corrosion). It’s heavy like the Forest Hill shovel, too—both shovels weigh almost exactly the same. But the True Temper feels heavier, maybe because it’s got a longer shaft or it balances differently. Either way, this is a good shovel that’s got it all on paper, but was less pleasant to use in practice. It wasn’t unpleasant, mind you, and its big scoop size and thick metal blade mean it should give you robust performance for many years. It’s also about half the price of the Forest Hill, so you can get two and enlist a helper to get the job done faster.
Both Forest Hill and True Temper are metal bladed which makes for a very sturdy shovel. The trade-off is weight, though the ease of use and features such as ergonomic design should help keep fatigue at bay.
Get the True Temper Aluminum Combo Blade 20-inch Shovel from Walmart for $34.99