# Snow Shovels: Quality or Price? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 10, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093 "2011-01-10T14:39:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/1 "2011-01-10T14:39:46Z")
Dumb but relevant question (as a blizzard bears down on us yet again). You see 3 shovels: a cheap one that might last one storm ($15), an OK one that might last 2-3 years ($30), or an old school cast-iron flat-head special with a wood handle ($65). The last is so rock-solid, you could shovel coal with it. its a model you’ve seen in sheds in your area with little change in design since you were a kid & they last 50+ years easily (most times longer than their owners). So, which would you buy? Assumes there are no garage sales, the kids who shovel are on strike, there is only this one store. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/2 "2011-01-10T14:46:41Z")
I’d get the medium priced one. The old school shovel sounds like it’d be really freakin heavy! ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/3 "2011-01-10T14:47:27Z")
Depends on which design snow shovel I’m looking for. The coal-shovel types are great for heavy, thick snow or the end of the driveway where the plow but those gray boulders. They are a pain for light fluffy snow, then you want one of those pushers or at least a wider blade snow shovel. I wouldn’t pick from the cheapest group, but I’d take the one from groups 2/3 where the design best fits the particular need. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/4 "2011-01-10T15:01:11Z")
Just get a [Yooper Scooper](http://www.silverbear.biz/), you’ll be set for life. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/5 "2011-01-10T15:12:17Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Just get a [Yooper Scooper](http://www.silverbear.biz/), you’ll be set for life. Oh, man! I already bought a snow shovel this year, but I’m _so_ tempted to buy one of these!! As for the OP, I’d go with the mid-price one. If you go ‘cheap’, it may not even last _this_ storm, and you’d just have to go buy another one, bringing the ‘cheap’ one up to approximately the same cost as the mid-price. If you go for the expensive one, yeah, it’s _heavy_ like someone upthread already said. Also, if you don’t have a locked place to keep a snow shovel, IME, good ones are common theft items. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/6 "2011-01-10T15:17:34Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Just get a [Yooper Scooper](http://www.silverbear.biz/), you’ll be set for life. You’re paying nearly $100 for that. Wow. Looks like it would be great for light snow. Not so sure about heavy stuff. Or a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/7 "2011-01-10T15:24:43Z")
Where do I live in this hypothetical? Here in NC, I just went for a cheapo shovel. In 5 years I think I have used it once. Were I to live further north, I _might_ go for the middle one, if it has a metal blade. Once in high school in upstate NY I was given a cheap plastic shovel to clear a sidewalk at work that had already been trampled on by a few dozen people. It was more effective to turn the shovel around and use the handle to scrape at the snow. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/8 "2011-01-10T15:58:31Z")
> [@jonesj2205](#): > > You’re paying nearly $100 for that. Wow. Looks like it would be great for light snow. Not so sure about heavy stuff. Or a lot of it. Because we rarely get lots of heavy snow here in da UP 😃 Seriously, though, people really like those scoops. They don’t replace a snowblower (which most people have), but they’re pretty good for when you just want to do a quick clean-up and not pull the snowblower out. Or when the snowblower runs out of gas. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/9 "2011-01-10T16:35:06Z")
I’ve got a snowblower and a cheap snow shovel (plastic blade wood handle) that I’ve used for 8 years. More often than not I use the shovel just because I’m too lazy to start the sno-blower. It’s super light weight and the front edge has been worn down some but it still works great. I was thinking of replacing it with a better one this winter but all the mid-priced ones are so damn heavy. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/10 "2011-01-10T16:56:32Z")
Medium. I’d rather not have to either (a) be an asshole to any neighbors who ask to borrow a shovel or (b) worry that my heirloom-quality shovel won’t ever make it back. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/11 "2011-01-10T19:13:12Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Just get a [Yooper Scooper](http://www.silverbear.biz/), you’ll be set for life. That’s the exact scoop I use. Highly recommended. I’ve never seen that wheel kit though, I might need to check that out. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/12 "2011-01-10T19:20:52Z")
[http://lawn-and-garden.hardwarestore.com/83-528-scoop-shovels/aluminum-scoop-with-wood-handle-655753.aspx](http://lawn-and-garden.hardwarestore.com/83-528-scoop-shovels/aluminum-scoop-with-wood-handle-655753.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/13 "2011-01-10T20:01:54Z")
Design is more important than price. I certainly wouldn’t buy the wood+cast iron one; that’s unnecessarily heavy compared to fiberglass+durable plastic with metal trim. Maybe you have extra-light snow where you come from, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/14 "2011-01-10T20:37:07Z")
a metal grain scoop is just dandy for heavy and deep snow and is light weight. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/15 "2011-01-10T21:13:21Z")
I wouldn’t know what to do with a snow shovel even if I bought one. I live in So Cal. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/16 "2011-01-10T21:15:56Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > a metal grain scoop is just dandy for heavy and deep snow and is light weight. This is what I linked to, but they are not calling them grain shovels. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/17 "2011-01-10T21:58:00Z")
I have a bunch of shovels and never paid a dime for any of them. They all came from other people’s trash. Spring time is when people throw good shovels out. Sometimes they need a minor repair, pop rivets or handle stabilization. I would never pay more than $10 for a shovel in any case. Price is not the key issue. If a shovel is poorly constructed, I would not even pick it up for free. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/18 "2011-01-10T22:06:12Z")
> [@Al\_Bundy](#): > > I have a bunch of shovels and never paid a dime for any of them. They all came from other people’s trash. Spring time is when people throw good shovels out. Sometimes they need a minor repair, pop rivets or handle stabilization. I would never pay more than $10 for a shovel in any case. Price is not the key issue. If a shovel is poorly constructed, I would not even pick it up for free. Cheep shovel = 75% of your energy used scoping snow that fell off shovel because it twists sideways. Good shovel = No extra energy used, because it holds the snow until you dump it. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/19 "2011-01-10T22:23:32Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > I wouldn’t know what to do with a snow shovel even if I bought one. I live in So Cal. 😃 _In extremis_, you can use them to beat out forest fires & shelter yourself from mudslides. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093/20 "2011-01-11T00:22:32Z")
I used to have the sturdy wood and metal grain shovel. It’s good for digging out a car but is murder doing a whole driveway. Then I got one of those shovels with a huge bend in the haft and almost cried in joy the first time I used it; it’s wonderful for your back. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-shovels-quality-or-price/567093.md?page=2)