So, I broke my old pusher style snow shovel and wanted to replace it with something better, but all the pusher style shovels in the stores either were very flimsy or had a metal edge on the bottom and I wanted to be able to use the shovel on my back deck and my large pool deck as well as on the driveway.

After much research on the internet and in stores, I decided to give the Snowcaster shovel a try based on a balance of bang for the buck and the fact that you can just buy parts for it, so for example if the handle breaks, you can just buy a new handle etc.

The Snowcaster comes in many widths and offers models with and without wheels for commercial applications. I got the 30 inch model with no wheels because I wanted it wide but not too wide to do my shoveling on the decks and other not so wide sections that I shovel.

Now, things I like about this shovel are that the blade is made out of smooth durable plastic that won’t scratch your decks all up. It was very easy to assemble and is very sturdy and well engineered. The way the handle hooks on to the blade is very well done, and you can buy just the triangle bracket if something does happen and it breaks. I don’t see this thing breaking under normal use. It feels super sturdy. It clears a nice wide path and makes quick work of my big driveway too.

Now, don’t get one of these thinking you’re going to clear away really deep snow. That’s not what this is for. I have a snowblower and a scoop type snow shovel for that. This is for up to 4 inches of very light snow or up to 2 inches of wet snow (in my opinion). That being said, sometimes I find it easier and faster overall to go out twice with this thing twice rather than wait for all the snow to fall and try to get it with the snowblower and scoop shovel.

For the types of snow it’s intended for, this thing works AWESOME! You can clear a very large area very quickly and it works great on wooden decks and Trex composite decks. It’s actually fun to use! The only question I have will be durability of the blade which will tell over time.

Update: December 2017. I’m in to my second season with this shovel and the blade has a couple of minor dings on it, but otherwise it’s still in great shape and works awesome still. I will add more updates as the years go on. I’m sure this shovel will be with me a long time…..

If you’d like to get one for yourself, just go to thesnowcaster.com and check them out. Though I hate to add this, you can buy these much cheaper on eBay because they charge a ton to ship direct from the website and you can usually find a seller with free shipping on eBay. I’m not sure why this is, but I wish they had competitive pricing on their own site so that I could buy direct from them. If you do buy on eBay, just make sure it has the Snowcaster logo on the blade and handle to know that you’re getting the real thing, and ask questions first to make sure the seller is legit too!