Suncast Powerblade Snow Shovel: Review

For the past 40 years I have lived in snow country. I grew up in northern New York, and have lived in Alaska for 31 years. I have seen my share of snowstorms, and have shoveled plenty of driveways and sidewalks. For the majority of our driveway I use a large scoop shovel, but for our back deck and the walkways in front of our home, I use this Suncast Powerblade shovel.

I saw this Powerblade in WalMart, and although it cost $25.00, I decided it was worth the extra money to make my life easier. It definitely looks different from conventional shovels, because the blade is deep and holds a lot of snow, and it’s made of a clear gray plastic. The shaft is made of a lightweight red colored aluminum. The handle is screwed into the shaft, so if it breaks or cracks it can be easily replaced.

Specs and Product Info

This shovel measures 52″, and the blade is a generous 20″ by 13″. The diameter of the handle is just shy of 1 1/2″. It’s claimed to be engineered to last a lifetime, and indeed the blade is said to be made of a polypropylene plastic material, which is supposed to be shatter resistant. The cardboard information packaging that came with my shovel says that it is lightweight and 12 times stronger than conventional resin shovels.

The grip covering the top of the handle is made of a heavy and sturdy rubber like material, with ridges that allow you to grip it even easier, and this assures that it won’t slip out of my hands when I am using it in the cold weather.

Performance

I have been delighted with this shovel! It combines the traditional shovel with the scoop style shovel, and it really does hold a lot of snow. The distance of our walkway to the side entrance is approximately 20 feet, and I can push the snow completely from one end to the other, and dump it at the edge of the driveway. It is completely full by the time I get to the end, but it’s still not overly heavy and easy to dump. It’s almost like using a mini scoop shovel.

The design is ergonomical, with a nice rubberized non-slip grip. The bottom of the blade has a sturdy nylon “wear strip” that is held in place with six grovets, and this reinforces the blade so that it won’t chip or break if I happen to hit a rock, root, or other hard object.

The info that came with this shovel says that it is engineered to last a lifetime. If the shovel blade needs to be cleaned, Suncast recommends using either Fantastik �® or Formula 409 �®.

The inside of the blade is a deeply curved bowl, allowing it to hold a good amount of snow, and the inside top curves outward to allow the snow to remain in the scoop. The nylon wear strip is very strong and sharp, and cuts through the snow on the ground to give me a nice flat walking surface.

I love the fact that when this shovel’s blade is full of snow, it’s still easy to lift and dump it out. And considering how much snow this unit holds, that is quite impressive. I think it’s mainly due to the fact that the shovel in and of itself isn’t very heavy, yet it’s super strong. It’s also a very attractive shovel. We’ve had many metal snow shovels, and they are really showing their age and wear, with dings and dents. This shovel shouldn’t dent or break, since it’s made of a very hard plastic. It should look as nice a year from now as it did the day I purchased it.

I’ve never considered shoveling to be a fun job, but Suncast makes it as fun and easy as possible with this scoop-like snow shovel.

Another problem I’ve had when using metal shovels, is that the snow sticks to the blade, and won’t release when I try to dump it out. I don’t have that problem with the Suncast Powerblade, the snow slides off of the blade very smoothly and easily, even when it’s below zero. The rubberized handle is easy on the hands, and it provides a non-slip surface, even when I am wearing gloves made of a slick nylon material.

Not only does this shovel make my work easier, it makes it so much faster! I can cut my work time in half when cleaning either the deck or the walkway, and that is super important to me when it’s cold outside. I have arthritis in my hands, and the less time I spend in the cold the better.

This shovel looks very different. The transparent gray plastic blade is very unusual looking, but attractive in it’s own way. I am not one to call a shovel “pretty”, but this Suncast comes pretty close.

I highly recommend this shovel. It is also available in a transparent blue blade with a gray shaft, which I would have preferred, but WalMart only carried the gray color. It’s $25 well spent.

The only downfall is that should a part of this shovel need replacing, you can only do so through the Suncast manufacturer.