Snow Shovel for a bad back.

So we are living in the future, my 2003 POS-shovel needs replacement, its so old the handle still is made of wood! And my back isn’t getting better with age. Indy was wrong, its the years and the mileage!

I saw this one recommended on Amazon, watched a youtube video, checked it was only $20. Bought one!

Anyone have it? Try it? Or have another better suggestion. I mostly need a shovel for the spots the snow thrower can’t reach ( curved sidewalk, close to cars , back elevated porch and steps.

Oh hey this was on QVC last year, lulz worthy infomercial.

46% less lifting!

56 degrees less bending!

I am pretty sure I’ve never smiled when I am out shoveling snow. :p

Standing straight up as they’re doing to throw the snow. That looks like a good way to throw your back out.

If our snow doesn’t melt by Monday, I’ll find out!

Pay a neighborhood kid to do it.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…

They watch their dad shovel snow. I usually feel bad for him and sometimes go over with my snow thrower . Kids doing physical work nowadays. HAHAHAAHAHA.

Anyway like I said the shovel is mostly for spots where I can’t get the snow thrower to fit.

You live in Manhattan, what do you know of snow shoveling???

I bought this ergonomic handle for the shovel, doesn’t help. It looks like the one you bought. Doesn’t have a spring thought, let me know if that helps.

My snowthrower (single) has been broken for years, I keep debating whether I want to get a double stage for the occasional heavy snows (70lb+), or a cheap li-ion sweeper to help deal with the stairs and 1" little things.

Ohoh, I really like these things:

They are for breaking up ice. It’s good when there’s frozen slush that refrezes and you need to scrape the sidewalk clean.

Yes, this might work! But the pollution. :(

TIL that iron shavings like steel wool will burn into safe non-toxic iron oxide aka rust.

Yes, I have one of those. My girlfriend bought it for me from…I dunno…QVC or something. Mine is also the SNOWJOE brand, and I can say it’s very well-built. I used it all of last winter.

Thing is, while it does help a little with my lower back (and any help is welcome there), it played holy hell on the forearm that lifts that secondary handle. I’m guessing it was because I was using muscles I had never used before, but after a couple of heavy snowstorms, my entire forearm hurt so bad, I could hardly use it. And I didn’t notice it immediately either. It took a couple of weeks until the pain really set in. So be careful. Break your arm in slowly.

But, figuring it was an under-used muscle problem, I kept after it, and eventually the pain lessened. I’ve already used it a few times again this year (North Dakota, so we do get a fair amount), and so far, that forearm pain has not returned. So maybe my muscles have broken in. I should be sporting a proper bulge there any day now!

:D

Haha, you laugh now.
See how you feel after using it through a few snowstorms in a couple of weeks.
Seriously, that pain lasted the entire last winter, and it was bad. Be careful.
Unless of course you’re one of those guys that systematically works out his entire body, including lesser-used muscles. Then, have at it! :)

EDIT: Also, if you’re not lifting a LOT of wet snow, it probably won’t bother you. But we got hit pretty hard a few times, and I probably just overdid it.

I just saw your second post, and this video. Pretty cute.
Those guys are amateurs! Nothing but light, fluffy stuff in that commercial.
Okay, some of it was a little wet, but they’re taking very small scoops.
This had to be what sold my gf on it, because I’m sure she got it from QVC.

Obligation. Wirecutter link:

Their recommendation looks pretty similar, a curved handle with a extension handle for easier lifting. Their “snow sleigh” pick might be good as well, as there’s less lifting.

Ok, what is the deal with the “spring assist” handle? I mean, it looks like it’s just a flimsy handle attached near the head.

I can see how that might give you the ability to lift up without bending over, but I’m not seeing how the “spring” aspect is doing anything.

If you barely get a light dusting of snow, a push shovel with a straight stick and a D-grip handle should be fine. The D-grip handle instead of just an end like a broom means that your privates and your sternum are more likely to thank you – it isn’t uncommon to be walking along, pushing light snow off the sidewalk or driveway, when the edge of the shovel halts abruptly when it gets caught up in a break in the concrete or asphalt, and of course you’d keep walking straight forward with painful results. Definitely skip getting a shovel with a sharpened point on the handle, you’ll just impale yourself.

If you sometimes get a couple of inches or even a foot of snow in a typical snowfall, go for a long curved handle with a wider (but not necessarily deeper) shovel scoop, a D-grip handle, and a metal edge. I haven’t tried the kinds of shovels with the extra handle. It smacks of cheap gimmickry, but who knows? Ten or fifteen years ago I was scoffing at the handles with the bend in them. Now I swear by 'em.

As always, scoop and lift snow with your knees, not your back.

If you’re in an area with lake effect snow or you constantly get dumped on by an angry Mount Caradhras, my advice is limited. I have heard that some people outfit a St. Bernard with a heavy horse-drawn (or dog-drawn) plow. Maybe you’d want a deep scoop shovel, because all you care about is clearing a path in the 6’ of snow from your front door to your street, you don’t need to make everything “look nice” or “passable”.

This article is more general than the Wirecutter article but covers the basics: https://www.consumerreports.org/tools-power-equipment/best-snow-shovels/

God I love living in California.

Dude, your whole state is on fire.

I work with a lot of those people. When snows are routinely 6"+ and happen quite a bit over the season, it’s plow time, baby. I have a snow shovel. I live in North Carolina. You’d better believe if I lived around lake effect or deep snow areas, I’d have a plow.