Pathmaster Back-Saver 18 in. W Poly Snow Shovel

I purchased this shovel for myself, because I find the plastic ones to be junk. I'm not happy with it. At 5' 3 and 1/2, this backsaver is a nightmare. Somehow, it requires more movement on my part to empty the shovel than a standard shovel does. This results in sore shoulders, back, arms, and even wrist pain. It would be a perfectly good shovel if it had a straight handle. Why 4 stars instead of 1? Well, my 6' tall husband loves this shovel (which is odd, since he wasn't happy with me ordering it, because he said "there's nothing wrong with the shovels we have"). Now he's talking about getting rid of those "junky plastic shovels." He says he forgot how much better a metal shovel is until he used one. Thank goodness he likes it. I would have never heard the end of it - ordering an item for myself & then refusing to use it, when he never wanted it to start with! So, I don't know if it's our height difference or what, but my husband feels using this item makes shoveling easier, while I feel it makes it unnecessarily awkward. The Rugg shovel came assembled and ready to use & seems to be of good quality. We've had a LOT of snow this winter, so it's getting a lot of use. It doesn't have sides (which is what I wanted, to help keep the weight of the shovel down), so for lighter, fluffier snow, you must take smaller 'scoops' or use a different style shovel to keep the snow from falling off before you empty it.

I bought this to replace one that was stolen by workers at my house! I'm not talk and it is great dor ahoveling snow ashes and leaves! I don't have to bend over! However, after i purchased and received this one. I found the first when one of the workers emptied his van to put in some boxes. I always engrave mt initials and phone on my stuff! Now i have two but they're great shovels!

Fantastic product. I was confused when I first saw the handle with it's bend, but honestly it's fantastic. Got it just in time to save my back from the foot or more of snow that we got. It's a great product and did a lot to help my wife and I get through the winter.

Had to return shovel. Rivets holding the cutting edge to shovel were not connected. But other than that,shovel looked like a decent one.

Measured up to all expectations.

Item as described, would recommend, *****

I did my research before I bought this snow shovel because I was tired of replacing my snow shovels every couple years. I've had this for several years now in Duluth, MN and it's holding up very well. I prefer aluminum with a steel wearstrip like this one because it's super lightweight and when I'm shoveling I don't want to be lifting the shovel, I want to be lifting the snow. I'm super particular about my walkways, so I always get out there immediately after it snows. This will remove some hard-pack with a little effort but I recommend a steel shovel if you're going to be constantly chipping. After all these years I only have a slight bend on one corner. The only cons I can mention would be the screws they include to hold the shovel onto the handle will eventually loosten so it would have been nice if it arrived fully-assembled and riveted together. I may run stainless bolts through it eventually if I get time. Also, my rubber grip started sliding up and down the handle so I might need to add some spray adhesive to that. To their credit though, the grip is still in perfect shape. I hope this helps someone out there. For the small price premium over other shovels, this one is worth it by far.

Thin aluminum. Handle is not secured to the shovel. It pivots when shoveling. Makes it impossible to pick up snow.