OCDetails
11-23-2009, 10:50 AM
I bought a new ice scraper last year that was absolutely awesome! I've been in the frozen north here for about twelve years and I hate HATE HATE winter. I have no idea why I live up here really... If it weren't for my job and my house, I would certainly just move back down to Dallas where it is warm. Anyway, one of the things I hate almost as much as shoveling my driveway, is scraping my windows. It isn't a problem in the mornings, but by the time I leave work for home I definitely have to. I've tried every scraper out there and have never seen anything like this before, so I decided to pick one up and give it a shot. I bought it from Autogeek.net for about $20. You might think that $20 is kinda spendy for an ice scraper, but I think this may be the last one I ever have to buy, so it was worth it! Here it is on their site. (http://www.autogeek.net/windshield-ice-scraper.html)
Here are a couple shots of it in action. You wouldn't believe how much easier it is to clear your windows with this thing compared to a normal ice scraper! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1Q04qvPDZs]Click here to see a video of it in action.[/video]
It plays a little choppy on the forum, but it plays in normal speed on YouTube if you watch it there.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/IMG00155.jpg
You can see that I brushed off the snow first before I was able to remove the ice. The brush is reviewed a little further down in this post.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/IMG00157.jpg
Having it in the 'two blades apart' position is just awesome. You are able to keep the blades at the optimal angle while the handle pivots to allow you to put precise pressure on them at all times. It is amazing! Seriously, if you live in a winter climate and hate scraping windows, then this is the tool for you. And if you are going to say that using a CD case or credit card works fine for you, then you need to get your head examined and then get one of these.
I saw another fairly innovative tool in their booth at SEMA this year. I'm not sure if it is the tool for me, but it was pretty crazy looking. It is called the Ice Bulldozer (http://www.autogeek.net/ice-dozer-ice-scraper.html) or something like that. It was certainly appropriately named. The sucker LOOKS like a bulldozer even. I would think it would be hard to get the right pressure on the blade to clear off the ice, but I guess it works. If you are torn between which one to get, I would suggest getting the other one and waiting for a review on this one. I haven't heard from anyone who has used it, but it seems like something that would take up a lot of space in the backseat and is likely not the kind of thing I'd keep in my car. Perhaps for clearing off Van windows or something. hmmmm... Perhaps I'll have to get one and let my wife do some testing with it.
One other suggestion, and the one I was using and still carry in the car, is this brush from OXO. (http://www.autogeek.net/oxo-extendable-snow-brush.html) Sometimes you need a little extra reach and you don't want to be rubbing up against the car while you scrape your windows. The brush on this one really helps clear the windows before you have to get busy with the ice. Of course, don't get the brush too close to the paint as that can cause scratches and swirls, but you can move a ton of snow off your car with this and become less of a traffic hazard for others. It is actually something you'll get pulled over for and cited for not clearing the snow off your roof and back window before driving off somewhere, so having a brush is essential. Even if you park in a garage at night, there will always be those times when it dumps on you while you are at work or something and clearing the snow off is important. This isn't as cool as the bionic scraper I reviewed first in this thread, but it is still an awesome combination for anyone you are looking to get a gift for.
It always surprises me how many people don't carry an ice scraper in their car during the winter. When I see people out in the parking lot trying to clear their windows with credit cards and whatever else they can find with a straight edge, I usually try to offer a hand and clear it off for them. Then I give them one of the ten thousand ice scrapers I've collected over the years and keep in my trunk during the winter months. lol I don't know where they all came from, but I've got like fifty of them still and I usually give away seven or eight of them during the winter months. Now that I've found what works best for me, I really don't need all of these other ones anymore and I wish people would quit sending them to me as a joke because they know how much I hate snow. lol
Hopefully this was a helpful review. I know not everybody has to deal with winter the same way others do, but improper ice removal tools and techniqes is something that damages cars all winter and I'm just trying to give some advice in case you were looking for a better tool.
Here are a couple shots of it in action. You wouldn't believe how much easier it is to clear your windows with this thing compared to a normal ice scraper! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1Q04qvPDZs]Click here to see a video of it in action.[/video]
It plays a little choppy on the forum, but it plays in normal speed on YouTube if you watch it there.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/IMG00155.jpg
You can see that I brushed off the snow first before I was able to remove the ice. The brush is reviewed a little further down in this post.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/IMG00157.jpg
Having it in the 'two blades apart' position is just awesome. You are able to keep the blades at the optimal angle while the handle pivots to allow you to put precise pressure on them at all times. It is amazing! Seriously, if you live in a winter climate and hate scraping windows, then this is the tool for you. And if you are going to say that using a CD case or credit card works fine for you, then you need to get your head examined and then get one of these.
I saw another fairly innovative tool in their booth at SEMA this year. I'm not sure if it is the tool for me, but it was pretty crazy looking. It is called the Ice Bulldozer (http://www.autogeek.net/ice-dozer-ice-scraper.html) or something like that. It was certainly appropriately named. The sucker LOOKS like a bulldozer even. I would think it would be hard to get the right pressure on the blade to clear off the ice, but I guess it works. If you are torn between which one to get, I would suggest getting the other one and waiting for a review on this one. I haven't heard from anyone who has used it, but it seems like something that would take up a lot of space in the backseat and is likely not the kind of thing I'd keep in my car. Perhaps for clearing off Van windows or something. hmmmm... Perhaps I'll have to get one and let my wife do some testing with it.
One other suggestion, and the one I was using and still carry in the car, is this brush from OXO. (http://www.autogeek.net/oxo-extendable-snow-brush.html) Sometimes you need a little extra reach and you don't want to be rubbing up against the car while you scrape your windows. The brush on this one really helps clear the windows before you have to get busy with the ice. Of course, don't get the brush too close to the paint as that can cause scratches and swirls, but you can move a ton of snow off your car with this and become less of a traffic hazard for others. It is actually something you'll get pulled over for and cited for not clearing the snow off your roof and back window before driving off somewhere, so having a brush is essential. Even if you park in a garage at night, there will always be those times when it dumps on you while you are at work or something and clearing the snow off is important. This isn't as cool as the bionic scraper I reviewed first in this thread, but it is still an awesome combination for anyone you are looking to get a gift for.
It always surprises me how many people don't carry an ice scraper in their car during the winter. When I see people out in the parking lot trying to clear their windows with credit cards and whatever else they can find with a straight edge, I usually try to offer a hand and clear it off for them. Then I give them one of the ten thousand ice scrapers I've collected over the years and keep in my trunk during the winter months. lol I don't know where they all came from, but I've got like fifty of them still and I usually give away seven or eight of them during the winter months. Now that I've found what works best for me, I really don't need all of these other ones anymore and I wish people would quit sending them to me as a joke because they know how much I hate snow. lol
Hopefully this was a helpful review. I know not everybody has to deal with winter the same way others do, but improper ice removal tools and techniqes is something that damages cars all winter and I'm just trying to give some advice in case you were looking for a better tool.