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RubbishReview
03-09-2014, 04:22 PM
Review of the Cobra Supreme Guzzler Vs. the ShamWow

Lets take a look at some of the basic information for each towel first.

ShamWow:
Cost, About $9.99 for two (price various from place to place)
Size, 20 Inches X 23.5 Inches

Cobra Supreme Guzzler:
Cost, $19.99 (from autogeek)
Size, 20 Inches X 40 Inches

Photos of the towels can be found here, Cobra Supreme Guzzler Vs. ShamWow - Imgur (http://imgur.com/a/tiUJ3)

Review Process:
For each towel I have provided a video and a description of what I think of it. Before each video the hood of the car was sprayed with a mist of distilled water and then I sprayed a light amount of Chemical Guys P40 (detailing spray) on to the hood. I like to spray P40 on the car before drying it just to add some lubrication and to prevent scratching/swirling of the paint. Also note that the hood of this car has been waxed and cleaned recently.

ShamWow:
Video of the ShamWow test can be found here, Review of the ShamWow Towel - YouTube (http://youtu.be/_jyVwGVs-e4)

As you can see in the video the ShamWow towel does absorb some of the water off of the car, but does not dry the vehicle completely.

I have owned and used the ShamWow towels for about 6 months and it has been my findings that while the ShamWow does absorb some of the water off the car it does not come close to "drying the vehicle" I would estimate that it really only picks up about 50% of the water off of the car. For some reason I did find that brand new ShamWow towels do not seem to absorb as much water as one that has been washed. However I have also found that after just a few washes (two to three) following the manufactures directions that the towels seem to leave a LOT of orange lint on the car. I also find that the towels are not very soft so in the off chance that you missed a spot while cleaning the car I find that the ShamWow has a very high risk of scratching the paint on the car. While I prefer to air dry my microfiber towels it is nice knowing that I can dry them on low heat for a short amount of time to speed the drying process up unfortunately it has been my experience that any amount of heat and time in the dryer renders the ShamWow completely useless and must be thrown out must of the time.

Due to the above issues the overall lacking of anything positive to say about the ShamWow I would not recommend anyone to use this towel on there car.

Cobra Supreme Guzzler:
Video of the Cobra Supreme Guzzler test can be found here, Review of the Cobra Supreme Guzzler Towel - YouTube (http://youtu.be/yaAwEU8d6y8)

As you can see in the video the Supreme Guzzler has no issues absorbing 100% of the water that is on the hood of the car.

I have used this towel around six times now and have found with each use that it has no issues absorbing 100% of the water on my Volvo S60. Due to its large size I would also say that it could easily dry a full size SUV with no issues. While I have not had the towel for an extended period of time I have washed the towel twice and have not witnessed any issues with the material. Unlike the ShamWow you can dry this towel on low heat for a short amount of time however I would recommend that you allow all of your microfiber towels to air dry. I do find the Supreme Guzzler to be much softer then the ShamWow which helps to reduce scratching in the event that you missed something while cleaning the car however due to its waffle weave construction I would say that there is still a medium to high risk of scratching the car with this towel.

Once again I have not had this towel for very long, but from what I am seeing so far I really like it. There are numerous reviews on this towel all positive and I am incline to agree with them. Due to this I would recommend this as a great towel for drying your car/truck/SUV.
jamesboyy
03-09-2014, 05:25 PM
Nice review you put together, it makes it more clear that cobra is the better choice
RubbishReview
03-10-2014, 06:26 AM
Nice review you put together, it makes it more clear that cobra is the better choice

Thanks,
Mikertt
03-10-2014, 06:50 AM
The Original ShamWow is sold at my local 99 Cents Only stores around the California Bay Area. Exact same as the ones that were on TV informercials. Lints like hell and doesn't absorb water very well, even though it is wet like it is supposed to be used.
RubbishReview
03-10-2014, 08:48 AM
The Original ShamWow is sold at my local 99 Cents Only stores around the California Bay Area. Exact same as the ones that were on TV informercials. Lints like hell and doesn't absorb water very well, even though it is wet like it is supposed to be used.

Yes, they can be found all over the place... I bought 8 of them in a sealed box at a yard sale for about $1.00 last summer, lol. I have read where people said that you need to make the towel wet, however the directions that came with the ones that I have did not seem to indicate this. Although I did not see where it made any difference and when I tried this it made it so I was unable to dry an entire car without having to change to another towel. Washing the towel once before using it seemed to have the largest positive affect for me.
GenesisCoupe
03-10-2014, 10:12 AM
Great review and just shows what terrible marketing Shamwow really is.

I typically blow dry cars, however i will use a microfiber drying towel to touch up spots.

Thanks!
FUNX650
03-10-2014, 10:49 AM
I remember when "Vince the Sham Wow Man" was released from his interment due to his escapade of:
Face-Punching a certain-"Pro"...just in time to plug one of his new toys.

With that in mind:
Perhaps this thread could be made a "Schticky"?!?!

Bob
GreatAvalon
03-10-2014, 11:40 AM
Thanks for the review! I have a Guzzler too, and I have a question about it. When it gets full of water, you are supposed to wring it out like a chamois right?
arisking
03-10-2014, 11:49 AM
Wouldn't the ShamWow marr the paint like crazy?
RubbishReview
03-10-2014, 12:28 PM
Thanks for the review! I have a Guzzler too, and I have a question about it. When it gets full of water, you are supposed to wring it out like a chamois right?

So the short answer to your question, yes I would think that you would be able to simply wring it out quality microfiber is very strong and I see no reason why this would hurt it.

Long answer...
The Guzzler comes in a few sizes the one that I have and that was used for this test is the Supreme from the photos here Cobra Supreme Guzzler Vs. ShamWow - Imgur (http://imgur.com/a/tiUJ3) you can see that it is pretty large. Given the size of it and the size of my car (Volvo S60) I have not had a need to wring it out, I just simply use it and let it air dry overnight. As stated above I don't see any reason why you could not wring it out once it has become fully saturated and keep using it, but this is not something that I have tested my self.

Lets see if anyone else has any questions regarding the Guzzler and what I will do is create a follow up post and test to see what happens.
cleanmycorolla
03-10-2014, 12:34 PM
I'd never let and shamwow touch my car, kudos to you for doing that!
RubbishReview
03-10-2014, 02:05 PM
Wouldn't the ShamWow marr the paint like crazy?


I'd never let and shamwow touch my car, kudos to you for doing that!

So my long term test results for this product were conducted on an older Saturn that was not in the greatest condition...

That being said I used a LOT of caution when using the ShamWow as it does not have a thick napp and its not very "soft" at all. For the demo videos that you see I used my Volvo that had a very clean surface and a highly waxed surface so there was no marring. If there is one thing to take away from this review it would be NOT to use the ShamWow simply due to the risk of scratching the paint I did this simply for testing, in controlled conditions.
StangFan25
03-10-2014, 04:28 PM
Isn't the ShamWow suppose to be damp in order for it to work as advertised? I thought I read that somewhere. Could be mistaken, but maybe that's why it didn't perform that well?
RubbishReview
03-10-2014, 04:34 PM
...I have read where people said that you need to make the towel wet, however the directions that came with the ones that I have did not seem to indicate this. Although I did not see where it made any difference and when I tried this it made it so I was unable to dry an entire car without having to change to another towel. Washing the towel once before using it seemed to have the largest positive affect for me.


Isn't the ShamWow suppose to be damp in order for it to work as advertised? I thought I read that somewhere. Could be mistaken, but maybe that's why it didn't perform that well?

See above quote, someone else asked the same thing... Also to add to that if you go to the ShamWow site https://www.shamwow.com/ it clearly states that the towel will work wet or dry.
GreatAvalon
03-10-2014, 09:24 PM
So the short answer to your question, yes I would think that you would be able to simply wring it out quality microfiber is very strong and I see no reason why this would hurt it.

Long answer...
The Guzzler comes in a few sizes the one that I have and that was used for this test is the Supreme from the photos here Cobra Supreme Guzzler Vs. ShamWow - Imgur (http://imgur.com/a/tiUJ3) you can see that it is pretty large. Given the size of it and the size of my car (Volvo S60) I have not had a need to wring it out, I just simply use it and let it air dry overnight. As stated above I don't see any reason why you could not wring it out once it has become fully saturated and keep using it, but this is not something that I have tested my self.

Lets see if anyone else has any questions regarding the Guzzler and what I will do is create a follow up post and test to see what happens.

Ok great! My LSP has been 100% worn off my DD this winter, so when I water sheet dry it doesn't run that well. So that being said, my Guzzler was completely soaked by drying half my roof with it. Perhaps I got a too small of size one too.

Again, thanks for the info and for the review!