The Best Ice Scraper

Our Top Pick for 2019: Hopkins Subzero Quick Lock Pivoting Snowbroom
Amazon

If you live in the Midwest, New England, or northern states, you know how breathtaking it can be wake up in the morning and see the landscape covered in snow. You are also aware of how frustrating and difficult it can be to try to remove accumulated snow and ice off your automobile. Undoubtedly, you appreciate the value of having a well manufactured snow broom and ice scraper. It can transform the morning snow and ice removal ritual from a nightmare to something that is quasi-tolerable. We’ve looked at multiple ice scrapers/snow brooms and have compiled a list of the three best options available. We’ve added a budget option that is still able to get the job done.

Let’s Have a Quick Look of Our Top Picks:

Amazon

When we reviewed snowbrooms and ice scrapers, we thought about what it is like to be standing outside your vehicle in subzero temperatures, late for work, and desperate to get the snow and ice off your car so that you can get where you are going. The Hopkins Subzero 60″ Quick Lock Pivoting Snowbroom stood above the rest in its ability to help you accomplish that task in a quick and efficient manner. For this reason, it is our gold product.

The Hopkins Subzero Snowbroom is manufactured by the Hopkins Manufacturing and Subzero company. For more than four decades, this company has been the leader in the production of snow and ice tools. With manufacturing plants in snow prone places like Kansas and in Canada, they are able to test their tools in a real world environment. And this has led to them crafting a superb product.

The first thing that you will notice when you look at the Hopkins snowbroom is that it has a quick lock extension pole. This factor is very important, especially after a wet and heavy snowfall. As you probably know from experience, pushing wet snow off the roof of your SUV or other large vehicle can be a tiresome task. Wet snow is very heavy. And so the extension pole needs to lock in place, and it needs to be able to resist the weight of the snow as you push it off the roof of your vehicle.

The second standout feature of this device is the extra wide scraper blade. You are going to appreciate this tool especially on cold mornings when your front and rear windshield are coated in thick layers of ice. Even if you are wearing gloves, you know that your hands get cold scraping ice off the windshield. The wider blade allows you to remove more ice quickly, thereby cutting the time for the job down considerably. This is especially important on those cold mornings when you have to get to work on time, and you need to make quick work of ice removal.

Hopkins Subzero’s experience in dealing with the ice and the snow shines through when you look at the pivoting soft bristle design of the both the snowbroom and the squeegee. At times, the only way that you can adequately remove the snow is if you angle your broom or your squeegee just right to get into those frustrating areas that snow seems to build up on. Having a squeegee is nice because it allows you to quickly remove residual ice shavings after you have used the scraper blade.

This company’s experience with cold weather shines through in the fact that they gave this snowbroom a squeegee at all. They understand that when you scrape the snow off your car, the first thing you do is turn the car and its heating system on. In the time that it takes you to remove the snow and ice from your car, the heating system causes condensation to build up on the windows. However, with a swipe of the squeegee, your windows are clear and you are ready to go.

The snowbroom has a 60 inch pole. This is perfect for clearing off the snow on your SUV or on your RV. It allows you to get the majority of the snow off while standing on one side. With a shorter handle, you find yourself removing the snow from one side, going to the other side and attempting to remove the snow, only to inadvertently push it back to the area you cleaned before. This is not a problem with this device.

The Hopkins Subzero snow broom comes equipped with different handles and styles. It is lightweight, coming in at 1.1 pounds, yet it is sturdy enough to handle heavy-duty snow removal.

Reviewers on Amazon overwhelmingly love this product. They give it a phenomenal 4.8 out of five stars. Multiple reviewers discuss how well engineered the product is and how it stands up to winters in places like New England, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. One reviewer who was commenting on how much he loved this product said that the only downside is that every time he purchases one, some family member steals it from him to use it on their vehicle.

Equipped with brushes, squeegees, and scrapers, the Hopkins Subzero 60″ Quick Lock Pivoting Snowbroom may be the first and last snow and ice removal tool you may need to purchase for your vehicle.

When we looked at the Snow MOOver Ice Scraper with Foam Grip, two words came to our mind: Conquer Winter. It is for this reason that we have chosen this as our silver product. Produced by BirdRock, this ice scraper is crafted for those winter mornings when you come out to your car and it is covered in more than a foot of snow and a half inch of ice.

It’s unique design makes it easy to remove ice from your windshield and the top of your hood. It has a pole that extends 55 inches. This means that you can be on one side of your SUV, your RV, your truck, or any other large vehicle, and easily remove the snow off the roof in one single push or pull. And as you have no doubt experienced, if you do not get this off your roof before you start to drive, eventually it will find its way on your windshield or on your rear window, blocking your vision and making your morning commute dangerous and more frustrating.

The Snow MOOver Ice Scraper has a sturdy design. The scraper and jaws are unbelievably powerful and stress resistant. If you have ever used an ice scraper that is flimsy and has flimsy jaws, you know firsthand what happens when you try to exert force to remove ice. As the scraper gets colder, it becomes brittle. Eventually it will crack or break. Nothing can ruin your morning like trying to scrape the ice off your windshield using a credit card or your license because your cheap scraper broke. With the Snow MOOver Ice Scraper, this will never be a problem.

Even though the scraper and its jaws are designed to be sturdy, they are also designed to be safe for use on your car windows and windshield. You want to remove the ice, but you obviously do not want to damage your windows in the process.

With the Snow MOOver Ice Scraper, you will never have that annoying strip of ice down the middle of your windshield that you just can’t reach. This product has been battle tested in some of the worst wintry conditions in the middle of the Rocky Mountains.

The Snow MOOver Ice Scraper is comfortable in your hands. Its foam grip prevents your hands from slipping and gives them a little bit of cushion to prevent blisters.

Amazon reviewers love this product, and they have graced it with a 4.7 out of five rating. Many wish they would have purchased this scraper years ago. One went as far as saying that after using the product for the first time, they were actually looking forward to the next winter when they could use the product again.

Many commented on the product’s versatility. They liked the telescoping arm and the fact that the scraper could be removed and used as a single hand scraper. There were multiple comments from reviewers of a shorter stature and they said they love the fact that with this ice scraper, they could even get the snow off their SUV.

Since Hopkins has made a name for itself as the leader in all things snow removal related, it really should not be surprising that a second one of their snow brushes find its way on our top three list. We have selected the Hopkins Mallory 26″ Snow Brush with Foam Grip as our bronze option because of its superior durability, economic design, and functionality.

The snow brush is 26 inches long. This is a lot shorter than some the other brushes we have reviewed thus far. However, as many commenters on Amazon mentioned, it is the perfect length to completely remove snow and ice from a small to medium size car.

The Hopkins Mallory 26″ Snow Brush with Foam Grip comes equipped with four rows of sturdy bristles. Many have remarked that they like the fact that the bristles are not as stiff as other brushes. This allows them to clean heavy snowfall off their vehicle without worrying about the bristles scratching the finish of their automobile. And while the bristles are softer, they are not so soft that they cannot support the weight of wet, heavy snow being removed from the vehicle.

One standout feature of the ice scraper is its foam grip. It has been uniquely designed to provide the optimum comfort and functionality. When you are holding the product by the grip, it feels secure in your hand even if you are wearing thick winter gloves. While wearing these gloves, you will not need to worry about the snow brush slipping out of your hand even if you are trying to remove the most stubborn ice deposit. Additionally, the foam design protects your hands from calluses and other injuries you might sustain.

On Amazon the product has received more than 800 reviews and most are positive. In fact, reviewers have given this product 4.6 out of five stars. Many were surprised how sturdy the product was when they actually had it into their hand. They said that the product was solid and heavy and seems as if it was built to last for many years.

Because it is constructed from structural foam and injection molded plastic, the parts end up being stronger than standard plastic parts. Colder temperatures will not cause the product to become brittle.

If this product has a downside for some people, it is that the brush and the scraper are not on the same side. Some find it awkward to flip the tool around in order to scrape and then brush.

The CJ Industries F101 Fantastic Ice Scraper with Brass Blade is a functional product that gets the job done at a minimal price. Its unique features include a brass blade that allows it to effectively remove ice and frost from windshields in just one swipe. It is relatively small, weighing 1.6 ounces and being 8 ½ inches long by 2.9 inches wide.

Something that has attracted many people to this product is the fact that the brass blade is slightly flexible. This allows it to curve to the contour of the windows on your automobile. As a result, there won’t be those patches of ice that you miss or that you need to go over multiple times in order to get it off completely.

Although this is an inexpensive product, you should by no means view it as cheap. In fact, one of the points that is constantly commented on by reviewers on Amazon is how well constructed the product is. Reviewers stated that they have used this product for more than two decades and they buy it today in bulk so that they can distribute it to their friends and family.

The only downsides that were mentioned about this product where the fact that the blade and the handle were too small for individuals who had a larger vehicle. However, even in these reviews, comments were made about how effectively this product was able to remove even the thickest ice off a window.

Pre-purchase considerations

Length

Time and time again, reviewer’s comment on the length of the ice scraper they are purchasing. If it is too short for your vehicle, you’re going to find yourself running from side to side, attempting to get all the snow off only to find that you have an annoying Mohawk-like streak of snow running down the center of your vehicle that will eventually find its way onto your windshield. On the other hand, if it is too long, it may not fit into the trunk or storage compartment of your vehicle.

Width

The wider the blade of the ice scraper, the better. A narrow blade requires you to go over the same portion of the windshield time and time again. On especially cold winter days, a combination of you loosening the ice, the heater from your car, and the cold winter air could mean that you go over a section of the windshield, move on to the back window, and by time you’re finished, ice deposits have formed again on the windshield. With a wider blade, you are able to get the job done quicker and in a more efficient way.

Handgrips

If your snow broom does not have a good handgrip, you’re going to find yourself frustrated, especially when you are fighting against thicker ice. Your gloved hands are going to be slipping everywhere, you may injure yourself, and you are not going to be able to put the force you want into the scraper. A good handle has a firm grip and is molded to conform to your fingers.

Squeegee

The best snowbrooms either have a squeegee attached to them, or they have the option of switching out the blade for a squeegee. Squeegees allow you to complete the ice removal process by removing any water or any debris that could refreeze in the future.

Versatility

While an ice scraper may seem like a relatively simple product, the truth is they can be very versatile. Some include a brush or a scraper that pivots, allowing you to reach nooks and crannies you could not otherwise reach. Some have a telescoping poll that allows you to make the product as long or short as you need it to be. Many come with interchangeable heads and blades designed to work in different circumstances. The more versatile your ice scraper, the better job it will do.

Conclusion (Wrapping it up)

Winter can be beautiful, but it can also be a pain. Removing ice off your windshield at 4 o’clock in the morning while you are barely awake and rushing off to work will never be the highlight of your day. As you can see in our reviews, there is no such thing as the best ice scraper. There is such a thing as the best ice scraper for you. If you take the time and do some research, you can find an excellent snow or ice scraper that will minimize the amount of time you spend in the freezing cold.