OCDetails Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 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. 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.[/ame] 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 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. 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. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Thanks for the review. I might have to pick one of these up. Have you come across a snow brush that would be safe® on paint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Tank Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Do you get commission on these things If I didn't keep my car in the garage I would definitely pick one up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polatinte Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I'll have to grab one of those. My current scraper is just plastic, and I'm sure you know how well those work... Besides, "obsessive" is just a term the lazy use for people that are thorough -fishbone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share Posted December 9, 2009 Do you get commission on these things If I didn't keep my car in the garage I would definitely pick one up. I should probably. lol They use my pictures when I review products that I post, so I should see about getting a couple freebies once in awhile. lol As anybody who has met me knows, I value my objectivity. Being paid to review something or being incentivized to give it a favorable review at all would just not work for me. If something is crap, then I'll say it is crap. When it is my money I'm spending on it, you better believe I'll flame it if I wasted my bucks. Fortunately when you shop with Autogeek you know that the products have already been put to the test and they are worthy of whatever you are going to use it for. I haven't found much crap on their site... I do have a snow pusher product I reviewed just before posting this thread. Look for the Snow Mover thread on this same page. That thing works really well. Anything that comes in contact with your paint can cause damage, but if you know how to get snow off your car without contacting the paint somehow, then I'd like to know about it. I park in a garage at night too, typically. However, my office doesn't have covered parking and there have been times where I've had 8 inches of snow piled on top of it when I finish work. Having a snow pusher is helpful. The ice scraper is helpful too. Those pictures were actually taken in my office parking lot, so that is just sort of an example of what I come out to sometimes. I think every trunk should have an ice scraper in it if you live anywhere that has snow and ice. I'd rather have one in there and not need it than to be caught without one. Sort of like jumper cables. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeleodee Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Thanks for the review. I might have to pick one of these up. Have you come across a snow brush that would be safe® on paint? THIS is what you are looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Thanks for the input guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brady Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Ugh ... those damn snow rakes. Those are just horrible for your paint. They end up dragging too much grit and grime across your paint. It's only half way decent if you never drive your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 I ended up picking up this scraper and got a chance to use it the other day. It definitely makes the job easier. It'll be worth the $20 if it's durable. I got the OXO brush at the same time and I'm not sure if I like it yet. It's heavier than an el-cheapo Hoppy brush, so it may just take some time getting used to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pillboy Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 They claim the brass blades will not scratch your glass. I had a bronze blade ice scraper maybe 15 years ago...same claim. That may be true of the metal blade, but unless your windows are always kept clean of dirt all winter (yeah, right), you will pick up some grit with the blade that will scratch your glass. I have never had that happen with a plastic scraper, but did with the bronze. It is still ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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