True Temper Penguin Autoboss Emergency Shovel

 (5 customer reviews)

Well I bought this as the Blizzard of 2010 was coming towards Manhattan and didn't feel like going from store to store to find the right shovel. I have a small car so I wanted something that folds up to keep in the hatchback.

It's made of plastic so you can't chip away any thick ice but it does a good job moving snow around if you can keep it from getting too heavy.

It's the perfect size for making a path out for a car. My Ford Focus got into a drift pretty easily, I prepped a parking spot to move into and I got in with no problems.

The folding works well, it's got a lock so it won't fold up on you while you use it, you have to pull and turn a latch to make it open or close.

It's great for a portable tool, it is plastic so some ice might be a problem but I would plan to break ice chunks with an ice scraper and then move the snow and ice around with this.

I purchased this shovel for the recent winter storms in NYC. The shovel is well designed and perfect for emergencies and small jobs. The blade is made of tempered plastic. It won't carve through thick ice but works well for almost all other conditions. I was able to dig my car out of 2 ft of heavy/icy snow and free up the wheels faster than several other stranded motorists. It is much lighter than standard shovels, folds compactly, and fits nicely in the trunk. As mentioned elsewhere, the latch does loosen with repeated use but I was able to easily re-tighten it by hand. I felt that the handle placement was good and versatile. My wife, who is petite, was able to use it easily as well. Amusingly, several observers remarked that they thought the shovel was "cool." I would definitely buy this shovel again.

Pros: lightweight, compact, versatile, almost "cool"
Cons: latch may loosen with use

Overall, I was very glad I purchased this product. Having just been hit with the Midwest blizzard, this arrived just in time.

As to the product, one of the most notable features is its size. While it would not be very good for shoveling a large area, it works well for shoveling between cars, and the size is just right to fit in a car trunk or back seat. Additionally, the shovel folds in half, making it even more compact. The blade is longer than it is wide, so it still picks up a decent amount of snow with every scoop. It is a little short when open for pushing snow, but for shoveling (actually having to pick up and throw the snow to the side) it works pretty well.

The two handles work pretty well and give a decent amount of leverage when picking up snow, though the middle handle is so close to the blade that your glove is guaranteed to get some snow on it with a full shovel. After about an hour of shoveling around my car (the drifts were up to my chest, so...Read more