YPP24EAKD Yukon 24-Inch Ergonomic Poly Blade Snow Pusher

Right off, this tool is worth seven stars!For reference, Isabel is my loving wife with whose account I purchased this tool. I am 66 years old, 5'10", and 175 lbs. I am physically disabled from a car accident in which everything on my left side was broken or crushed, plus fractures to my pelvis and lower spine. I stopped shoveling snow after my accident. I simply could not do it physically, and too many acquaintances were ending up in the hospital with pulled backs, torn muscles, or heart attacks.When I was a boy, every farm here in Maine had an ancient wooden snow scoop kicking around from the days of manual labor. Those ancient beasts were heavy and hard to handle but got the job done if you were big and strong enough.I purchased my first Garant Yukon scoop at EBS in Rockland, Maine in 2007. My driveway is surfaced with crushed rock. Snow plows totally ruin the surface, and I hate the exhaust, unreliability, and maintenance requirements of snow blowers. When I saw that scoop in EBS, I grabbed it. It reminded me of a space age version of the scoops from my childhood. It was sturdy, lightweight, and had the "look". I have used many tools in my lifetime, and some tools you just know are made to work. When I'm using this scoop, it is not unusual for snowplow drivers to stop and watch. Once you have the technique figured out, it is fast and efficient. I have moved thousands of tons of snow with the original scoop, and have purchased another one for backup insurance!After five years of heavy use, the original scoop developed a stress fracture in the plastic of the scoop body near the right rear metal handle. However, the fracture does not appear to have diminished the scoop's function. I used it yesterday to move all the snow from our long driveway after the record blizzard of February 2013! The driveway is 100' long sloping down to the road. There was a wall of plowed snow 5' deep and 5' high in the mouth of the driveway, and there was three feet of snow in the driveway. It took me three hours to clear the entire driveway.Now some hints for you prospective purchasers:EASE OF USE: You don't need to be King Kong to use this tool. The plastic scoop body is lightweight, but very durable and slippery. The scoop handle is designed to provide a pushing/pulling point to move the scoop and provide lifting leverage to tilt the front of the scoop. If you are 5'5" or taller you should be able to manage the handle height. The top bar of the handle is for tilting the scoop, and the side bars are for pushing and pulling the scoop.TRACTION: Previous reviews give excellent suggestions, and I will add to them. Your body is the motor for this scoop. You need good traction on snow and ice to use this tool. A previous reviewer suggests using snowshoes. I have found the most effective traction to be gained by wearing Sorel Dominator winter pacs. These boots are heavy duty, leather uppers, rubber lowers, and have a special Aero Trac rubber sole and tread for adhesion to slippery surfaces ... even on ice, and have removable insulating liners. Sorel has since replaced this model with the Glacier model (same specs and sole). Spring the bucks for a pair of these boots a half size large to accommodate heavy socks, and you will be very happy. You will have excellent traction, and your feet will never get cold. These pacs are rated for artic temps. In fact, if you are active in cold temperature outside activities (i.e. ice fishing, hunting, etc.), you will never regret having Sorels.CLOTHING: Your body needs to be loose and warm, so your clothing will need to be loose and warm. I wear sweatpants, t-shirt, loose sweatshirt, thin work vest, and either Dickies or Carhardt insulated winter coveralls with leg zippers and full front zipper. Make sure the coveralls are not tight, you will regret it. When they are new, I wash them a few times to soften up the canvas outer shell. I can't emphasize enough the importance of having clothing that is loose and warm.MASK, GLOVES, SCARF: Wear a full winter face mask and winter hat if the weather is cold or the wind is blowing. Wear Thinsulate lined leather palm cloth-backed work gloves. Your hands need to stay warm and be able to flex easily. The scoop handle is metal. Wear a muffler or scarf to protect your neck. Drink extra water.... you are going to sweat a lot unless you have a slow pace.TECHNIQUE: The advantage to this tool is its ability to move snow without lifting it. You need to create a starting point for your work. The starting point will be next to the waste area at the edge of your work. As you begin clearing the area you will have more room to work and to keep working back from the initial waste dump. Build gradual ramps as you work. Push the loaded scoop up the ramps to dump the snow back. Use gravity to your advantage. If your work surface has a slope, do not work downhill. Instead, start at the lowest point, pushing your waste to the side. As you fill the scoop with snow, let gravity help you pull the loaded scoop back, then turn and push the loaded scoop sideways to the waste area. You will use less than half the energy you would otherwise use pulling the loaded scoop uphill to free it from the banked snow. Remember to slightly tilt the nose of the scoop as you push the loaded scoop onto your ramped waste area....you don't want the nose of the loaded scoop to dig in and provide drag. The loaded scoops will pack down your ramps and make a very easy surface to slide up. If you are working in deep virgin snow, start building your ramps with an unloaded scoop to give yourself a starting surface on which to slide the loaded scoops.At certain temperatures near the freezing point, snow can adhere and stick to the plastic surface of the scoop, making it difficult to use. A neat trick is to spray WD-40 on the plastic surface of the scoop BEFORE you start if the temperature is at or around the freezing point.

I don't submit reviews very often on Amazon. However, after having used this sleigh shovel for a couple of years now, I felt an obligation to contribute some thoughts on the benefits of this product with the hope that others might experience the same snow clearing "epiphany" I've realized with this shovel. It didn't hurt that I just finished cleaning my girlfriend's driveway of about 8" of the white stuff this morning, so these thoughts are as freshly primed as the recent fallen snow. I'm not sure I can say anything that hasn't already been mentioned. This product is simply fantastic for removing large amounts of snow - bulk snow removal - quickly, easily, and efficiently. I had been thinking about getting a snow thrower to accomplish the same thing. I love gas engines. I have two lawnmowers, a string trimmer, 6 motorcycles, and a car. Yet - after using this sleigh shovel, I'm now finding it difficult to justify purchasing a snow thrower. In fact, I clean my driveway so quickly and easily that I now struggle with guilt over how much less exercise I'm getting after a big snowfall. This shovel is THAT good. As another example, my girlfriend's driveway is about 100 ft in length. This morning when I offered to bring over my large Yukon 26" scoop and promised her I'd have the driveway cleared in about 20 minutes - she was understandably skeptical. And I'm not surprised. She has a much smaller sleigh shovel that she uses on occasion. I have the same smaller version too. But it just isn't designed very well for moving large amounts of snow efficiently. While easy to use - I felt that I was wasting time walking back and forth with only a relatively small load of snow cleared on each run. My experience with the smaller shovel helped me realize the potential of a larger sleigh shovel and this is what prompted me to purchase the larger Yukon 26" version. So after 20 minutes of clearing - I was done. My girlfriend used a conventional shovel to clean her small deck, stairs and walkway. We finished at the same time. She was impressed - and conceded that it would have taken much, much longer to clear the driveway with the smaller sleigh shovel. The Yukon 26" even sports a metal blade for attacking that denser snow the city plow invariably leaves at the end of the driveway. While it required a little more effort with the heavier snow - this scoop made short work of this harder packed crud too.One thing I love about sleigh shovels is that you can easily distribute the snow where you want - far off the driveway. You can spread it evenly out on the lawn so that you don't create high snow banks that make it challenging and potentially dangerous when looking out for traffic or pedestrians while backing your vehicle out of the driveway. High snow banks also increase the effort involved in lifting snow ever higher after each subsequent dump when using a conventional throw shovel. Distributing the snow evenly on the lawn also keeps it away from the house and lessens problems associated with drainage and run-off entering your home during the springtime melt. This usually isn't an option with a conventional throw-type shovel - unless you wish to lift and carry the snow some distance away - which would require lots of work and time. This is what makes the sleigh shovel so easy and efficient to use. Also - compared to the smaller sleigh shovels, the handle on the Yukon 26" bends upwards so you can find a position that suits your height and feels most natural and comfortable while pushing the shovel. This avoids having to bend over while working - something I found myself doing with the smaller sleigh shovels. Also - I can't believe how easy it is to move snow with this shovel. I just walk with it and the effort involved is hardly noticeable (providing you are pushing it on snow and not on bare asphalt). And the fact that you simply give the scoop a good, abrupt push and then pull back to release the snow makes it so much more easy than having to physically lift the snow - not to mention throw it - with a more conventional shovel. This snow scoop, while relatively light-weight - appears to be very well built as well.Are there any cons? Sure. For those who are proud of their snow clearing craft and would likely meet clinical criteria for Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder - you will likely feel the urge to have a more conventional shovel at your disposal to clean your steps and perhaps to do some fine edging work. But to me - this is an acceptable compromise. I wonder how much better an even LARGER sleigh shovel might work too. But as it stands - I am incredibly happy with this purchase - and after each snowfall I'm reminded about what a great labour-saving snow conquering implement this is. I'm also thrilled that this product is made in Canada, as I live in Northern Ontario. Ironically - I had to purchase this through Amazon from the U.S. because they were all sold out in my local hardware stores.

Finally - replacement for the crippled shovel I've used since 2005. The trend 20 years ago to the 18 - 24" metal shovels with straight handles has been useless since the extra width overloads weight especially for the wet heart-attack snow.This shovel is perfect: ergonomic handle, light weight, plastic edge, and, 'narrow' shovel that does not overload for tossing snow... Hopefully this will last for another 20 years.Dear manufacturer: please advise if you ever decide to stop production so I can do a bulk last time buy... 8-)

Just tried it after a moderate snowfall. I suffer from chronic back pain and my old shovel was torture to use, even for a minute. Used this for over 10 minuites with virtually no pain at all in my back. I used it as a push shovel and it works wonderfully. It has a long handle (I'm 5'11 and can use it without needing to bend any significant amount) and the curved handle made it much easier to lift snow (less bending and felt far less stress lifting). Could not be happier with my purchase, has drastically reduced the pain I feel when shoveling.

This truly is the best snow shovel I have ever owned. My original one is still going strong but I wanted a second one, just in case. I never get a sore back using this shovel thanks to the ergonomics. And it's Canadian made....so it's great quality!!

Works as it should and easy on the back. I'd recommend to anyone and definitely buy again.the price. It's worth every penny!

This is my second identical shovel as I was very happy with my first one. The one that I recently ordered the blade is curved not allowing for a perfectly clearing of snow. It leaves a bunch in the middle. Very disappointed

The blade wore down within a couple seasons and then cracked apart. Really wasn't used that much so quite disappointed on the longevity of the shovel. Won't buy this one again.