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(More customer reviews)Today's 8" storm officially heralded in my second season using the Wovel, and I was reminded exactly how remarkable this silly-looking contraption is.
My house is one of four homes on a very small private street. Since we're responsible for our own snow removal, we co-own a large snow blower and take turns clearing the street. My three neighbors also use the blower to clear their driveways. As for myself, I don't particularly like the loud, polluting blower. Since I've always looked at shoveling as excellent exercise, I would typically reach for the shovel to handle my own driveway.
Although I'm pretty fit, I do suffer from occasional acute lower back episodes. For this reason, my wife picked up a Wovel as a holiday gift for me last season.
The first time I used it, I was amazed at how large a swath of 8" deep snow I could clear with a single scoop. I estimated at that time that the volume of snow I was clearing with one Wovel scoop was equivalent to around 5 scoops of a normal shovel. The factors that make this possible: 1.) the shovel portion of the Wovel is huge; 2.) the lever action of the Wovel allows you to lift and toss *a lot* of weight with minimal effort. The combined effect is that the shovel portion of the Wovel, which is large to begin with, can be used to lift and toss a pile of snow that is not just wide, but is also piled much higher than you would ever attempt with a conventional shovel.
I've seen some reviewers state that the Wovel is more effective than a snow blower. In my opinion, this depends on the snow blower in question, the area you're clearing and the snow conditions.
The street I have to clear is several hundred feet long. The Wovel is pretty cool, but at the end of the day, it's still a shovel; you have to stop clearing momentarily as you toss a load. Since the snow blower can clear and toss simultaneously, it can clear a path down the length of the street without stopping (i.e. it has a superior "duty cycle").If I were dealing with perhaps 5" or less of lighter snow, I could probably clear the street faster with the Wovel than the blower ... but this is probably true of a conventional shovel as well, since you can "plow" light amounts of snow with a conventional shovel. But once you start getting into larger accumulations or wetter, heavier snow, the blower is going to win: the heavier the snow, the greater the blower's advantage.
Now it might be a different story if we're talking about a typical driveway instead of a street. My driveway is maybe 40 feet long. Although the blower has the advantage I described earlier, it also has overhead: it has to be physically turned around, and the "blast gate" probably needs to be rotated to throw the snow where you want it. My driveway isn't long enough to significantly exploit the blower's superior duty cycle. If you combine this with the fact that the Wovel is more nimble, then I would say that I will probably clear the driveway faster with the Wovel, perhaps even with heavier or deeper snow. *But*, if the snow is heavily crusted, packed, or slushy, then the blower again starts to gain the edge.
The Wovel does have some limitations. For example, you won't be using it to clear the stairs on your front porch. Also, you cannot effectively thrust and "slice" into snow. So, if you allow the snow that gets piled at the end of your driveway by the passing street plows to sit long enough to become hard, you'll probably need a conventional shovel to tackle it. (If you get to it right away though, the Wovel is an absolute God send. I cleared a knee-deep pile such as this from the end of our private road today in 30 seconds flat.)
Also, there is a slight learning curve in determining the most efficient pattern to use on your driveway. The Wovel is most effective when the snow can be thrown directly ahead of you. For this reason, it isn't practical to move in long straight lines, nor do you want to have to pivot to throw the snow off to one side. The best approach is to move in diagonal lines relative to the length of your driveway. I won't attempt to describe this further, but the Wovel includes a video that covers this concept in detail.
Lastly, although the Wovel does provide you with the mechanical advantage of a fulcrum and lever system, you are still using muscle power. If you decide to push yourself, you will find that you'll be getting a workout. That said however, it is still much easier than using a conventional shovel (I estimate I can clear a typical snowfall from my driveway in roughly one-third the time), and it is far, FAR easier on your back. I might have fatigued lats and shoulders after finishing with it, but I never experience any back discomfort whatsoever ... and as I mentioned, I have chronic lower back issues.
Oh, one more thing that is very minor ... and maybe this is just me: The Wovel might look a little gimmicky to some ... perhaps even downright silly. I do feel a little like the neighborhood "geeky eccentric professor" when I'm using it. Passers-by do often cast wry smiles, or make amused comments. But trust me, any initial skepticism disappears rapidly when they see it in action.
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