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Tim Heffernan is a writer who covers air and water quality and sustainable-energy technology. He prefers Flare-brand match smoke for purifier testing. handheld fan mini
We’ve added long term test notes on our picks, and our thoughts on the pros and cons of using a push broom to clear cars of light snowfall.
The Hopkins SubZero 80037 has been our ice-scraper pick since 2015.
I’ve used the original test model through four New York City winters and more nor’easters than I care to remember, and Wirecutter senior writer Doug Mahoney has done the same with a second one on his farm in New Hampshire. Both of us consider it indispensable when the white stuff arrives.
“Before getting the Hopkins,” Doug said, “I used the smallest, lamest, cheapest ice scrapers I could find. I had no idea that a little added investment would make such a nice difference.” It really does.
Efficient at clearing ice and sweeping snow, this model is robustly built, works on any size of vehicle, and has thoughtful design details that set it apart from the rest.
The Hopkins SubZero 16619 is similar to the 80037, but shorter, with a smaller brush, and a slightly different scraper—it’s still great but a bit less efficient.
The Snow Moover’s quick-drying foam brush pushes a lot of snow, the tool disassembles for compact storage, and one piece can be used as a handheld scraper.
If you just need a basic handheld scraper, this tool—the Hopkins SubZero scraper head and ice crusher on a nice cushioned handle—is far better than average.
Efficient at clearing ice and sweeping snow, this model is robustly built, works on any size of vehicle, and has thoughtful design details that set it apart from the rest.
The Hopkins tool’s scraping blade combines a scraping blade and ice-crushing teeth to make quick work of thick or thin ice, and its plow-like bristle broom is the best we’ve tested—equally adept at shoving snow off body panels and brushing it out from tight spots around the mirrors and wipers. Its many thoughtful design details, including padded grips, a self-locking extension mechanism, and easy-to-use (but hard-to-misuse) buttons, set it apart from its competitors. The size is average—39 inches folded up and 60 inches (5 feet) fully extended—but no other contender offers such a complete scraping-and-sweeping package with so few weaknesses. Plus, it’s proven to be durable long-term: after multiple winters, our original test model is still working like new.
The Hopkins SubZero 16619 is similar to the 80037, but shorter, with a smaller brush, and a slightly different scraper—it’s still great but a bit less efficient.
The Hopkins SubZero 16619 shares most of the design features that make the 80037 our pick, including the foolproof buttons, sturdy broom-squeegee-plow head, and efficient scraper. But the brush head is narrower at 8 inches versus 10 inches, the extended handle measures only 51 inches (versus 60 inches), and the narrower ice-crushing blade takes a bit longer to clear thick ice off a vehicle’s glass. It’s a very good tool, but it's one that requires a bit more reaching and effort than the 80037 when cleaning snow off big vehicles like trucks and SUVs.
The Snow Moover’s quick-drying foam brush pushes a lot of snow, the tool disassembles for compact storage, and one piece can be used as a handheld scraper.
The Birdrock Home Snow Moover 55” Extendable Foam Snow Brush and Ice Scraper trades a bristly broom for a foam snow pusher, which is capable of moving a whole lot of snow off a car very quickly. The tool comes apart for storage, making it a good choice for smaller cars. One of the disassembled pieces is a hand scraper, designed to be used on its own. And because the Snow Moover uses a foam blade instead of an absorbent brush, it’s less likely to bring any snow into your car and make puddles. The downside is that the foam is less deft in nooks and crannies, like around the wipers and license plate, where bristle-brushes like the Hopkins SubZeros do a better job. We were also worried about how resilient the foam would be, but after two winters of use it's not showing any signs of wear.
If you just need a basic handheld scraper, this tool—the Hopkins SubZero scraper head and ice crusher on a nice cushioned handle—is far better than average.
It’s easier to clear a car with a long-handled tool, but if you just need a basic, compact scraper, you can’t go wrong with the Hopkins SubZero 16621. An 11-inch tool with an ice scraper, crusher, and cushioned grip, it’s a handheld version of the same great scraper head you find on some of the brand’s other tools.
In addition to our multiple tests of scrapers, both in the wild and in Ford’s lab environment, Wirecutter’s testers have also personally dealt with decades of rough winters. We’ve scraped ice and swept snow off cars, pickup trucks, SUVs, a fire engine, and a backhoe in the high desert of California, after Philly’s heaviest snow in its history, and in one of New York City’s worst-ever winters for snowfall (2013–14) as well as 2018’s record stretch of cold weather. Our picks have endured long-term testing in the unforgiving winters of Ithaca, New York, and Keene, New Hampshire.
If you own a vehicle and live anywhere with enough snow or ice that you need winter gear like snow shovels or a snow blower, you’ll likely appreciate a tool that combines a scraper for clearing ice off your car windows with a broom or pusher for sweeping snow off the rest of the vehicle. You may also need one: Some states, including New York, New Jersey, and Illinois, have passed laws requiring drivers to clear snow and ice from cars.
If you already own a basic ice scraper and you’re wondering whether it’s worth upgrading to a longer, more expensive tool, it absolutely is. A tool with a longer handle makes it easier to reach across a windshield without having to use a stool or getting snow all over your coat. You’ll find it easier to drive safely, because the handle and brush make it simpler to clear the entire car. When you use a small scraper, the windshield alone can be so much work that by the time you’re done, you’d probably rather hit the road than do the rest. Still, if you’re just looking for a better small, inexpensive scraper, we get it—our budget pick is a standout choice.
If you only get occasional snow, and your driving habits mean you won’t need to carry a tool in the trunk to clear your car off, consider repurposing a push broom. Reporters saw folks using brooms in New Orleans to clear that city’s rare early 2025 snowfall. And after years of keeping our picks in his car, guide author Tim Heffernan found he preferred to keep the trunk unoccupied and to simply carry a push broom out to the car, clear the glass surfaces, and run the defrost to handle the rest. Tim is in New York City, where the now-rare snowfall tends not to be accompanied by deep freezes—the broom, Tim notes, is useless on ice—so anyone expecting freezing rain or sleet in the winter mix will be happiest with one of our traditional picks.
We sought a tool with a wedge-shaped scraper at one end, a snow brush on the other, and a telescoping 4- to 5-foot handle to reach across a vehicle, as well as the following details:
It was 75 °F when we arrived in Detroit—but inside the climate-controlled test room Ford let us borrow, it was -3 °F. And they had taken it easy on us: That particular room can go down to -40 °F and up to 122 °F.
We brought seven scrapers to test; Ford brought an Explorer SUV and a Focus sedan. Using paint sprayers full of water, engineers Dale Snapp and Justin Dorazio laid down thick coats of ice on the cars. We cycled through the scrapers, clearing windshields at various temperatures and ice thicknesses. Six hours and 28 windshields later, we had sore shoulders, numb toes, and a lot of observations.
We found not all ice is identical—clearing the thin, paper-white kind that forms during a hard frost was the toughest, as most scraper blades weren’t sharp enough to get beneath it. Thick ice was easier, as the scraper’s teeth could score deep grooves in the ice, then the blade could catch the grooves’ edges and pop the ice off in sheets. The easiest ice, though, was the loose, crusty, “Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt” layer.
Subsequent tests in the real world over several winters have confirmed what we learned at Ford’s facility—and the research there has helped us evaluate newer scrapers ever since.
Efficient at clearing ice and sweeping snow, this model is robustly built, works on any size of vehicle, and has thoughtful design details that set it apart from the rest.
The Hopkins SubZero 80037 has the features of an ideal ice scraper: a strong and effective blade; prominent ice-crushing teeth; a sturdy handle with padded grips that locks securely; easy-to-use (and difficult-to-misuse) buttons; and the best brush-broom-plow head we’ve ever tested. It’s plenty big enough to use on trucks and SUVs, yet it collapses small enough to fit in any car.
The 80037’s blade is broad, extremely sturdy, and cleared a windshield of thick, clear ice faster than any other scraper in our tests. The ice-crushing teeth are tall and sharp, and they run from one edge of the 4-inch-wide blade to the other, making it easy to get them into position against the windshield for the broadest possible ice-crushing stroke.
The handle is made of strong aluminum tubing and thick, comfortable neoprene grips that don’t slip in gloved hands. When extended, the handle sections click into place on their own with a confidence-inspiring thunk. Lesser scrapers have looser connections, slippery handles, and sections that don’t lock automatically.
The 80037’s buttons—one to unlock the handle for extension, and a joined pair to adjust the broom head—are a standout. The handle button is a wide, low-profile paddle that’s protected by a bumper. It’s easy to operate with gloved fingers, but unlike designs with an exposed button, won’t unlock accidentally while scraping or sweeping. The broom buttons, one on each side of the broom’s axle, must be pressed simultaneously to adjust the broom’s angle, which is easy to do when you want to but impossible to do by accident.
The combination broom/plow head is the best of any we tested, with stiff but non-scratching nylon bristles on one edge, a rubber squeegee on the other that’s rigid enough to push snow off body panels but flexible enough to fit the curves of windows, and a 10-inch-wide extruded-aluminum plow that moves a lot of snow with each pass and stands up to years of work. The bristles sweep snow and ice out of nooks and crannies where other brushes (and foam plows) can’t reach. The head locks into seven positions to optimize the plow angle; competitors’ brooms aren’t as versatile.
The Hopkins 80037 has worked efficiently and easily through three New York winters (including a storm that brought 28 inches of snow). Its brush makes quick, one-sweep work of powdery snow, and has proven stiff enough to plow wet snow off the roof and hood. It doesn’t scratch paint, and in warmer weather, the squeegee works well to quickly clear windows after a wash.
Lastly, it’s impressively durable. Our original 80037 lived in a car parked outdoors for almost a decade, and didn’t show any degradation of the plastic bits or the foam padding on the handle. In fact, it’s recently been passed on to another Wirecutter writer, who likes her 80037 so much that she wanted a second one—to replace the “crappier” scraper she’s been keeping in the older of her cars.
The Hopkins 80037 performs poorly on thin, hard ice or frost, like most scrapers we’ve tried.
While the Hopkins 80037 collapses to a little over three feet, it can’t be fully disassembled.
The Hopkins SubZero 16619 is similar to the 80037, but shorter, with a smaller brush, and a slightly different scraper—it’s still great but a bit less efficient.
If the 80037 is unavailable, we recommend the Hopkins SubZero 16619, which has the same combination broom-squeegee-plow head, wide and flexible scraper blade, and error-proof buttons. The head is narrower, 8 inches versus 10 inches, so it sweeps less snow with each pass. And it’s shorter when extended, at 51 inches versus 60 inches. However, when collapsed, the 16619 is more compact than the 80037, at 32 inches versus 39 inches, making it easier to store.
The ice-crushing teeth on the 16619 are on the side of the broom head, instead of on the back of the scraper blade as on the 80037, and they’re narrower—2 inches instead of 4 inches. That means more ice-crushing passes and having to flip the tool end-to-end to switch between crushing and scraping ice. We prefer the faster-working 80037’s design. Also, the 16619’s plow is made of heavy molded plastic and its shaft is made of steel; on the 80037, both are aluminum.
Otherwise, the 16619 shares features we like on the 80037: soft, grippable neoprene handles; functional buttons; a sturdy combination broom-plow-squeegee head; and a 4-inch-wide ice scraper that quickly clears ice and frost off the glass.
Wirecutter staffer Sarah Gannett, used the 16619, through a rough Connecticut winter, and said she could "appreciate its slightly shorter length" and "found its big enough to quickly scrape my Crosstrek."
The Snow Moover’s quick-drying foam brush pushes a lot of snow, the tool disassembles for compact storage, and one piece can be used as a handheld scraper.
If you want a scraper paired with a foam brush that can clear snow quickly and then disassemble for easy storage, get the Birdrock Home Snow Moover 55” Extendable Foam Snow Brush and Ice Scraper.
The Snow Moover’s foam pad measures roughly 6 by 13½ inches, giving the Moover almost twice the surface area as other tools’ brushes and allowing us to clear an SUV roof in less than a minute. The design of the foam pad also helps with clearing. One edge of it curves back while the other curves forward, giving the tool a squeegee effect whether you’re pushing or pulling on the handle. You push a load of snow off the car, give the Moover a quick spin, then pull the next load off.
When storing it, like with the Hopkins SubZero tools, you can just fold the pusher head down and call it a day. At its most compact, it’s just over 3½ feet, which is longer than most of its competitors. But the Snow Moover also quickly disassembles into three pieces: the foam head, the handle, and the ice scraper. This makes for much easier storage in a smaller car, and it also gives you a separate hand scraper, which is nice if you don't want to deal with assembling the entire pusher.
We liked the overall quality of the Snow Moover. The buttons are nice and big and we had no problems operating the tool with bulky gloves on. The pivot point up at the foam pusher is sturdy. We were concerned to see so many negative customer reviews noting durability concerns. However, Birdrock Home told us those older reviews refer to a previous version, which this Amazon reviewer shows in some handy side-by-side photos.
In our tests, we did find a couple downsides. First, the foam can’t conform like a brush, so it’s difficult to clean snow out around the wipers, the “wiper gutter” area, the door handles, the front grill, and around the license plate. Also, we used the foam pusher fairly aggressive on roof racks, windshield wipers and a truck bed, and the edges of the pusher sustained some wear. We’ll continue using the Snow Moover, keeping a close eye on the durability of the foam pad.
If the Snow Moover is unavailable, Birdrock Home makes several variant models, including the 60-inch Extendable Snow Moover, and Heavy Duty Snow Moover. We’ve broken down the differences between these other models in the Competition section.
If you just need a basic handheld scraper, this tool—the Hopkins SubZero scraper head and ice crusher on a nice cushioned handle—is far better than average.
For a basic handheld scraper, you can’t go wrong with the Hopkins SubZero 16621. Essentially an 11-inch version of the same scraper head on some of the brand’s other tools, this combination scraper and crusher is nice to have in a light frost, when a larger tool can feel like overkill, or if you need something small to clear off side windows and mirrors. It’s most similar to the scraper / crusher duo on the 16619, but the ice crusher here has an additional, sixth tooth. We estimate the extra tooth saves about 0.4 seconds when scraping a windshield.
Unlike the super cheap and tiny handheld scrapers most of us have suffered with at some point, the 16621 has a cushioned grip, similar to the Hopkins SubZero's long-handled tools. It feels nice in a gloved hand, has contours in all the right places, and is large enough that you can use a second hand to lay some weight into it for thick, stubborn ice.
This item takes up a lot less room than our other picks, but the advantages of a bigger tool are considerable: It’s easier to scrape a car forcefully and stretch across the windshield with a long-handled tool, which means less fatigue and a better chance you can keep your sleeves dry.
The Mallory 14186ML MAXX-Force Extendable Snowbrush stands out because its extendable 52-inch handle is also curved, which makes it a little easier to reach on top of taller vehicles. It also comes with an “obliterator” ice scraper on one hand. We weren’t as keen on the brush side, however, which tries to sandwich a foam squeegee in between the bristles on either hand, and ultimately does neither job quite as well as our other picks. It’s definitely great for big cars, though, if you don’t mind the ⅛-inch deep streak left behind by the squeegee being shorter than the bristles.
The Hopkins Subzero Avalanche 14052 is nearly identical to our top pick, the SubZero 80037, minus the aluminum plow, and with a foam squeegee head instead of a rubber one. If our top pick isn’t available, this is another good choice.
Birdrock Home sells several variations of the Snow Moover that we’ve tested, all of which make for good alternatives if our also-great pick isn’t available. The 60-inch long Deluxe Extendable Snow Moover is even larger than the standard Snow Moover we recommend, and has a combination broom/foam head. By contrast, the Heavy Duty Snow Moover is slightly shorter, but comes with a curved handle that makes it easy to maneuver around even larger SUVs. It also comes with a broom end instead of a foam squeegee, which makes it better for corners and fluffy snow than for dealing with slushy situations.
The Subzero 14125 11” MAXX-Force Scraper is remarkably similar to our current ice scraper pick (also from Hopkins/Subzero), but with a slightly more heavy-duty edge that combines both sides of SubZero 16621 with a set of so-called “obliterator” knuckles. We don’t quite agree with the obliteration claim, but it’s a sturdy and reliable scraper.
tesla model x accessories The Frost Guard Plus Windshield Cover stands out from other, similar windshield protectors by using weighted poles instead of weak magnets to attach to your car, which actually prevents it from blowing away. After one particularly harrowing evening of freezing rain, which left our car completely glazed over with a thin sheet of clear ice, the ice-lacquered Frost Guard was easy to remove, leaving the windshield underneath completely unscathed. We still needed to use our ice scraper to crack the doors open and clean off the other windows, however, so consider the Frost Guard as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, a standard ice scraper.