EGO Snow Shovel Attachment Makes Light Clearing More Convenient
If you are like many others and use a bristle brush or rubber broom attachment to clear snow from patios, decks, and walkways, then EGO has the attachment for you! I had the opportunity to get an early look at the EGO Multi-Head snow shovel attachment in time for this year’s snow-clearing season.
Editor’s Note: Check out our best snow blower article to see our top recommendations.
Why Consider the EGO Multi-Head Snow Shovel Attachment?
Powered snow shovels fill a need that is in between the big jobs and the small ones. You probably wouldn’t use one on a small set of stairs with a light dusting, or a long driveway with heavy snow. But there is a sweet spot where this type of tool really shines, and that’s on patios, decks, walkways, and driveways with light to moderate snow. That’s also how EGO is marketing it.
With a small profile of 14 inches of total width and 12 inches of clearing swath, this snow shovel can fit on single-tile walkways around the house. If you have the larger single-stage or two-stage snowblower, by the time you lugged it out of the shed, you could have the job done with this in your hands.
EGO Multi-Head Snow Shovel Attachment Performance
The EGO 56V system is known for its high quality and handy features when compared to competitor models, and my experience with the snow shovel is no exception.
The powerful brushless motor translates to throwing pillowy plumes of snow 25 feet if you are hitting several inches of powdery snow. There’s an anti-stall system to keep you throwing snow. Instead of hitting a chunk and coming to a jarring halt, the motor slows down, grinds through it, and then revs back up. Only by moving fast through thick layers of icy snow did we actually get it to stall and stop entirely. If that happens, you need to release the trigger and pull it again to spin it back up.
On that note, knowing what to expect out of this powered snow shovel will make or break the experience. Clearing 2-3 inches of dry, powdery snow from the driveway and deck was a breeze, put a smile on my face, and got the chores done in record time!
However, clearing the 5-6 inches of heavy packed snow and ice from the driveway is doable with the SSA1200, but it’s more difficult than using a larger single-stage or two-stage snowblower.
The power isn’t necessarily the problem when compared to something like the Snow Joe iON 40V single-stage paddle blower, since I had them both chewing on and bogging down the same snow. But the form of the single-stage model supports the weight of the unit rather than the person holding it (AKA, me). It’s a considerable difference in terms of the physical energy you use (and subsequent back soreness the next day). Of course, that’s something you’re going to experience with any attachment system snow shovel.
Pro Tip: For clearing heavy snow, the snow shovel is easier to push when bracing the battery against your body and pushing forward with your legs rather than relying on your arms and back to do the work.
Runtime
The convenience of this highly portable snow-clearing power usually comes with a price, which is how much area you can clear on a charge. EGO claims that the SSA1200 will clear 4 inches of snow from a 4-car driveway using a 4.0Ah battery.
Lucky for us, we received 5 inches of snow with ice layers along with it, so it was a good test of battery endurance. After clearing our entire 4-car driveway, I still had 1 bar of a 4.0Ah battery left and no distinct loss of power.
I was also able to clear my sidewalks, patio, and deck before I needed to put the battery back on the charger. My entire snow-clearing needs were met on just one charge, which is a win in my book. My lower back felt it the next day, but we will discuss that later.
EGO Multi-Head Snow Shovel Attachment Design Notes
Changing Directions
You can change the direction of the throw 45° right or left by using the knob on the top of the unit, which rotates the guide fins in front of the auger.
The knob only has locking detents in the full left or right position, with several smaller detents in between. So there is flexibility with throw direction, and it will stay put until some harsh transitions work it one way or the other, but this was never an issue since I only threw snow full left, right, or straight.
The adjustment of the throw is a notable feature over some of the other brands with no guiding fins, such as the Ryobi 40V and the Hart 40V Powered Snow Shovels. The EGO SSA1200 boasts a farther throw than the Hart 40V and Brushed Ryobi 40V, but has the same throw specs as the Brushless Ryobi 40V Powered Snow Shovel.
Weight
The hard plastic auger, brushless motor, and guiding fins are all great features, but there is a cost that comes with it, which is weight. The entire system with a 4.0Ah battery, Powerhead, and the SSA1200 shovel attachment came in at 22.8 pounds on my scale. For comparison, the Ryobi 40V and the Hart 40V Powered Snow Shovel entire systems came in at 17 pounds and 18.4 pounds, respectively. That may not seem like much in terms of barbells, but most of that weight is from the snow shovel itself, which is 12.8 pounds for EGO.
The weight on the snow shovel is actually good for keeping the auger into the snow and getting down to the pavement. But since there are no wheels on this unit, anything the auger doesn’t eat up will cause an abrupt stop, such as sidewalk transitions or cement breaks. Picking up the unit every so often gave me a decent amount of lower back strain, and was quite a workout by the end of the job. You can mitigate some of this by adding EGO’s shoulder strap. If you’re planning on using the SSA1200 as your primary snow-throwing tool, then I’d highly recommend it.
EGO Multi-Head Snow Shovel Attachment Price
If you already have EGO’s Multi-Head system, you can add the snow shovel attachment for $189.00. If you don’t, you can get it as a kit with the powerhead, a 4.0Ah battery, and a charger for $399.00. Both the powerhead and attachment carry a 5-year warranty.
Note: EGO attachments are not compatible with other attachment systems.
The Bottom Line
Based on our tests, the EGO Multi-Head snow shovel attachment did great at knocking out several chores, like cleaning off sidewalks, decks, and patios with ease.
With the power, quality, and features that we come to expect from EGO, the SSA1200 has a sweet spot of utility that fits a need where your broom or blower isn’t enough and a full-size snow blower is overkill. It outperforms its competition, though that performance comes at the cost of additional weight.
If those first snowfalls of the season or a false spring cover your outdoor spaces with a white blanket, you can recover them easily with this attachment.
Specifications
- Platform: EGO POWER+ Multi-head system
- Battery: EGO 56V
- Motor: Brushless
- Clearing Width: 12 in.
- Max Throw: 25 ft.
- Clearing Depth (Auger size): 6 in.
- Weight: 12.8 lbs.
- Rotation Speed: 2000 High/1650 Low RPM