Yard Tools
Best snow removal tools for seniors
Every snow tool is sold on how much it clears. For an older back the question is how much of the work the tool takes off you, and that is a different ranking.
Affiliate disclosure: we earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which product we rank first — here is how we're funded.
We have not tested these units. Every spec on this page comes from the manufacturer's own documentation and is linked to it. Every computed figure is arithmetic you can redo. Prices are checked daily — last verified November 13, 2026. Here is exactly how we pick.
Quick picks
Ranked on the published specs and the arithmetic below. Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. We have not tested these units -- here is exactly how we pick.
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garant 36 in Ergonomic Snow Pusher (YPP36KU) Twice the blade width of either shovel here, a 5-year warranty and a replacement blade Garant publishes by SKU -- for the one job a pusher does, and nothing else. | Best for pushing rather than lifting | 7.7 | |
| 2 |  Snow Joe Shovelution SJ-SHLV01 Spring-Assist Snow Shovel, 18 in An 18 in poly blade with an aluminum wear strip and a spring-assisted second handle -- and the only manual snow tool we found whose maker publishes a full spec table, contradictions and all. | Best published spec sheet | 7.8 | |
| 3 |  Snow Joe 24V-SS13 IONMAX 13" Cordless Snow Shovel Thirteen pounds and a 400W motor that throws 20 ft, for the paths a snow blower cannot reach. | Best for steps and decks | 8.0 | |
| 4 |  Greenworks 40V 12" Cordless LED Snow Shovel (SS40L410) Eight inches of clearing depth and a 25 ft throw, the best pair of figures of the two shovels here -- from a page that no longer publishes the area-per-charge table its predecessor did. | Best clearing depth and throw | 8.0 | |
| 5 |  Snow Joe 24V-X2-SB18 Cordless Snow Blower, 18 in The one machine here whose maker explicitly rates it for decks as well as driveways, and the only one that does the job without a cord. | Best cordless for a short drive | 7.6 | |
| 6 |  HeatTrak Heated Walkway Mat, 20 in x 60 in (HR20-60) A published melt rate, a published amp draw per size and a two-year warranty -- and it does nothing at all until you buy the power unit separately. | Best overall | 8.2 |
#ad Buy links are affiliate links. Prices come from a live daily check; where we have no verified price we say "check price" rather than print a stale one.
Buy the Garant 36 in ergonomic snow pusher. Not because it clears the most — it does, as it happens, at a published 36 in polyethylene blade — but because it is the only manual tool here whose geometry means the blade never leaves the ground. The motion that hurts people clearing snow is not pushing. It is lifting a loaded scoop and twisting to throw it, and a pusher takes that motion out of the job completely. Everything else here is ranked by how much more of the work it removes, and what you pay in cost or wiring to get that. One warning before the table: neither manual-tool maker on this page publishes a weight at all, so nobody can rank this category on pounds, us included.
The short answer
Why this list is ranked on effort, not on clearing width
Every roundup in this category ranks snow tools the same way: blade width, clearing depth, pounds of snow per minute. Those are real figures and we publish them. But they answer “how fast is this job”, and for an older person with a driveway the binding question is “what does this job ask of my back, my grip and my balance”. Those are different questions and they produce different winners.
So this page ranks on three published figures that bear directly on effort, plus one design fact:
- Tool weight, because you carry it before you load it — but only the POWERED tools publish one. Those run 13 lb to 29.5 lb. Neither Garant nor Snow Joe publishes a weight for a manual snow tool, which is the same wall our snow shovel page hit.
- Whether the design lifts or pushes. A pusher blade is shaped to stay on the ground. A shovel blade is shaped to be filled and raised.
- Whether the tool moves the snow or you do. An auger throws; a blade only goes where you take it.
- Whether you have to go outside at all. Exactly one product here answers no.
What each maker publishes
| Weight | Working width | Lift or push? | Who moves the snow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garant YPP36KU pusher | Not published | 36 in | Push only | You, but never upward |
| Snow Joe Shovelution | Not published | 18 in | Lift, spring-assisted | You, with the spring returning energy |
| Snow Joe 24V-SS13 | 13 lb | 13 in | Neither -- you walk it | A 400 W auger |
| Greenworks 40V shovel | 19.1 lb | 12 in | Neither -- you walk it | A 40V brushless auger |
| Snow Joe 24V-X2-SB18 | 29.5 lb | 18 in | Neither -- you steer it | A 1200 W brushless auger |
| HeatTrak HR20-60 mat | n/a | 20 in x 60 in | Nothing at all | Electricity |
Transcribed from each maker's own page, cited below, on 2026-11-07. Two figures nobody in this category publishes: a measured reduction in force — Snow Joe calls the Shovelution “strain-reducing” and puts no percentage on it — and a weight for either manual tool. Retailer listings print 3.5 lb for the Shovelution; that is the listing's figure, not Snow Joe's, so it is not in this table.
The arithmetic that actually matters
A typical two-car driveway: 20 ft x 20 ft = 400 sq ft
Six inches of settled snow at roughly 15 lb per cubic foot:
400 sq ft x 0.5 ft = 200 cu ft; 200 x 15 = 3,000 lb of snow
With an 18 in shovel you lift that in roughly 8 lb scoops: 3,000 / 8 = about 375 lifts, each one a bend, a load and a twist.
With the 36 in Garant pusher you lift none of it. The blade stays down and the snow goes to the edge of the drive in rows. That is the whole case for a pusher, and no clearing-width number captures it.
The snow density figure is a conventional one for settled snow, not a manufacturer specification, and wet snow is heavier. We show it because the ratio is the point: the lift count scales with the weight of snow, and a pusher multiplies it by zero.
HeatTrak publishes 2 in of snow melted per hour and 2.5 amps per mat.
2.5 A x 120 V = 300 W per mat
300 W for 8 hours = 2.4 kWh per storm-day, per mat
At a US residential average near $0.17/kWh that is about 41 cents a day per mat while it is running. Twenty storm-days a winter is roughly $8 per mat per season. HeatTrak does not publish that figure anywhere, which is why we compute it. The electricity is not the barrier; the mat price and the separately sold Power Unit are.
The picks, and who each one is for
1. Garant YPP36KU 36 in pusher — best for a flat paved drive
Who it is for: anyone whose driveway or path is straight, paved and open, and whose first concern is their back. The 36 in polyethylene blade is the widest working width of any manual tool on this site, Garant rates it “for occasional or professional use” and warrants it for 5 years — the longest manual snow warranty in our registry — and the design's whole purpose is that the blade is never raised. On a flat drive you walk the snow to the edge in rows and never bend.
Who should skip it: anyone clearing steps, a narrow path between fences, or around a parked car. A 36 in blade does not fit any of those, and it cannot scoop snow off a step at all. Buy it alongside the Shovelution, not instead of it. Note also that Garant publishes no weight, no total length and no handle length for it, and that its own features list calls the handle steel while the same page's product title calls it aluminum.
#ad Check the Garant 36 in Ergonomic Snow Pusher (YPP36KU) price on Amazon — how we're funded.
2. Snow Joe Shovelution — best if you must lift
Who it is for: the places a pusher cannot reach. The spring-assisted second handle is the only mechanical attempt in this registry to put energy back into the lift rather than take it out of you, and an 18 in poly blade with an aluminum wear strip gets onto a step, between a wheel arch and a curb, and into a corner. Snow Joe also rates it for “Medium-to-Heavy” snow, which is a more confident rating than either 22 in corded blower in this registry gives itself.
Who should skip it: anyone who has been told not to lift. A spring makes lifting cheaper; it does not make it optional. If the instruction is no lifting, the answer on this page is the pusher, the powered shovels or the mat.
#ad Check the Snow Joe Shovelution SJ-SHLV01 Spring-Assist Snow Shovel, 18 in price on Amazon — how we're funded.
3. Snow Joe 24V-SS13 — lightest powered tool
Who it is for: someone who wants the snow thrown rather than moved, without owning a machine. A published 13 lb is light enough to walk like a vacuum cleaner, and the auger does the work your arms were doing. As our electric snow shovel page records, Snow Joe is also the only maker left in this category publishing a work-rate figure at all.
Who should skip it: anyone facing the dense ridge a snow plow leaves at the end of the drive. A 13 in electric shovel is for fresh snow on a path, and the plow ridge is what defeats it.
#ad Check the Snow Joe 24V-SS13 IONMAX 13" Cordless Snow Shovel price on Amazon — how we're funded.
4. Greenworks 40V 12 in shovel — best if you own 40V
Who it is for: a household already on Greenworks 40V. The marginal cost of a second battery platform is the single most expensive mistake in cordless yard tools, and if the packs are already in the garage this is the cheapest route to a powered shovel. A published 19.1 lb keeps it in the walk-it-like-a-vacuum class, and Greenworks warrants tool and battery for 3 years.
Who should skip it: anyone not already on the platform. On its own merits the Snow Joe is lighter and publishes more about what it clears; this pick is a platform decision, which is the decision this whole site exists to get right. See which platform for winter.
#ad Check the Greenworks 40V 12" Cordless LED Snow Shovel (SS40L410) price on Amazon — how we're funded.
5. Snow Joe 24V-X2-SB18 — when the snow is deeper than a shovel
Who it is for: a short drive in a place that gets real snowfalls. It is the only machine on this page whose maker explicitly rates it for “Small to Large Decks or Driveways”, and the published 18 in by 10 in bite is deeper than any shovel here can manage. Two 4.0 Ah packs and a dual-port charger are in the box.
Who should skip it: anyone who finds 29.5 lb a lot to turn at the end of a pass — and note that Snow Joe publishes three different weights for it on one page (29.45, 29.5 and 29.54 lb). It is also the only pick here with a real capacity ceiling: our arithmetic puts 192Wh in the box, which is a short-driveway budget, and the bigger XR packs are explicitly incompatible.
#ad Check the Snow Joe 24V-X2-SB18 Cordless Snow Blower, 18 in price on Amazon — how we're funded.
6. HeatTrak HR20-60 — the only one where you clear nothing
Who it is for: the path from the door to the car, for someone who should not be out on it with a tool at all. A published 2 in per hour melt rate at 2.5 amps means the walkway is clear while it is still snowing, and the running cost works out at roughly 41 cents a storm-day by our arithmetic above.
Who should skip it: anyone trying to cover a driveway. This is a 20 in by 60 in mat; drives are measured in hundreds of square feet, and the cost scales linearly. And as our snow melting mats page establishes, the mats do not work out of the box — HeatTrak's Power Unit carrying the GFCI breaker is required and sold separately. Budget for it before you buy.
#ad Check the HeatTrak Heated Walkway Mat, 20 in x 60 in (HR20-60) price on Amazon — how we're funded.
Which tool, by what you have been told not to do
| Your situation | Buy | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Told not to lift | Garant pusher, or a powered shovel | The pusher blade never leaves the ground; the shovels throw the snow for you |
| Flat, open, paved drive | Garant YPP36KU | 36 in working width, 5-year warranty, and a blade that never leaves the ground |
| Steps, corners, around a car | Snow Joe Shovelution | 18 in poly blade gets where a 36 in pusher cannot, with spring assist on the lift |
| Snow routinely over 4 in deep | Snow Joe 24V-SS13 | 13 lb and an auger that throws, rather than a blade you steer |
| Already own Greenworks 40V | Greenworks 2600702 | Avoids a second battery platform, which is the expensive mistake in cordless |
| Real snowfalls, short drive | Snow Joe 24V-X2-SB18 | 18 x 10 in bite, and the only machine here its maker rates for decks too |
| Should not be out there at all | HeatTrak HR20-60 | 2 in/hour melted where it falls; budget for the separate Power Unit |
| Grip strength is the real problem | Start with our grip-strength guide | That page works through the whole toolset rather than one season |
What is deliberately not on this list
- Two-stage gas snow blowers. A pull cord, a fuel mix and 200 lb of machine is the opposite of this page's axis, however well it clears. Our cordless or gas page makes that case on the numbers.
- Wheeled snow pushers. Real demand, and we looked: every live listing we could find is an unbranded import with no manufacturer page publishing a blade width, a wheel size or a weight. Same wall we hit on driveway markers. When a brand publishes specs we will rank it.
- Ice melt. It belongs in this kit, but which bag is a different question from which tool, and our ice melt page ranks the three on the one figure that decides them.
- Roof rakes. Clearing a roof from the ground is a separate job with a separate tool; see best roof rakes.
Verdict
The Garant YPP36KU wins because it is the only manual tool here whose geometry removes the lift rather than assisting it, and the only one warranted for 5 years. Pair it with the Shovelution for the places a 36 in blade cannot go, and you have covered an ordinary snowfall for well under a hundred dollars and zero lifts of a loaded blade. Spend more only to buy a specific escape: the 24V-SS13 if the snow is deeper than a shovel can comfortably move, the SB18 if you get real storms, the HeatTrak mat if the honest answer is that nobody at this address should be out there with a tool. The figure to carry away is the one in our arithmetic: six inches of snow on a two-car drive is about 375 lifts with a shovel and none with a pusher.
The picks in full
Specs are the manufacturer's own and linked to the page they came from. Prices come from a live daily check; where we have no verified price we say so rather than print a stale one.
Garant 36 in Ergonomic Snow Pusher (YPP36KU)
Garant · Hand tool (no power) · Our score 7.7/10
#ad Price as of November 13, 2026. Prices change; we check daily. How we're funded.
Twice the blade width of either shovel here, a 5-year warranty and a replacement blade Garant publishes by SKU -- for the one job a pusher does, and nothing else.
Published specs
| SKU / model | 80773 / YPP36KU |
|---|---|
| Blade | 36 in polyethylene; Garant calls it an "extra wide 36-inch pusher" |
| Blade depth | Not published as a figure. Garant says only that the blade is "light and not too deep" |
| Handle | "Ergonomic steel handle" in Garant's own features; the same page's product title says "Aluminum Handle" |
| Assembly | "Tool-free, easy to assemble knock-down system" |
| Rated use | "For occasional or professional use" |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Replacement blade | Published: 36 in poly blade, SKU 80025, $37.73 CAD |
| Weight, total length, handle length | None of the three published by Garant |
Source: Snow pusher, steel handle, 36 in poly blade (SKU 80773, model YPP36KU), garant.com
Our arithmetic, from the two makers' published blade widths and an assumed 10% overlap. A 36 in blade sweeps 32.4 in = 2.7 ft per pass, so a 20 x 60 ft driveway (1,200 sq ft) is about 444 ft of travel. An 18 in blade sweeps 16.2 in = 1.35 ft, so the same driveway is about 889 ft. The pusher roughly halves the distance walked and removes the lifting entirely. The overlap figure is our assumption, not a published spec, and the saving disappears the moment the snow is deep enough that a 36 in blade will not move in one pass.
What the numbers favor
- 36 in published blade width, twice either shovel here, which by our arithmetic halves the walking on a driveway
- A 5-year warranty, the longest of the three tools on this page
- Garant publishes a rated use -- "occasional or professional" -- which almost nobody in this category does
- Tool-free knock-down assembly is published, not inferred from a photo
- The wear part is orderable: Garant publishes the replacement blade as SKU 80025 at $37.73 CAD
- Pushing removes the lift entirely, which is the motion that hurts people
What they don't
- Garant's own page contradicts itself on the handle: steel in the features, aluminum in the title
- No weight, no total length, no handle length and no blade depth published by Garant
- A pusher cannot lift, so it will not clear a step, a car roof or the windrow at the end of a drive
- Our own reasoning, not a published figure: a 36 in blade loaded with wet snow is more than many people can push
- The most expensive of the three tools here
- Garant publishes no price and no add-to-cart anywhere -- only a "Find a store" button
your snow arrives wet and deep, or your driveway slopes. A 36 in blade full of wet snow is a lot to push, and on a slope you will want to lift rather than shove.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Snow Joe Shovelution SJ-SHLV01 Spring-Assist Snow Shovel, 18 in
Snow Joe · Hand tool (no power) · Our score 7.8/10
#ad Price as of November 13, 2026. Prices change; we check daily. How we're funded.
An 18 in poly blade with an aluminum wear strip and a spring-assisted second handle -- and the only manual snow tool we found whose maker publishes a full spec table, contradictions and all.
Published specs
| Model | SJ-SHLV01 (product code SJ-SHLV01-RED) |
|---|---|
| Blade | 18 in wide; Snow Joe publishes "Blade Material Poly" |
| Wear strip | Aluminum |
| Handle length | 41.3 in |
| Assembled length | 50 in |
| Assembled depth | 3.9 in |
| Grip | D-Ring |
| Second handle | Spring-assisted, published as the strain-reducing feature |
| Type of snow | Medium-to-Heavy (Snow Joe's own rating) |
| Power type | Manual |
| Warranty | 2 years |
| Weight | Not published by Snow Joe. The Amazon listing title says 3.5 lb; that figure is the listing's, not the maker's |
Snow Joe's own spec table publishes Handle Length 41.3 in, Assembled Length 50 in and Product Length 24.8 in. A 41.3 in handle plus a 24.8 in head would be 66.1 in, not 50, and a 50 in tool cannot contain a 41.3 in handle and a 24.8 in head end to end. At least one of the three is measuring something other than what its label says -- most likely Product Length is a carton dimension. We publish all three because they are what Snow Joe publishes, and flag the arithmetic rather than quietly picking the one we like. This is still the deepest spec table in the category.
What the numbers favor
- Snow Joe publishes an 18-row spec table, which in manual snow tools is the exception rather than the rule
- 18 in poly blade with a named aluminum wear strip, so the wearing part is identified
- The spring-assisted second handle is the one design feature in this category aimed at the actual injury risk
- D-Ring grip, published, rather than an unnamed "ergonomic handle"
- A 2-year warranty on a hand tool in the price of a tank of gas
- The cheapest of the three tools on this page, and the most versatile
What they don't
- No published weight, on a tool whose entire job is lifting
- The three published length figures do not reconcile with each other
- The spec table says "Color Blue" for a product whose own code ends -RED
- Snow Joe's store lists the replacement Hardware Pack as sold out, and the spring assembly is the part most likely to fail
- Two years is the shortest warranty of the three tools here
- A poly blade with a thin wear strip is not an ice-chopping tool, and Snow Joe does not claim it is
your snow arrives as packed ice, or your driveway is long and flat. This is a lifting shovel rated Medium-to-Heavy by its own maker, not an ice breaker, and on a long flat run a pusher moves the same snow with half the walking and none of the lifting.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Snow Joe 24V-SS13 IONMAX 13" Cordless Snow Shovel
Snow Joe · Snow Joe 24V · Our score 8.0/10
#ad Price as of November 13, 2026. Prices change; we check daily. How we're funded.
Thirteen pounds and a 400W motor that throws 20 ft, for the paths a snow blower cannot reach.
Published specs
| Clearing width | 13 in |
|---|---|
| Cut depth | 6 in per pass |
| Throw distance | Up to 20 ft |
| Clearing rate | Up to 300 lb of snow per minute |
| Auger | 2-blade paddle |
| Motor | 400 W |
| Battery | 24V 4.0Ah (96Wh) |
| Weight | 13 lb |
| Warranty | 2 years |
Source: Snow Joe 24V-SS13 24-Volt IONMAX Cordless Snow Shovel Kit, shopjoe.com
24V x 4.0Ah = 96 watt-hours of stored energy. A 400 W motor drawing its full rating empties that in 96 / 400 = 0.24 hours, or about 14 minutes. Real clearing is intermittent and lighter than full load, so treat 14 minutes as the floor rather than the expectation -- Snow Joe publishes no runtime at all, which is why the arithmetic is worth doing.
What the numbers favor
- 13 lb, light enough to carry down a flight of steps
- Publishes a clearing rate in pounds per minute, which almost nobody does
- 20 ft throw from a shovel-format tool
- 6 in cut depth handles an ordinary overnight fall
What they don't
- 96Wh is a small tank -- roughly 14 minutes at full draw
- No published runtime
- 13 in wide means a two-car driveway is a long job
you are clearing a driveway rather than a path. This is a shovel replacement, and a 13 in bite proves it.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Greenworks 40V 12" Cordless LED Snow Shovel (SS40L410)
Greenworks · Greenworks 40V · Our score 8.0/10
#ad Price as of November 13, 2026. Prices change; we check daily. How we're funded.
Eight inches of clearing depth and a 25 ft throw, the best pair of figures of the two shovels here -- from a page that no longer publishes the area-per-charge table its predecessor did.
Published specs
| Model / SKU | 2617102 / SS40L410 |
|---|---|
| Clearing width | 12 in |
| Clearing depth | 8 in |
| Max throw distance | 25 ft |
| Motor | Brushless |
| Chute | None -- direction set by turning the shovel |
| LED light | Yes |
| Handle | Adjustable auxiliary handle |
| Start | Push button |
| Battery | 40V 4.0Ah, charger included |
| Weight | 19.1 lb |
| Warranty | 3-year tool and battery |
| Impeller speed, clearing rate, area per charge, charge time, noise | Not published |
Source: 40V 12" Cordless Battery LED Snow Shovel w/ 4.0Ah Battery & Charger, greenworkstools.com
40V x 4.0Ah = 160Wh at the advertised pack voltage. That is where the arithmetic stops: Greenworks publishes no area cleared per charge for this model, so energy per square foot cannot be derived. The 2600702 this replaces did publish it -- 871.87 sq ft at 4 in of snow and 344.44 sq ft at 10 in -- and that table is gone from the current page, along with the clearing rate, the impeller speed, the charge time and the decibel figure.
What the numbers favor
- 8 in clearing depth, the deeper of the two shovels here by 2 in
- 25 ft throw against the Snow Joe's 20 ft
- 160Wh on board, two thirds more energy than the 24V Snow Joe's 96Wh
- 3-year warranty covering the battery as well as the tool
- LED light and an adjustable auxiliary handle, both published
- 40V pack runs 75+ other Greenworks 40V tools
What they don't
- Greenworks publishes no area cleared per charge, no clearing rate, no impeller speed, no charge time and no decibel figure -- the 2600702 it replaces published all five
- 19.1 lb, 6 lb heavier than the Snow Joe
- 12 in clearing width, an inch narrower than the Snow Joe
- No chute: the throw direction changes only by turning the whole machine
you clear a long driveway. A 12 in shovel is for steps, paths and a car space, and Greenworks no longer publishes an area figure to size it against.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Snow Joe 24V-X2-SB18 Cordless Snow Blower, 18 in
Snow Joe · Snow Joe 24V IONMAX · Our score 7.6/10
#ad Price as of November 13, 2026. Prices change; we check daily. How we're funded.
The one machine here whose maker explicitly rates it for decks as well as driveways, and the only one that does the job without a cord.
Published specs
| Clearing width | 18 in |
|---|---|
| Clearing depth | 10 in |
| Motor | 1200 W brushless |
| Battery | 48V (2 x 24V), 2 x 4.0 Ah included |
| Recharge | Just under 2 hours, dual-port charger |
| Throw distance | 20 ft |
| Chute rotation | 180 deg, crank-adjusted |
| Net weight | 29.5 lb (see cons -- three figures published) |
| Headlight | 2 W LED |
| Maker's stated usage | Small to Large Decks or Driveways |
| Warranty | 2 years |
Source: Snow Joe 24V-X2-SB18 48-Volt 18-Inch Cordless Snow Blower, shopjoe.com
Two 4.0 Ah packs at Snow Joe's advertised 24V each: 24 x 4.0 x 2 = 192Wh. Against the 1200 W motor that is 192 / 1200 = 0.16 hours, about 9.6 minutes at continuous full draw. Real clearing is nowhere near continuous full draw, but that figure is why this is a short-driveway machine and not a long one.
What the numbers favor
- Snow Joe's own spec field says "Small to Large Decks or Driveways" and the copy says it clears to the ground "without damaging your deck, driveway or pavement" -- the only machine here the maker rates for a deck
- No cord at all, which on a short drive removes the single most annoying part of corded clearing
- 1200 W brushless motor with a published figure
- Two 4.0 Ah packs and a dual-port charger in the box, recharging in just under 2 hours
- 29.5 lb is the lightest machine on this page
What they don't
- Snow Joe publishes THREE different weights for it on one page: "29.45 lbs (with batteries installed)" in the bullets, "Net Weight (lbs) 29.5" and "Net Weight (lb.) 29.54" in the table
- 192Wh in the box against a 1200 W motor -- our arithmetic, and the reason this is a short-driveway tool
- 10 in clearing depth, three inches less than the corded 22 in machines
- 20 ft throw, five feet shorter than the corded pair, so on a wide drive you re-throw the same snow
- Snow Joe states it is NOT compatible with the 24VBAT-XR8 or XR12 packs, so the obvious runtime upgrade is closed off
Skip it if your driveway takes more than one battery pair. The published 192Wh is the constraint, the bigger XR packs are explicitly incompatible, and a corded 22 in machine costs less and never stops.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
HeatTrak Heated Walkway Mat, 20 in x 60 in (HR20-60)
HeatTrak · Corded 120V · Our score 8.2/10
#ad Price as of November 13, 2026. Prices change; we check daily. How we're funded.
A published melt rate, a published amp draw per size and a two-year warranty -- and it does nothing at all until you buy the power unit separately.
Published specs
| Size | 20 in x 60 in (50.8 x 152.4 cm) |
|---|---|
| Current draw | 2.5 A |
| Melt rate | 2 in (5 cm) of snow per hour |
| Supply | 120V outdoor outlet, via a HeatTrak Power Unit |
| Power unit | Required, sold separately, built-in GFCI breaker |
| Max mats per power unit | 13 A total |
| Warranty | 2 years |
| SKU | HR20-60 |
Source: HeatTrak Residential Heated Walkway Mat (HR20-60), heattrak.com
13 A per power unit divided by 2.5 A per mat = 5.2, so five mats. That is 25 ft of walkway from one outlet. Mix in stair mats at 0.7 A each and the arithmetic changes -- it is amps, not mats, that the limit is written in.
What the numbers favor
- Publishes a melt rate as a number (2 in per hour), which is the only way to judge whether a mat keeps up with a storm
- Publishes current draw per size, so you can plan a run before you buy instead of after
- The power unit carries a built-in GFCI breaker, which is the right place for it on a wet outdoor circuit
- Two-year manufacturer warranty on a product that lives outdoors in winter
- Leaves nothing to shovel and no de-icer on the concrete
What they don't
- The mat alone is not a working product: HeatTrak requires a Power Unit, sold separately, and the listing price does not include it
- Connecting a stair mat to a walkway mat needs a 20 in cable extender, also sold separately
- HeatTrak states plainly: never cover the mats, do not use indoors, not for pet enclosures
- Running cost is real -- 2.5 A at 120V is 300 W per mat, continuous, for as long as it snows
you have no outdoor GFCI outlet near the path. The whole system hangs off one 120V outdoor receptacle and there is no battery version of this idea.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Where to buy the tools on this page
Amazon affiliate links, except where a product has no Amazon listing — those go direct to the maker and earn us nothing, and the button says so. We show no price we have not verified today, so where there is no live figure the link says "check price" and takes you to the listing to read it there.
Best for pushing rather than lifting
Garant 36 in Ergonomic Snow Pusher (YPP36KU)
Garant · Hand tool (no power)
Best published spec sheet
Snow Joe Shovelution SJ-SHLV01 Spring-Assist Snow Shovel, 18 in
Snow Joe · Hand tool (no power)
Best for steps and decks
Snow Joe 24V-SS13 IONMAX 13" Cordless Snow Shovel
Snow Joe · Snow Joe 24V
Best clearing depth and throw
Greenworks 40V 12" Cordless LED Snow Shovel (SS40L410)
Greenworks · Greenworks 40V
Best cordless for a short drive
Snow Joe 24V-X2-SB18 Cordless Snow Blower, 18 in
Snow Joe · Snow Joe 24V IONMAX
Best overall
HeatTrak Heated Walkway Mat, 20 in x 60 in (HR20-60)
HeatTrak · Corded 120V
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Common questions
What is the best snow removal tool for seniors?
Is a snow blower or an electric snow shovel better for an older person?
What is a spring-assisted snow shovel and does it help?
How do I clear snow without lifting at all?
What width snow pusher should I buy?
Will ice melt damage my concrete or hurt my dog's paws?
Do any of these need a cord or a plug?
Sources
- Snow pusher, steel handle, 36 in poly blade (SKU 80773, model YPP36KU), garant.com
- Snow Joe Shovelution 18 in Strain-Reducing Snow Shovel with Spring-Assisted Handle (SJ-SHLV01), shopjoe.com
- Snow Joe 24V-SS13 24-Volt IONMAX Cordless Snow Shovel Kit, shopjoe.com
- 40V 12" Cordless Battery LED Snow Shovel w/ 4.0Ah Battery & Charger, greenworkstools.com
- Snow Joe 24V-X2-SB18 48-Volt 18-Inch Cordless Snow Blower, shopjoe.com
- HeatTrak Residential Heated Walkway Mat (HR20-60), heattrak.com
- Snow Joe Premium Enviro Blend Ice Melter, Melts Down To -10 degrees F, shopjoe.com (the blend's chemistry and temperature; our pick is the 50 lb bag, for which Snow Joe publishes no page)
Read next
- Yard Tools
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- Best snow shovels, and why this category cannot be shopped on specs
Three manual snow tools whose makers publish something, the lift-versus-push arithmetic, and the spec contradictions we found on the manufacturers' own pages.
- Best electric snow shovel
Clearing width, depth, throw and weight for two cordless shovels, and what the replacement model stopped publishing.
- Best snow melting mats, and the part the price does not include
Heated walkway and stair mats on published melt rate, amp draw and the 13-amp circuit limit -- with the separately sold power unit and the running cost worked out.
- Electric snow shovel vs snow blower
Clearing width, clearing depth and throw distance for cordless snow shovels against a single-stage blower.
- Best lawn mowers for seniors
Why a 66 lb self-propelled mower takes less effort than a 57.5 lb push mower, and the three machines that suit limited strength.
- Yard tools for limited grip strength
Button reloads, foot pedals, leverage and the weight at arm's length -- the specs that decide whether a tool is usable.
- Best ice melt, ranked on the one number that decides it
Three de-icers compared on published lowest working temperature, chemistry and cost per pound -- plus the one whose maker publishes no temperature at all.