As beautiful as it is to wake up to a fresh snowfall, the honeymoon’s soon over when you realize it’s up to you to clear a path for your car. You can go the shovel route and risk a heart attack, opt for a gas-powered snow blower and risk going deaf, or have at it with a corded model and risk electrocution. Thankfully there’s one other safer and quieter solution with Joe Snow’s new iON18SB rechargeable snow blower that runs on batteries.
Powered by a 40-volt rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the cordless iON doesn’t have enough juice to clear a parking lot. But after a moderate snowfall it can clear the white stuff for up to 45 minutes. And if you’re maxing out its capacity by forging a path through an eight-inch snowfall, the iON will still keep at it for at least 25 minutes before needing a charge, or presumably access to an outlet to keep running.
If you’ve got kids in need of building some character shovels are still the best way to go. But for everyone else who has to deal with snow, the quiet $400 iON will make mornings when you have to dig your way to work slightly more pleasant. [Snow Joe via Gear Patrol]
