I spent some time at our local gym during the weekend, comparing snow removal devices.
Plowing is the hottest alternative in multi-muscular fitness training these days. With a fancier name I believe it could be the next big thing in outdoor activity.
This week’s design award goes to Fiskars for their Snow Light pusher shovel.
At the first glance, there is nothing special about it, it looks like a big spade. But using the product for the real thing (there is plenty of it here right now) you quickly notice how well-designed it is. The balance is perfect, the shaft long enough for an ergonomic working position and the blade size just right, big enough for smooth working, small enough to remain light even with moist snow.
The only struggle now is to come up with that trendy name for the sport. How about Snow pump? Simply Snowing? Snömba? Lumia? Anyway, the equipment does not come any better than this.
A special price for poor design in the same category goes to this snow pusher from an unknown manufacturer:
It has poor ergonomics written all over it. It is too big, difficult to maneuver and the materials feel awful in the cold. And as a special treat, it has been over-designed with a hinge mechanism that opens when you don’t want it to, and does not when it should (actually, I really don’t know when it would need to).
It is a great example of a product where development time has been spent on wrong things, and useless features have won over everyday usability. I understand why the previous owner of the house left it behind.
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