Side by Side Comparison of: Mallory USA vs AAA

Love

Waiting for snow at my apartment to try it out! A lot better than the larger shovel I had. I like that it's light weight.

Bought the shovel to put in my wife's car for emergencies. Thankfully, we have not needed it for one but both of us like how it telescopes down to fit easily into a small space in her Honda CVR. I tried it out on moving some piled dirt into the wheelbarrow with no problem. It is sturdily made and worked well with full shovels of dirt.

Good shovel if it only needs to be used occasionally. I have owned this shovel for about a year now and have had no major issues with the shovel. I live in an apartment complex and use it to shovel out my car when the plow pushes show piles up behind the cars. Also use it to shovel a path between cars. The shovel is plenty sturdy and able to hold plenty of weight. I really only use it if we get more than 6 inches snow and have no trouble using it for that amount of snow. Granted, it will take a while to shovel any large area, as the head is small, but at that point you should buy a full size shovel. I bought this shovel as I do not have the room to store a full size shovel in my apartment. The only issue I have noticed so far is that it can be hard to unlock the shovel sometimes to extend or shorten it.

Christmas 2013, everybody got one of these shovels from me. Nobody was excited. I just said put it in your trunk. Most recently my wife and her 80 year old mother slid off the road in rural wisconsin. They got out, dug out all 4 wheels with the shovel and was able to go in reverse back onto the road. Further down the same road were 2 more cars in the ditch (ice) being pulled out by wreckers. This item has paid for itself many times over. It also helped one of my kids in an urban setting getting plowed in by the local snow removal crew. Solid item.

For an emergency (small) shovel it has a nice depth so it works well for shoveling large scoops of freshly fallen snow. It should be noted though that the shovel blade is plastic & does not appear it can take much wear & tear if you're having to shovel snow once it's melted & refroze.

Strong, light, fairly compact, and big enough to be functional (not like so many "mini camping shovels"). Perfect to keep in the car as part of a preparedness kit. Maybe a little big to carry in a pack as part of an avalanche kit, but that probably depends how big of a shovel you are willing to carry. If I'm ever in a situation where I NEED a shovel I would hope I had one like this that won't break or bend and can actually move some snow quickly.

Great! Sturdy, tough, compact, and moves a lot snow! You'll love this shovel!! Probably should mention that it's great for cabin walkway doorway snow clearing and getting to your car in a pinch. It's not necessarily designed for severe driveway multiple hours or possibly digging out mega wet mountain ice bergs. Just use it for what the description says it's useful for and you'll be happy you had it.

Half a dozen snow storms later...Still going strong! If you beat this thing up hard, that is into ice and other obstructions/pavement it will begin to show signs of wear and tear. However, if you use it as intended for SNOW and don't try to leverage anything heavy with it or bust up ice dams it will perform season after season. This shovel breaks down very nicely and smoothly and stores under the seat of my car neatly. The blue color look sharp and attractive and all of my friends want one now! I bought 2 of these: 1 for my vehicle and 1 for my fiance's.Positive Update: We are getting slammed in Upstate NY (2/16/16) and I travel house to house for work in homecare Physical Therapy...Without this shovel I would not have made it out of several of the driveways of my patients this morning. (We're talking 18-20" with drifts and snow plows adding to that amount). I was very thankful I had a quick way to address the insanity! If you are ever stranded roadside thigh-deep in snow and would like to stay in your car to stay warm while waiting for help you'd better consider that if your muffler(s) get covered and plugged with snow it's NO BUENO...Wouldn't it be nice to have a sound way to dig out those muffler pipes? Rather than becoming a statistic, invest in this safety measure...This shovel makes that process a lot easier and offers peace of mind at the very least that you have an exit strategy in some capacity. I still Highly recommend as it has been a life-saver this season!!! Safe travels out there!

Amazing little shovel!!! I just used this to dig out my car after snowstorm Jonas. While it's a bit smaller than a standard shovel-both the scoop and the arm, it's aluminum and extremely sturdy! I was able to lift lots of wet, heavy snow with no problem at all. The fact that it comes apart and can be easily stored makes it convenient to keep in the trunk or in a closet in your home (I live in an apartment and lack storage space so this is huge!). I'd hughly recommend this to anyone without any reservation at all!!! See before and after pics of the what I used this for..

I purchased a AAA Aluminum Sport Utility Shovel one year ago to keep in my car during the winter season in upstate NY. I was so impressed with the quality of that shovel and the reasonable price that I purchased a second shovel when we replaced our second family vehicle this month.Pros:-Aluminum construction with detachable handle makes for a lightweight, compact shovel that is perfect for the car trunk. Metal build is vastly superior to plastic when trying to clear mixed snow and ice, and wet snow.-Handle has two positions. Fully extended, the shovel is long enough to use for spot driveway clearing duty. In the compact position, the shovel is easy to handle around care tires and under a vehicle caught in a drift.-PERFECT FOR KIDS. I didn't anticipate this feature when I bought it for emergency use, but when my two year old wanted to shovel the driveway with daddy last winter, I gave him the AAA Sport Utility Shovel with the handle in the compact position and he loved it. It's sufficiently lightweight for a toddler to have some serious fun.-Value. This shovel offers great piece of mind and versatility for less than $20.Cons:-Absolutely none.Verdict:Lightweight, durable, perfect for emergency use and great for kids. I have one in both of our vehicles now, and I would highly recommend to anyone living in a predictably snowy region.

Great for the car, great for slicing snow, excels where plastic shovels don't.It looks like crappy shovel, but it held up to slicing out sections of the 20 inch snow drifts from this record breaking snow dump, the same one that collapsed the Metrodome and effectively shut down the city. It's not good for actually carrying snow, but great for digging underneath a car and moving snow away from wheels, or building a snow cave sort of thing. It has zero flexibility and is very good at carving or spiking through snow. Well worth it.

Quality seems to be what i expected, haven't used it yet but it seems like it will do the job

Locking the shovel in place so that the handle doesn't twist can be a hassle when dealing with heavy snow. Great for when digging car out of fresh or lightly packed snow.

Easy to use but very small.Update - January 2016: This shovel did not survive the Blizzard of January 2016. The shovel broke after an hour of shoveling snow. This is not a durable product and probably works best in regions where there is not much snow.

Only gave four stars because these dont grab much snow but it doesnt mean theyre not efficient. Also wish the extended a bit more. overall good inexpensive product that fits in your car

Light and small - fine for smaller digging out, becomes more work for heavier snow removal because the scoop is smaller. Unlocking and locking the collar to open it up is a bit hard with cold hands, and seems to loosen a bit on its own when actually using it, resulting in the handle twisting. But as a shovel that lives in the trunk most of the time (except for the recent "polar vortex"), it's a good size. I'd recommend keeping a larger size shovel in the garage as well for the bigger jobs.

I purchased this shovel to replace one that the last blizzard 'did in'. The best feature, the telescoping handle, is also the weakest point. When using, remember that this is not a steel shovel and don't overload it. Patience is a virtue.

Pros-Very lightweight and pack-able. Not a hefty investment. Carried this thing for about 10 miles in the snow, strapped to my pack and hardly noticed it was there. Like that it is collapsible. Works well at making snow cubes and carving out snow caves.Cons-Found a weak point at the base of the handle. Where the handle meets the shovel it will buckle under pressure if used in a prying motion. If you are digging in harder snow DO NOT PRY up. You will need to CHOP around like you are carving out a cube. My friend broke his (Same shovel) doing this.

This is the perfect addition for my emergency supply stock I keep in my SUV. Don't expect it to replace your SST heavy duty home shovel because it is light weight and even at full extension the handle is short. But it's supposed to be a travel shovel to be used in emergency situations. It's compact, light and gets the job done.

I used this successfully on several snow backing trips. HOWEVER it will NOT handle very icy hard snow, on my last trip I went to refill the pit our fire had melted away and the joint from the head snapped while trying to force this shovel through very very hard snow.Have reasonable exceptions from the shovel and think about what you are doing and it will serve you well.Yes do I plan on buying another one this year, I will also think about what I'm asking of this shovel.

At less than 3 feet fully extended and less than 1.5 pounds, this aluminum shovel is a very good emergency car shovel to keep in the trunk. You can completely disassemble the shovel into 3 pieces that measure less than a foot long if you really want to make this super compact, but it doesn’t come with a storage bag. It’s not the easiest shovel to use because of the short handle, but for clearing the area around your tires in a pinch, this will do. The pointed edge is helpful for light chopping as well.

I'm happy with this purchase. For the price, this shovel really comes in handy and it's actually better than I thought.You don't have to break it down in 3 pieces, just adjust the pole one position down for a much smallerhandle. Watch the video in the description to get a sense of the size.Fact remains that it's light weight and portable. The aluminum may not be the toughest metal out there butit still has a good strength-to-weight ratio. I tested it out right away and it's incredible with the snow and waseven able to chip away at some of the harder slush.As much praise as I'm giving this shovel, I do not recommend you use this to clear away icy surface.Doesn't matter if others had success, it's not what it's designed for.This is endorsed by AAA which pretty much means that you pull this out in an emergency.I read some of the reviews complaining that it didn't do a good job shoveling your driveway.If you're at home, you should have a standard iron blade shovel, not a small emergency one!I'm taking a star away because it did not come with a bag. This has three pieces that can comeapart. And they encourage you to travel with it hence the portability and light weight. No excusenot to sell it with a travel bag.

Looks great. Only negative is the needlessly wasteful packaging used to ship this. A huge box that was so big a ton of crumpled paper was included to keep this from being rattled around. Why not take it apart and package it as it is designed to be stored- small and in three easy to assemble pieces. It could have fit in a men's shirt box. Instead the box was the size of a dorm fridge!

I have yet to use this shovel, but it is smaller than I expected (more narrow). I planned to have this as the shovel I keep in my vehicle, so it works, but I wouldn't use it unless it was all I had because of how narrow it is.

Flimsy plastic shovel. But was the best Amazon offered for a reasonable price. Hope I don't have to use it much.

Its cheap... And whenever i tried to use it head of shovel turns lol

This shovel is MUCH smaller than I had originally thought it would be. My son (who is 8) loves it and it's the perfect size for him. As a full grown adult, it's too short, too small, and the handle height doesn't stay put. On the up side, it does shovel the snow very well. We have a small walk way to the drive way and it worked just fine for the purpose. Just keep in mind that its not a full size shovel and if you are needing it for small projects you'll be just fine.

We purchased this shovel in case there was going to be another winter storm in the southern states (like last year). So far, we haven't had to use it. The shovel seems a little light / flimsy but we haven't tested it yet. If we lived up North, we would have definitely bought a sturdier model. As such, we don't anticipate using this one too much.

I was not expecting the shovel to be this small when I ordered it. However, I decided it would work just fine for in my car. This is great if you want a shovel in your car. It is nice and compact and the handle extends out. I don't think it would work very well as your main shovel for a large driveway.

For the price and primary purpose, this is a fine shovel. If you keep it in your car for emergencies, this is probably a 5 star product. I have used it as a backcountry ski shovel as one of the standard pieces of safety equipment for avalanches. When used to dig vigorously in compact snow, the fulcrum point connecting the shovel to the handle bends and warps. If someone's life may depend on your shovel, look elsewhere

It's not as sturdy as you would think and just overpriced. If you get a good snow it takes too long to dig out your car

Bought this shovel to keep in my car after last year's brutal NYC winter. Of course with me being better prepared this year, we've hardly had any snow. However, we've had one doozy of a storm that allowed me to test it out to dig my car out. It is lightweight and sturdy, but way too short for my 6'3 frame. I actually trudged through the 2+ feet of snow to find an open store to buy a "conventional" snow shovel. This would be a 5 star item with a longer handle or an extension attachment.

The most important element of a three-part shovel is a tight fit between segments. That is not to be found, alas, with this shovel. It should be adequate for an emergency shovel in the truck but I certainly wouldn't rely on it for winter expeditions.I have had a similar lexan expedition shovel for 25 years and it's still as good as new. This one I don't expect to last more than a few years, if that.

Fast shipping. This shovel will work as an emergency shovel, but the aluminum warps and dents pretty easily when used on ice. I used this guy to shovel the stairs of my apartment complex during a big storm, and there is no longer a sharp front edge so it will likely take a lot of work to get under ice this coming winter. Again, as an emergency shovel, this thing does the trick, but don't plan on buying it for regular use more than 1 season.

Got to use this for the first time today with a very light mild snow. It did today's job but it would not be efficient for a bigger snow storm. I bought this thinking I could keep this in my car and it would be sufficient to dig out my car and that's not an option. I'd be there for days not to mention I'd have back problems for the rest of my life! I would say the best use for this would be "emergency" shovel if you were in the middle of nowhere, camping or something of the like. I'll keep it around and maybe be the good samaritan who lends it to my neighbor who doesn't have one, but I will be buying a full size shovel.

9.5 inches across the blade is worthless as a snow shovel.

So far it feels very sturdy, nice and compact. However I'm giving this a 2 stars because although the shovel extends out to a good amount you can't tighten it enough to stay put. I tried multiple times to tighten it but it kept slipping back down and shifting from side to side.

Not for heavy duty snow shoveling. And adjustable handle doesn't stay in place. Probably won't last through more than one winter.

This product broke the first time I used it. Sad excuse for a shovel.

Small and compact - yes. Not so "heavy duty" though. If the snow gets just a little icy (which it always does if you attend your can 1-2 days after the snow) it tends to break right away. It broke on the first use.It also not stable as the extended rod twist inside the soft handle with every shoveling movement.It is ok only for very very light snow

I had hoped that the length of this shovel would be sufficient when extended. Sadly it was not. I had hoped that the handle would stay extended when secured by it's fastening feature. Sadly it did not. I had hoped this shovel would be substantial enough to dig into icy drifts. Sadly it could not. This shovel was much more flimsy than I thought it would be. It's only redeeming quality is it's weight, which is modest. When looking for a car shovel, I would suggest looking elsewhere.

Looks great, but it broke on the very first snow storm.

Lasted 1 mild winter in massachusetts. The thin metal near one of the silver push in things broke. I only recommend this shovel for occasional or emergency use. Like keep it in your trunk in case you get stuck somewhere in snow or something. It does not last long so don't use it often. I don't recommend buying this.

This is a very flimsy shovel. Maybe if you had an inch or two but anything more than that don't bother. I wanted it to carry with me so I could dig my car out if it got stuck. I tested it out in about four inches of snow and the end broke off.

I wish this shovel was longer. I'm 5' 9" and I have to crouch or bend a bit just to shovel. This is a good shovel for light shoveling. I only like the fact that is it portable.

The dimensions of the head of this shovel are 8.5" X 11.25 " NOT as advertised 8.5" x 26". I think I may have been better off ordering a "serving spoon. Anyone have an idea how long it would take to dig out a car from 30" of snow? I do! Look for something a little larger unless you own a tiny car with a trunk the size of a normal glove box. I would return it but the 30" of snow was stronger then the shovel.

I should have paid more attention to the size. The shaft is too short to seriously dig out under a car or SUV.In the grand scheme of things of things it is better than nothing, but if you get yourself stuck in 1+ feet of snow this will exhaust you long before you extricate yourself.

This shovel is for a small child. If you are over 4' tall, this item cannot be used.

Used it for the first time tonight. It kept spinning when I tried to scoop. The handle unscrews to extend but it kept coming lose. Very flimsy. I keep it in my trunk just in case. I'm surprised it didn't break while I used it tonight.

Bought 3 weeks ago. Took it out after the snow storm in Long Beach, NY. Had about a foot of soft, powdery snow. Was 75% done cleaning around my VW Passat, went to lift a pile of snow and SNAP. Sick job whoever put together this piece of trash. I'd ask for a refund but I'm sure this company doesn't give a crap.

It broke on second use. Its foam grip does not work great in cold. The extension handle does not work great.

The "turning lock" on the handle doesn't hold. Regardless of how well you attempt to tighten it, the handle slides down to its shortest length when you start to shovel. If you want a super-short shovel it might be fine for you, but if you actually want one with a telescoping handle you should keep shopping!

I received the shovel last week and it snowed 3 days later giving me a chance to use right away. I took the shovel out of my trunk, unscrewed the bolt, extended the handle and while tightening the bolt the plastic broke. Can't really give a full review of a snow shovel that breaks before it gets into the snow!

shovel head broke in half upon first use. NOT WORTH IT>

Snapped and broke after using the product only twice. I knew I was taking a risk and I lost. Word of advice is to definitely get a more rigid shovel with a wooden handle and metal head.

If you're actually expecting to be caught in a few feet of snow, this will not help. It's a semi-sturdy almost toy like shovel that could carve you a tinny path. If you're going to carry a shovel in your care because you know you might get into an emergency situation? Look elsewhere.

The shovel broke where the handle meets the blade during the first use. Seems to be all right for light powdery snow but not for lifting any sort of heavy snow. Would not recommend because of this limitation. Spend a little more and get a better compact shovel.

Broke the first time I used it shoveling light snow. Bent where the blade meets the handle. I am glad I didnt need to use it for a more serious situation.

This was a great little shovel that I kept in my car for emergencies. I can't deny that it was a nice size and a good price. Thank God I didn't have an emergency, though! I decided to try it out for some casual digging in the snow and it snapped in about 30 min - where the blade meets the handle. It appears to be great for any vertical slicing, but forget about scooping or prying anything but light, fluffy powder!