I broke the ice scraping portion of my long-owned snow brush, so it was time for a new one. So for the last couple of days, I've been test driving a "scratch free" snow brush made by a Canadian company, Garant. I went for the top-of-the-line 52" telescoping model.
In lieu of bristles, the brush head uses EVA foam sandwiched in rubber. So in theory, this will be safer than a brush on your paint surface when you're clearing the snow from the roof, trunk, hood, etc. The brush head itself is sizeable and double sided. The body is aluminum and there's a nice grippy foam handle insulator for when you need to put the scrapper to use. The scraper is VERY robust, and double sided. The one side has very large, aggressive teeth for getting through stubborn ice. The other side is the usual ice scrapper...best for finishing off or light duty work.
I really like how this snow brush has several configurations. In standard mode, the brush head runs in-line to the body...like a normal brush. But push a button, and the head turns 90 degrees so now you have a brush that acts more like a rake. So you can easily push the snow. Push another button, and the ~36" snow brush extends to 52". That meant I could clear the trunk and roof of my car pretty much from one side. It works VERY well. Also, with only light snow on the windshield, the EVA brush has give, so it worked pretty much like a squeegee. This also helped it contour around my headlights.
The construction seems very sturdy. Plastic is thick, button meaty. I think this would last for a long time. My only reservation would be trying to clear gritty, abrasive ice with the EVA head. I could see it maybe getting torn up. But I don't think it's designed for that. Rather it's for pushing snow. So used in that context, I think it would be pretty durable. But time will tell.
I also got one for IQ and she reports that it's much easier to clear her roof with this brush (she's short). Because of this, I'd imagine this would be really good for people with tall vehicles..CUV/SUV/Truck.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the construction and utility of this brush. If the EVA head lasts, this is a keeper despite the premium cost of about $28.
Here's a video with some of the features:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-3f3c0EpII
