This was the year I needed to get a roof rake.... I knew I wanted something light and very sturdy, after reading the reviews here, this appeared to be just what I wanted. The rake was really easy to assemble per the included instructions and feels really solid. Snap together sections makes this rake really easy to break down and store in between storms. My first time using this was well in to the winter after a few snowfalls of up to 12", so it appeared to be about 10" of densely packed snow on the roof. The shape of the scoop makes it easy to push over the top of the snow to get higher on the roof and once you start to pull down, the scoop drives in to the layers of snow. At no point did I feel like I was bending the rake when dragging the snow off the roof either and the plastic wheels seemed to work really well at keeping the rake off the asphalt shingles. I think the only downside to this rake would be if there is a lot of ice or a really thick crust on top of the snow, the rake portion itself being fairly light, will not break through ice. But if you use this after every storm, or every-other storm I don't think that would be a problem.
A very good product. There is plenty of handle length. I have 12 foot walls on my building with a 12/12 pitch roof. I used only 3 of the 4 handle sections. The product is light weight and easy to handle. At the same time, it is strong enough to hold up and get the job done. It is all made of aluminum so wear work gloves as they will get dirty. I was able to remove a lot of snow in a very short time. This product was also very easy to assemble. We live in north Idaho and receive plenty of snow. I can easily recommend this product.
Its fairly light weight and sturdy, I have a suggestion or a tip. When you are using this rake at full length, after a while , it becomes difficult to maneuver it. What I started to do was to place the rake handle on my shoulder and then started to walk steps backwards and forwards with my hands firm on the handle. This gave my arms and shoulders enough rest to start again. Else my arms, hands and shoulders were getting very tired with the continuous movement.
Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeezy .. I studied the various roof rakes available, considered the reviews, and ordered this rake. After it arrived I checked the time (1710), and took the box to the shop. Once in the shop I opened the box, noticed the instructions printed on the inner box flap, unpacked the parts, checked them against the parts list, and read the instructions. (As follows is a simplistic explanation for those who are uncomfortable using tools) Parts are: the head, two braces, two wheels, two supports, four bolts, four nylon-lock nuts, the angle tube that attaches to the head, and the handles parts (either three or four) each with a retainer button, and a rubber grip/handle. My suggestion of Tools to make the project easy include: plastic head mallet, bench vice, phillips head screw driver, adjustable wrench, and needle nose pliers. The support brackets have bent ends, one end for the head and one for the angle tube, if unsure of which to use try lining them up before using the attaching bolts. The longer bolts are used to attach the tube to the head and the supports, the shorter bolts are used to attach the head to the support brackets. Put all of the bolts and nuts in place, and then tighten. Place the head in a vice, check the wheels for the slot, line up the slot, tap in place with the plastic head mallet, I suggest that you start on one side and work toward the other side. Use the needle nose pliers to place the retaining buttons, note that the extension poles have two different size ends, the small end fits in the large end of another extension, so use the needle nose pliers to place the retaining button into the smaller end and line it up so that it snaps into the hole, lacking a needle nose pliers you can use a straight slot screwdriver to guide the piece into position. At 1718 I started to remove the more than three feet of packed snow that was on the roof of my house. Yes, less than ten minutes from "grab the box" to "attack the snow". The rake is a dream to use, light, and responsive, the key is to move slowly, maintaining control. I was able to drop it down on packed snow, in some cases pulling down a thick block of snow, sometimes I found that I needed to reposition. The rake is not self guided or magical, but is a dream to use, light weigh and very functional, I found that it was easy to use for removing massive quantities of snow in a short time. My suggestions include learning how the rake interacts with the snow and using only the amount of handle extension required to reach the roof portion of interest. Think "small steps" and understand that a few smaller strokes can remove much more snow than can be grabbed by a "massive attack". Pros include easy assembly and easy use. Cons, well, the only one that I can come up with is that it does not prevent the "ignorant" from trying to assemble, nor does it prevent the "incompetent" from trying to use.
I have used this snow rake several times this season in Eastern Washington and I am very happy with this product. My home is a ranch-style home with a daylight basement on a hillside. I could get most of the snow off the lower regions of the roof but it would not reach up to the highest peaks. I did not expect the rake to reach up to the highest points (2 story) as I live on a hillside so it met my expectations completely on the single story level. Pros: Easy to assemble Lightweight (easy for women to use) Pulls snow down quickly and easily Extension of pole goes quite high up on my roof Clears away heavy snow load in minutes Sturdy and well built made in AMERICA! Cons: One minor issue is when fully extended it can bend slightly in the center. Not enough to break just be aware when using it to hold it closer to the center when maneuvering it back up onto the roof. (Don't hold it on the END when fully extended!) This issue would not be a deal breaker and still worthy of a 5-star rating and I would still highly recommend to anyone who lives in snowy regions.
I'm giving this 5 stars for the job it does, I'm perfectly happy. I hope that by using it promptly after a snowfall I'm done fighting ice dams with hot water, chisels, etc. There are good tips on using it in the other reviews, e.g., take small bites, bring off the roof at an angle, etc. BUT NOTE: I recommend using the assembly instructions on Garelick's website, not the ones printed on the inside flap of the box -- they are different! (Thankfully I looked at the website because Amazon's shipping label had covered the part of the box telling me to look under flap for instructions.) Specifically, the box flap shows the snap buttons, which are on a V-shaped spring clip, being placed inside the pole sections with the closed-end of the spring clip first -- that is, the point of the V going into the pole first. The instructions on the website show the opposite, the open end going into the tube first, with the closed end remaining sticking out a bit. The photo on the outside of the box also shows it that way, and this makes more sense. If you push the closed end in first, I think it might be very hard to position the button into the hole, or you might even lose the part inside the pole. In short, I think the instructions on the box flap have a mistake. The website instructions also suggest soaking the polygrip handle in hot water to make it easier to slide on the pole, the box omits that. You might want to do it, I just heated it up with a blow dryer and it was very, very hard to slide on. The same works for getting the wheels on, which is also hard to do -- those of you worrying they might fall off, you're wasting your worries. I would like to put a link here to the place to download the instructions, but Amazon won't let me, so I will say this, and you can translate. If you type Garelick dotcom followed by a forward slash, then the word files, then a forward slash, then 12.646.pdf you will get a pdf of the "correct" instruction sheet, opened or downloaded depending on your browser. Good luck with your snow raking.
I purchased this roof rake at the end of the summer, as I wanted to be prepared for this winter. We finally got snow, so I used it a few times over the last two weeks. It was relatively easy to put together, following the illustrated instructions. (The directions advised to check the parts first. I found this confusing and skipped this part. Thankfully, all pieces were there!) I have some advice to make it easier for putting this together. The wheels were very difficult for me to put on with the given instructions. I ended up taking a thin rubber spatula to widen the opening on each wheel and then SLID them on from the side edges with success and ease! (This was so easy, but I didn't discover this until after struggling to push the wheels down into the slots.) My other advice is to be careful to make sure to put the push-button piece into the correct end of each pole. I had to use needle-nose pliers to remove one of them from inside the pole, due to my own error. The rubber handle is much easier to get on if you quickly soak it in hot water first. If you make a mistake and put it on the wrong end of the pole, simply soak it in hot water again. You will definitely want a phillips-head screwdriver and an adjustable wrench for fully tightening the bolts when assembling this roof rake. My pictures show that this does a really nice job of clearing the snow. I used this with just one pole to get the lower roof over my entry door and used one of the extension poles for the rest of the roof. It was really easy to use. It's light-weight, easy to control, and the wheels glide over the roof so easily. I'm so happy to have this rake for snow on my roof and enjoy using it. It's good exercise, yet it doesn't cause me too much exertion. I'm looking forward to no ice-dams this winter! This is a great product that I highly recommend!
Most of the time it is worth it to step up. This roof rake is one of those instances. Before I ordered this rake from Amazon I had borrowed 2 of my neighbors. Both had plastic blades and while they did pull some snow down they were really chincy. Both of the $40 variety. Of which there are many offered on Amazon. All rakes have braces that attach to the pole and the blade. The screws that attach the $40 rakes screw right into a a molded blob on the blade. Both rakes I borrowed had the screws strip out and the owners tapped out and used a bigger screw. These "junk" rakes are maybe good for one season. This Garelick rake has bolts with nylon inserts to keep them from loosening. The bolts pass thru the aluminum blade and are locked tight. Also don't pay attention to all the hype about the wheels binding. Even if you grind out the top of the blade where the wheels sometime lock up and get them to roll freely in your hand, don't think for a minute that when they get loaded with snow on your roof they're going to continue to spin. The wheels are designed to keep the aluminum blade from contacting the roof. And they do a good job of that. This rake is made in the USA and quality is evident.
I bought this snow rake because I had just installed new shingles and did not want to rake the sand coating off the shingles when removing the snow. This is exactly what I needed: An effective, right-size (24"), light aluminum but well-built rake, lots of handle length (up to 21 feet in 5 foot increments), correctly contoured to "catch" snow for removal, AND TWO ROLLERS THAT KEEP THE CUTTING EDGE OFF THE NEW SHINGLES so I don't rake the eave troughs full of sand in just a couple of snow removals, ruining my shingles in the process. Wish I could have had this thing 40 years ago. DON'T::: 1.--wait too long to remove snow. If there is melting, re-freezing and hardened snow crusts, you'll beat this (and any snow rake) to pieces trying to remove "snow". This is a snow rake, not an ice rake. 2.--(don't)try to move too much snow in a single rake stroke. That is hard on the rake, to say nothing about hard on yourself. Take reasonable sized bites, oftener, and you'll enjoy cleaning your roof without killing yourself. 3.--(don't)pull the rake straight down the roof line, but pull slightly diagonally so that one end of the rake clears the roof before the other and this AVOIDS the entire bottom rake edge from falling into the eave trough, hooking it and possibly damaging it. Another thing I really like is that with just a bit smaller bites, I find I can "steer" where the snow lands by accelerating the pull in the direction I want the snow to land, for example, beyond a bush, or even a front step. I love this product in spite of the fact that I have a quite a bit of work connected with it: 168 feet of roof line to contend with. Enjoy! A.V. Edgerton, MN
This roof rake is simple and very effective. It does a good job of avoiding pulling down any roof tiles. It is lightweight but can still be a bit awkward to lift up on top of your roof because it is so long, a second person makes it a lot easier. I would actually put up the head on the roof and then add more extensions to the pole while getting it up higher on the roof. One thing that does make getting the snow off the roof tough with this tool is when the snow is "sticky". It can stick to the head of the rake and makes it heavy. Too heavy to re position on the roof easily to keep shoveling. You kinda have to lift it up and let it drop on your roof with a little force to get the snow to fall off, then you can keep cleaning. Overall, I am very happy with this roof rake, I actually ordered a 2nd 16 foot version to have that much more length and really finish my roof now.
Youcef Aid
Rigid and lightweight, cheap insurance.
This was the year I needed to get a roof rake.... I knew I wanted something light and very sturdy, after reading the reviews here, this appeared to be just what I wanted. The rake was really easy to assemble per the included instructions and feels really solid. Snap together sections makes this rake really easy to break down and store in between storms. My first time using this was well in to the winter after a few snowfalls of up to 12", so it appeared to be about 10" of densely packed snow on the roof. The shape of the scoop makes it easy to push over the top of the snow to get higher on the roof and once you start to pull down, the scoop drives in to the layers of snow. At no point did I feel like I was bending the rake when dragging the snow off the roof either and the plastic wheels seemed to work really well at keeping the rake off the asphalt shingles. I think the only downside to this rake would be if there is a lot of ice or a really thick crust on top of the snow, the rake portion itself being fairly light, will not break through ice. But if you use this after every storm, or every-other storm I don't think that would be a problem.
Elfaris Zaki Sirgyous
Easy to recommend this snow rake!
A very good product. There is plenty of handle length. I have 12 foot walls on my building with a 12/12 pitch roof. I used only 3 of the 4 handle sections. The product is light weight and easy to handle. At the same time, it is strong enough to hold up and get the job done. It is all made of aluminum so wear work gloves as they will get dirty. I was able to remove a lot of snow in a very short time. This product was also very easy to assemble. We live in north Idaho and receive plenty of snow. I can easily recommend this product.
Crystal Miller
Wonderful product with one tip
Its fairly light weight and sturdy, I have a suggestion or a tip. When you are using this rake at full length, after a while , it becomes difficult to maneuver it. What I started to do was to place the rake handle on my shoulder and then started to walk steps backwards and forwards with my hands firm on the handle. This gave my arms and shoulders enough rest to start again. Else my arms, hands and shoulders were getting very tired with the continuous movement.
Yich Vich Yny
"Easy Peasy" to assemble, 8 minutes from "Open the Box" until you are Clearing Snow, and it is a Dream to use.
Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeezy .. I studied the various roof rakes available, considered the reviews, and ordered this rake. After it arrived I checked the time (1710), and took the box to the shop. Once in the shop I opened the box, noticed the instructions printed on the inner box flap, unpacked the parts, checked them against the parts list, and read the instructions. (As follows is a simplistic explanation for those who are uncomfortable using tools) Parts are: the head, two braces, two wheels, two supports, four bolts, four nylon-lock nuts, the angle tube that attaches to the head, and the handles parts (either three or four) each with a retainer button, and a rubber grip/handle. My suggestion of Tools to make the project easy include: plastic head mallet, bench vice, phillips head screw driver, adjustable wrench, and needle nose pliers. The support brackets have bent ends, one end for the head and one for the angle tube, if unsure of which to use try lining them up before using the attaching bolts. The longer bolts are used to attach the tube to the head and the supports, the shorter bolts are used to attach the head to the support brackets. Put all of the bolts and nuts in place, and then tighten. Place the head in a vice, check the wheels for the slot, line up the slot, tap in place with the plastic head mallet, I suggest that you start on one side and work toward the other side. Use the needle nose pliers to place the retaining buttons, note that the extension poles have two different size ends, the small end fits in the large end of another extension, so use the needle nose pliers to place the retaining button into the smaller end and line it up so that it snaps into the hole, lacking a needle nose pliers you can use a straight slot screwdriver to guide the piece into position. At 1718 I started to remove the more than three feet of packed snow that was on the roof of my house. Yes, less than ten minutes from "grab the box" to "attack the snow". The rake is a dream to use, light, and responsive, the key is to move slowly, maintaining control. I was able to drop it down on packed snow, in some cases pulling down a thick block of snow, sometimes I found that I needed to reposition. The rake is not self guided or magical, but is a dream to use, light weigh and very functional, I found that it was easy to use for removing massive quantities of snow in a short time. My suggestions include learning how the rake interacts with the snow and using only the amount of handle extension required to reach the roof portion of interest. Think "small steps" and understand that a few smaller strokes can remove much more snow than can be grabbed by a "massive attack". Pros include easy assembly and easy use. Cons, well, the only one that I can come up with is that it does not prevent the "ignorant" from trying to assemble, nor does it prevent the "incompetent" from trying to use.
Tiffany Alipater
Effective and well-made snow rake
I have used this snow rake several times this season in Eastern Washington and I am very happy with this product. My home is a ranch-style home with a daylight basement on a hillside. I could get most of the snow off the lower regions of the roof but it would not reach up to the highest peaks. I did not expect the rake to reach up to the highest points (2 story) as I live on a hillside so it met my expectations completely on the single story level. Pros: Easy to assemble Lightweight (easy for women to use) Pulls snow down quickly and easily Extension of pole goes quite high up on my roof Clears away heavy snow load in minutes Sturdy and well built made in AMERICA! Cons: One minor issue is when fully extended it can bend slightly in the center. Not enough to break just be aware when using it to hold it closer to the center when maneuvering it back up onto the roof. (Don't hold it on the END when fully extended!) This issue would not be a deal breaker and still worthy of a 5-star rating and I would still highly recommend to anyone who lives in snowy regions.
Mae Sophia Harsh
Use assembly instructions from Garelick's website, not the box!
I'm giving this 5 stars for the job it does, I'm perfectly happy. I hope that by using it promptly after a snowfall I'm done fighting ice dams with hot water, chisels, etc. There are good tips on using it in the other reviews, e.g., take small bites, bring off the roof at an angle, etc. BUT NOTE: I recommend using the assembly instructions on Garelick's website, not the ones printed on the inside flap of the box -- they are different! (Thankfully I looked at the website because Amazon's shipping label had covered the part of the box telling me to look under flap for instructions.) Specifically, the box flap shows the snap buttons, which are on a V-shaped spring clip, being placed inside the pole sections with the closed-end of the spring clip first -- that is, the point of the V going into the pole first. The instructions on the website show the opposite, the open end going into the tube first, with the closed end remaining sticking out a bit. The photo on the outside of the box also shows it that way, and this makes more sense. If you push the closed end in first, I think it might be very hard to position the button into the hole, or you might even lose the part inside the pole. In short, I think the instructions on the box flap have a mistake. The website instructions also suggest soaking the polygrip handle in hot water to make it easier to slide on the pole, the box omits that. You might want to do it, I just heated it up with a blow dryer and it was very, very hard to slide on. The same works for getting the wheels on, which is also hard to do -- those of you worrying they might fall off, you're wasting your worries. I would like to put a link here to the place to download the instructions, but Amazon won't let me, so I will say this, and you can translate. If you type Garelick dotcom followed by a forward slash, then the word files, then a forward slash, then 12.646.pdf you will get a pdf of the "correct" instruction sheet, opened or downloaded depending on your browser. Good luck with your snow raking.
Maggie Hart
Avoid ice-dams.... easy assembly
I purchased this roof rake at the end of the summer, as I wanted to be prepared for this winter. We finally got snow, so I used it a few times over the last two weeks. It was relatively easy to put together, following the illustrated instructions. (The directions advised to check the parts first. I found this confusing and skipped this part. Thankfully, all pieces were there!) I have some advice to make it easier for putting this together. The wheels were very difficult for me to put on with the given instructions. I ended up taking a thin rubber spatula to widen the opening on each wheel and then SLID them on from the side edges with success and ease! (This was so easy, but I didn't discover this until after struggling to push the wheels down into the slots.) My other advice is to be careful to make sure to put the push-button piece into the correct end of each pole. I had to use needle-nose pliers to remove one of them from inside the pole, due to my own error. The rubber handle is much easier to get on if you quickly soak it in hot water first. If you make a mistake and put it on the wrong end of the pole, simply soak it in hot water again. You will definitely want a phillips-head screwdriver and an adjustable wrench for fully tightening the bolts when assembling this roof rake. My pictures show that this does a really nice job of clearing the snow. I used this with just one pole to get the lower roof over my entry door and used one of the extension poles for the rest of the roof. It was really easy to use. It's light-weight, easy to control, and the wheels glide over the roof so easily. I'm so happy to have this rake for snow on my roof and enjoy using it. It's good exercise, yet it doesn't cause me too much exertion. I'm looking forward to no ice-dams this winter! This is a great product that I highly recommend!
Heather Eaton Biggs
Don't sweat the wheels !!!!!!
Most of the time it is worth it to step up. This roof rake is one of those instances. Before I ordered this rake from Amazon I had borrowed 2 of my neighbors. Both had plastic blades and while they did pull some snow down they were really chincy. Both of the $40 variety. Of which there are many offered on Amazon. All rakes have braces that attach to the pole and the blade. The screws that attach the $40 rakes screw right into a a molded blob on the blade. Both rakes I borrowed had the screws strip out and the owners tapped out and used a bigger screw. These "junk" rakes are maybe good for one season. This Garelick rake has bolts with nylon inserts to keep them from loosening. The bolts pass thru the aluminum blade and are locked tight. Also don't pay attention to all the hype about the wheels binding. Even if you grind out the top of the blade where the wheels sometime lock up and get them to roll freely in your hand, don't think for a minute that when they get loaded with snow on your roof they're going to continue to spin. The wheels are designed to keep the aluminum blade from contacting the roof. And they do a good job of that. This rake is made in the USA and quality is evident.
Renee Hodge
Right job, Right product, Right price
I bought this snow rake because I had just installed new shingles and did not want to rake the sand coating off the shingles when removing the snow. This is exactly what I needed: An effective, right-size (24"), light aluminum but well-built rake, lots of handle length (up to 21 feet in 5 foot increments), correctly contoured to "catch" snow for removal, AND TWO ROLLERS THAT KEEP THE CUTTING EDGE OFF THE NEW SHINGLES so I don't rake the eave troughs full of sand in just a couple of snow removals, ruining my shingles in the process. Wish I could have had this thing 40 years ago. DON'T::: 1.--wait too long to remove snow. If there is melting, re-freezing and hardened snow crusts, you'll beat this (and any snow rake) to pieces trying to remove "snow". This is a snow rake, not an ice rake. 2.--(don't)try to move too much snow in a single rake stroke. That is hard on the rake, to say nothing about hard on yourself. Take reasonable sized bites, oftener, and you'll enjoy cleaning your roof without killing yourself. 3.--(don't)pull the rake straight down the roof line, but pull slightly diagonally so that one end of the rake clears the roof before the other and this AVOIDS the entire bottom rake edge from falling into the eave trough, hooking it and possibly damaging it. Another thing I really like is that with just a bit smaller bites, I find I can "steer" where the snow lands by accelerating the pull in the direction I want the snow to land, for example, beyond a bush, or even a front step. I love this product in spite of the fact that I have a quite a bit of work connected with it: 168 feet of roof line to contend with. Enjoy! A.V. Edgerton, MN
Jake Barnes
It does a good job of avoiding pulling down any roof tiles
This roof rake is simple and very effective. It does a good job of avoiding pulling down any roof tiles. It is lightweight but can still be a bit awkward to lift up on top of your roof because it is so long, a second person makes it a lot easier. I would actually put up the head on the roof and then add more extensions to the pole while getting it up higher on the roof. One thing that does make getting the snow off the roof tough with this tool is when the snow is "sticky". It can stick to the head of the rake and makes it heavy. Too heavy to re position on the roof easily to keep shoveling. You kinda have to lift it up and let it drop on your roof with a little force to get the snow to fall off, then you can keep cleaning. Overall, I am very happy with this roof rake, I actually ordered a 2nd 16 foot version to have that much more length and really finish my roof now.