Just after the first snowfall, I made my way down to the local Wal-Mart to purchase a snow brush. If you’ve never experienced snow or have only seen very little, here in Winnipeg, the trusty snow brush is a commuter’s best friend.
After looking at all the options, I decided on a Folding model made by Oskar that expanded to a broom-style brush and then collapsed into a toothbrush form with the push of a button and a quick sliding motion. The broom mode would make it easy to clear a lot of snow in very little time I figured. At just under $19.00 CDN, I thought this would be a good quality brush. Boy, was I wrong. Not only was it cumbersome and rickety to use, after a week’s use, it broke! Did I mention the ice scraper at the other end of the brush scraped lines making my windshield look more like a grille rather than a clean windshield. I probably could have taken it back for a refund or exchange (We all know how easy it is to return stuff to Wal-Mart even without a receipt) but I decided to take it as a lesson learned.
Oskar Snow Brush I bought
At the same time I bought my brush, I bought a $3.97 CDN mini-snowbrush for my aunt’s car. Since she’s a tiny woman, a mini brush was the clear choice. For a 4 dollar brush from some obscure manufacturer, this little thing was a workhorse. The bristles of the brush were tough enough to clear even the most tightly packed snowfall like a snow plough. I was able to brush away a 2″ layer easily; something I couldn’t even finish with the $19 Oskar BECAUSE IT BROKE! The scraper sheared away frost from my windshield like it was being melted off. I found it difficult to believe that this was a budget brush.
Moral of the story: Just because something costs more doesn’t necessarily mean it’s more expensive…especially when it comes to snow brushes!
Addendum: Oskar doesn’t even have a website I can link to! You’d think such a prominent company would at least invest in a website. *Thumbs Down*
Filed under: Gadgets & Gizmos
