Who writes the guidesMeet our editors
Three of us write and edit every guide and ranking on Premium Snow Blowers. None of these snow blowers has cleared our driveways, and we won't write as if it had. The work is reading: spec sheets, operator and engine manuals, parts lists, warranty terms and a great many owner reviews, especially the ones posted after the first big storm. Then we line the machines up side by side, and we reopen a ranking whenever a price moves or a model drops out. Every guide names the person who wrote it and the person who edited it.
Senior editor
Heather is the senior editor of Premium Snow Blowers. She decides which machines make each ranking, checks every clearing-width and intake-height claim against the spec sheet and the manual, and reads the one-star reviews before the five-star ones. Her pet subject is width: a 30-inch machine is wasted on a side path it can't fit down, and she'll tell you so.
- Clearing width vs the surface you clear
- Single-stage vs two-stage
- Battery vs gas ownership
- Throw distance claims
- Keeping the rankings current
Engine & upkeep writer
Travis writes the upkeep guides: starting, oil, maintenance, summer storage and the November checklist. He works from the operator and engine manuals, quotes them instead of going from memory, and reads the owner reviews written weeks after delivery, when the real problems show up. He's convinced most snow blowers that won't start in December are running on stale fuel from March.
- Oil type, viscosity and capacity
- Starting procedures from the manuals
- Fuel and battery storage over summer
- Pre-season checklists
- Owner vs dealer maintenance
Safety & parts editor
Janelle writes the safety and parts guides. She reads the warnings section of every manual she can find, compares shear pins, skid shoes and scraper bars by part number rather than by photo, and reads warranty terms all the way down to the exclusions. If a guide says something about your hands and an auger, she's the one who checked the wording.
- Chute, auger and clean-out tool safety
- Shear pins and OEM parts
- Skid shoes and scraper bars on gravel
- Accessories worth keeping in stock
- Warranty terms and exclusions