Best Snow Shovels and Ice Melt for Montana Driveways

Snow shovels and ice melt work together to clear your driveway, open the walk and loosen the ice left underfoot. Get the shovel right and you can push snow aside instead of lifting every load. Get the ice melt right and the frozen layer comes loose for removal with a light application.

The best snow shovel depends on where the snow has to go. A pusher handles the stretch where you can move it aside; a shovel handles the bank you have to lift it over. With 54 inches of snow in the Flathead Valley and 63 inches in Whitefish, that distinction matters through a whole winter of clearing.

Snow pushers and combination shovels

For one tool that handles both pushing and lifting, buy the Bully Tools 22-inch Poly Combo Snow Pusher with a 37-inch fiberglass handle. Its polypropylene head measures 22 inches wide, 12.75 inches long and 4.5 inches deep. That curved head gives you room to scoop, and pressing down on the D-grip rolls the head back for lifting and unloading. It is the best starting choice when your driveway work changes from pushing down the middle to throwing snow over the edges.

The combo’s thick edge eliminates a metal wear strip, and its edge is suitable for wood, composite, concrete and gravel surfaces. That makes it a useful choice when your route runs from a wood porch to a concrete walk and out onto a gravel drive. Its textured D-grip accommodates work gloves, a detail you will appreciate when the handle stays outside in Montana cold.

For pushing snow across a driveway or along a sidewalk, choose the Bully Tools 92813 27-inch Poly Snow Pusher. It has a plastic blade, fiberglass handle and D-shaped grip. The 27-inch blade gives you more width than the 22-inch combo, and the pusher lets you move snow without lifting it. Buy it for a route with room to push snow off the side; keep a lifting shovel beside it for the piles.

The 36-inch poly snow shovel with a 43-inch steel handle puts still more width across the driveway. Choose that width for broad passes through light snow, then take narrower bites as the accumulation gets heavier. A wide blade full of wet snow is a different load from the same blade moving a fresh dusting.

WBC also carries a steel-handled pusher, and a 26-inch dual-handle poly pusher whose second handle gives your front hand a grip partway down, so you can push without bending as far.

If you are searching for a “push shovel” for snow, buy according to where you can deposit the snow. Width helps while you are pushing toward an open edge. Once the banks force you to lift and throw, the combination shovel or a smaller conventional shovel takes over.

Snow shovels for lifting and throwing

A traditional snow shovel is the tool for digging into a pile and throwing snow where a pusher cannot put it. For heavy snow, choose an 18-inch blade and keep each load manageable. A smaller blade helps keep you from taking too much just because the scoop has room.

The 18-inch aluminum snow shovel with a 24-inch steel handle answers the search for a metal snow shovel. The 18-inch poly shovel has a 41-inch steel handle, while the 20-inch poly shovel has a 38-inch steel handle. Choose the 20-inch width when you want a broader scoop; choose an 18-inch width when controlling each lifted load matters more.

Snow shovel	Blade width	Handle
Bully Tools Poly Combo Snow Pusher	22 inches	37-inch fiberglass
Bully Tools 92813 Poly Snow Pusher	27 inches	47-inch fiberglass, D-shaped grip
Poly snow shovel	36 inches	43-inch steel
Aluminum snow shovel	18 inches	24-inch steel
Poly snow shovel	20 inches	38-inch steel
Poly snow shovel	18 inches	41-inch steel

Those are handle lengths, not overall tool lengths. Choose a handle that lets you work without repeatedly reaching down for the load. When you shovel snow through a long Montana storm, clear in several rounds so you keep moving smaller accumulations.

Ice melt for the cold underfoot

Use ice melt to loosen the frozen layer after you remove the accumulated snow. Regular rock salt is a good starting choice at 15°F or warmer. Below 15°F, choose a blend made for the cold and check the lowest temperature on its label. Calcium chloride can melt ice at temperatures as low as -25°F, but a blend’s working limit depends on its formula, and ground temperature, wind and accumulating snow all affect how it works.

That temperature choice matters in the Flathead. The average winter low is 16°F, close to rock salt’s 15°F working threshold, and inversions trap cold on the valley floor from late October through February. Choose for the cold on your walk when you will be clearing it, rather than treating the average as the night’s forecast.

Purple Heat is labeled for use down to -15°F. It comes in a 12-pound jug, a 20-pound package, a 50-pound bag and a 50-pound pail. The jug is the smaller package choice for occasional treatment around an entrance; the 50-pound bag or pail makes more sense when you regularly treat a longer walk. Package weight tells you how much material you are buying, while temperature suitability determines the formulation you need.

Other choices include the 50-pound ice melter, 8-pound PET+ pellets and 50-pound Quick Thaw Beet Pet Friendly bag. Treat pet-friendly wording as a reason to keep good application habits: spread lightly and rinse paws after walks. The wording alone does not establish that a treatment is safer for pets.

Keep ice melt concentrated on the places that need it. Excess salt can degrade concrete, asphalt and natural stone, so a light, even application is the right way to use it on your paving. Clear the loosened slush, keep salty piles off lawns and shrubs, and sweep up remaining grains once the pavement dries.

In Great Falls, winter winds over 15 mph and fast chinook temperature swings make checking the walk again worthwhile. A wet afternoon and a freezing evening call for another look at the surface, not an automatic heavy dose of salt.

Scrapers and spreaders finish the work

A long-handled pavement ice scraper belongs beside the shovel when you have thick ice or dense, packed snow. WBC carries the Bully Tools scraper with a 6-inch steel blade on a 50-inch steel handle. Its job is chopping and scraping that layer loose so you can remove it. Work in small sections instead of trying to drive the blade through the whole patch at once.

For the windshield, the SubZero Klondike ice scraper has a 4-inch blade on a plastic handle. That is a separate job from breaking pavement ice with a long-handled scraper.

A walk-behind ice-melt spreader, like WBC’s 80-pound spreader, is useful when your clearing route is long enough that even distribution becomes a chore. Broadcast spreaders throw material outward with a spinner; drop spreaders place it directly on the ground. Broad open pavement favors broadcasting, while a narrow walk beside planting beds favors the more confined placement of a drop spreader.

How to choose the best snow shovel for your job

For an ergonomic snow shovel, start with the work you can avoid lifting. Push wherever you have somewhere to put the snow. When you do lift, use a smaller blade or partially fill a larger one, turn your feet with the load and put it down without twisting your upper body or throwing over your shoulder.

If you want to remove snow from a driveway without lifting shovelfuls, a snow pusher is the direct answer. Ice melt helps release snow and ice for clearing; accumulated snow still needs to be moved. For ice and snow together, push or shovel off the loose layer, scrape the packed patches and use ice melt on the remaining icy areas.

For a driveway where you can push snow to the sides, start with the 27-inch Bully Tools pusher. For a route that includes lifting over banks, start with the 22-inch combo. Those choices match the tool to what your arms actually have to do.

The Pick

Buy the Bully Tools 22-inch Poly Combo for a driveway and walkway that need both pushing and lifting. Choose the Bully Tools 27-inch Poly Snow Pusher for open runs, and pair it with an 18-inch poly or aluminum shovel for throwing snow over the banks. Add a pavement ice scraper for packed ice. For repeated ice treatment, choose a Purple Heat 50-pound bag or pail; choose the 12-pound jug for smaller jobs, with the formulation matched to the cold underfoot.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the best snow shovel to buy?

The Bully Tools 22-inch combination shovel is a good fit when you need to push snow and lift it over banks on the same route. Its curved polypropylene head rolls back for lifting when you press down on the D-grip, and its overall length is 56 inches. If you can push snow straight off the edge of your clearing area, the 27-inch pusher gives you a wider pass without lifting each load.

How do you shovel snow?

Clear the loose snow before you tackle the ice underneath, and move smaller accumulations throughout the storm so each pass stays manageable. For packed snow and ice, work a pavement scraper in small sections; one or two long cuts can let blade pressure crumble the ice between them. Remove the broken pieces before applying ice melt to the remaining icy patches.

How can you remove snow from a driveway without a shovel?

A broom can clear a light dusting of loose snow before foot traffic packs it down. For deeper loose snow, a pusher lets you move it toward an open edge without scooping and throwing. Ice melt helps loosen the frozen layer, but it doesn’t replace moving accumulated snow.

How do you shovel snow without hurting your back?

Reduce the lifting first: push snow wherever you have room to deposit it, and take partial scoops when you need to lift. Turn your feet with the load instead of twisting to throw it behind you. Check the grip with your winter gloves on, too; the Bully Tools combination shovel has a textured D-grip with room for work gloves, so you can hold it securely without crowding your hand.

What ice melt works in the coldest weather?

Pick by the temperature on your walk. Rock salt works at about 15°F and warmer; below that, pick a cold-weather blend by the temperature on its label. Purple Heat is labeled for use down to -15°F.