Depending on your point of view, winter can either be a heartwarming holiday or a cold blizzard that necessitates unwelcome chores. As is mostly the case, children equate winter with the holidays – receiving gifts from Santa Claus, making snowmen on the front lawn, and basically just enjoying the white snow. Adults, however, see the snow as a sign of impending costs – buying obligatory gifts, reinforcing equipment against cold, and of course, shoveling snow that blocks your way.

The snow shovel was invented pretty early on to help man get rid of the snow drift around. After a heavy snowfall, he’d have to clear a path from himself by bending down and lifting a considerable amount of weight in snow. It was a difficult task, but it was needed if one wanted to get from one place to the other without sinking in snow.

Unfortunately, shoveling snow doesn’t come without risks. Normally, you’d have to bend over and scoop up a shovel-full of snow, and this repetitive task will result in back pain and injury. And, it involves a lot of energy expenditure on your part in freezing weather, so this will seriously impede your blood circulation. Heart attacks have been known to happen not a few times to people shoveling snow.

These are the primary problems that the snow shovel industry would want to address. As it stands, shoveling is still the cheapest option when it comes to clearing your snow; therefore, improvements on the snow design are in order. And, as I am glad to report, these problems have been addressed and worked on.

So check out the best snow shovel innovations in the last few years. You’ll be surprised at how the shovel concept has been retained, and yet it feels like a different tool in your hand altogether. With this new shovel, notice how snow shoveling will change from an irritating chore to a meditative morning ritual during the holidays.