This page contains Toro 38361 Snow Thrower Reviews

Click Here To Compare Prices For The Toro 38361 Power Shovel Electric Snow Thrower

Product Features

Good Points

Things To Be Aware Of

• Difficult to direct the snow
• Better for sidewalks and decks than it is for driveways
• Safety grip can get fatiguing after a while

Reviewed By: Jason (Washington DC)

I actually bought the Toro 38361 about six years ago. Admittedly, I haven’t used it all that much as the DC winters have been fairly mild and I find the power cord to be a bit of a pain at long distances. It’s fine for cleaning small areas like porches or decks of light snow, but sometimes I find it easier to use a shovel, particularly if there’s just an inch or two. That said, I’ve just come in from cleaning my driveway during the 19 December DC blizzard. This little guy did a sensational job.

OK, first things – this isn’t a blizzard machine. It really can’t handle more than six inches or so of dry snow. And Wet show? – the mechanism can’t handle it and now was it designed to. So, how did it do in 18 inches or so of DC snow? Well, I just used it like a shovel and scraped layers off… worked a charm. Not as effortless as a true snow blower, but a hell of a lot easier than twisting and stretching to throw snow with a real shovel. It’ll throw DRY snow a good 10-12 feet with zero problems and also handle the occasional piece of crusty snow or sleet like a champ.

If you buy one, you’ll also want to get a good extension cord, one that is rated for cold weather and won’t stiffen up. This product will work with a conventional outdoor cord but as the insulating material stiffens in the cold, it gets progressively more difficult to move around. Again, this shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement for a conventional snowblower. It hasn’t really been designed for excessively snowy areas, but will come in very handy for the occasional "emergency" use or light duty cleaning of small areas.

- Jason

Click Here For More User Reviews Of The Toro 38361 Power Shovel Snow Thrower

Reviewed By: Adrian Mortensen (St Paul, MN)

The Toro 38361 Snow Thrower is a great product which I’ve used for the last 4 heavy Minnesota snowfalls. Here are some basic notes:

1)It works best in your wetter snow. Snow that is heavy to lift and push with a traditional shovel is where this product shines.

2)It works OK in drier snow but make sure you know which way the wind is blowing as even a tiny breeze can blow it right back into your face as this only shoots the snow in the direction it’s pointed (vs a tradional snowblower).

3)You’ll need a good cold weather extension cord. This unit has a snag which holds the cord in place and is actuallyquite good. However, dealing with an extension cord means that you’ll have to do a little bit of pre-planning your route. You don’t want to shovel over the cord, nor do you want to be facing the wind, and nor do you want the cord dragging through the snow and causing more of a mess. After a couple uses I got the hang of it.

4)This is a kid friendly product (with adult supervision, of course). My 7 year old girl and 9 year old boy wanted to try it out and they had little problem holding both buttons and cleaning the sidewalk.

5)The best way I’ve found to use this product is to use it as you would a vacuum cleaner. Short strokes forward and then side to side due to the fact that it only shoots the snow forward.

6)Best of both worlds when it comes to the stairs, an easy lift and blow.

7)I call this a shovel enhancer as there’s one part where it just doesn’t work that well. You know when you’ve just been dumped on by the snow gods and you have lots of foot or car traffic? That part of the snow where it’s all compacted and becomes that horrible ice? That’s where you’ll still need an old fashioned shovel as this one doesn’t do much.

All up, I’m very happy with this purchase. We live on a corner lot and it has a lot of sidewalk and only a smallish driveway. Last year, my back was aching after so much shoveling, but this power shovel has helped in getting the job done without that associated pain. If there were a wider version sold by Toro (say 2 feet) that didn’t signifcantly increase weight, I’d upgrade immediately. Other than that, this is a great, surprisingly solid, device.

- Adrian

Click Here To Buy The Toro 38361 Electric Snow Thrower