We’ve researched dozens of products to bring you the best ice scrapers on the market. Each of the seven automotive ice scrapers on our list is tough enough to get through thick ice on your car or truck windshield. They’re also all compact enough to be stored easily in a closet or car trunk. We selected a mix of simple one-handed automotive ice scrapers you can keep in the glove box and extendable pole ice scrapers that include extras like squeegees and snow brushes.
Our top pick, the Subzero 532, is a handheld ice scraper that also includes a very useful snow brush for quickly clearing snow off your windshield. It’s also durable, reliable and won’t scratch your car’s windshield. Keep reading to learn about our other top picks.
Top 7 Best Ice Scrapers Compared
#1 Subzero Fixed Head Ice Scraper
Award: Top Pick
WHY WE LIKE IT: A bargain priced primary automotive ice scraper, this subzero fixed head has a strong chipper to easily get ice off your windshield without scratching the glass. It also comes with a handy snow brush.
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- Ice scraper snow brush combo
- Compact 26” design for easy storage
- Safe for windshields
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- Less reach than some of the longer ice scrapers for trucks and SUVs
- Plastic scraper can become brittle in extended cold temperatures
- Some durability concerns with handle
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A very inexpensive and easy to store ice scraper, the Subzero 532 Fixed head uses a plastic wedge-shaped ice chipper blade and features a foam handle and a built-in snow brush. The snow brush is effective at getting dry, powdery snow off your car hood, windshield and other surfaces. The ice scraper is designed to get through about .25 inch thick ice without scratching your windshield or paint. Keep the kids occupied with our best headrest DVD player.
This ice scraper is one of the easiest to store and have in your car with you since it’s only 26” inches long overall. The handle isn’t the sturdiest but it is lightweight and is reasonably comfortable given the bargain price. An ice scraper is really one of the most useful best car accessories in your trunk.
#2 Snow Joe 2-in-1 Snow Broom
Award: Honorable Mention
WHY WE LIKE IT: An automotive ice scraper and snow broom with extension poles to help you reach across the windshield and get snow off the roof of your car, SUV or truck, it’s lightweight yet has a long, up to 52” reach.
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- Great ice scraper for SUVs
- Weighs only 1.4 pounds, less than comparable models from Birdrock Home
- Extendable and comes apart for storage
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- More expensive than the Subzero 532
- Scraper blade is smaller than on some competitors
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If you’re looking for a long reach ice scraper for SUVs, pickup trucks or even to brush snow off gutters or roofs of sheds, this Snow Joe snow broom and automotive ice scraper 2-in-1 may just fit the bill. It has a 52” reach thanks to a lightweight metal handle that comes apart for storage. On one end is an effective, though somewhat small, at around 4” ice scraper wedge. On the other is a snow brush measuring 16×6.5 inches. Keep your wheel looking stylish with our best leather steering wheel cover.
The Snow Joe Snow Broom is adjustable with its interlocking handle, so you can choose from 33 inch or 52 inch overall lengths. When fully extended it makes a great ice scraper for short people or for people trying to get ice off of SUVs, vans or trucks. You can also check out the best ice scraper for the sidewalk.
#3 Birdrock Home Snow Mover
Award: Best Extendable Ice Breaker
WHY WE LIKE IT: A thoughtfully designed and usefully large ice scraper head with built-in ice breaker “teeth” helps scrape ice off your windshield quickly, while a bowed shape and extendable up to 50” reach make it a great ice scraper for shorter people.
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- Safe for windshields
- Adjusts to 6 different length settings
- Wide, effective snow brush
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- Heavier than the Snow Joe
- Less reach than the Snow Joe
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This large ice scraper for car windshields comes in handy when you need to de ice your windshield quickly or if you have a larger, taller vehicle. It extends up to 50 inches max, so while it’s just a tiny bit shorter than the extendable ice scraper from Snow Joe (our #2 pick) this Birdrock Home ice scraper has a usefully curved shape, making it easier to maintain leverage and break up ice in hard to reach corners of windshields and car roofs.
The Birdrock Home ice scraper has more adjustability than most of the ice scrapers and snow brushes on our list–it can be set at six different lengths, compared to the Snow Joe with three or the Subzero with its fixed length. A similar product is the MATCC Extendable Ice Scraper, which has a rotating brush head and comfortable foam grip so you can remove snow and scrape ice much more easily. The best de icer car spray will also come in handy.
#4 Hopkins Subzero Ice Scraper Crusher
Award: Best for Thick Ice
WHY WE LIKE IT: A comfortable, broad handle and a tough, wide ice scraper blade make this shorter ice scraper a great choice for breaking up thicker ice.
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- Ice chipper and ice scraper
- Wide, 4.6-inch ice scraper wedge
- Comfortable, grippy handle
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- Shorter, at 11”, than the Subzero 532 handheld ice scraper
- No integrated snow brush
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This short, robust ice scraper makes it easier to get the best angle and leverage to chip away and scrape off thicker ice from your car’s windshield or other surfaces. Like the ice scrapers from Birdrock Home and Snow Joe, it’s designed not to scratch windshields or paint, with a durable, heavy plastic non-scratching head. Unlike the extendable ice scrapers, it packs a chipping head as well as a broad, robust scraper blade, making it more adept at getting through thicker ice.
Drawbacks of this model include its limited reach and the lack of a snow brush feature. But it’s a very useful tool to have as an add on if you also have a handheld snow brush, as it does a much better job of scraping off thick ice than the extendable ice scrapers / snow brush combos can. This is one of the best tools for winter.
#5 Snow Moover Ice Scraper with Squeegee
Award: Best Scraper & Squeegee
WHY WE LIKE IT: This ice scraper includes not only a built in snow brush on the other end but a useful window squeegee as well, making it one of the best ice scrapers for dealing with slushy, wet ice on your windshield.
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- Great for slush
- Includes tough, non-scratching ice breaker jaws
- Telescoping handle for 39” reach
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- Less reach than the Snow Joe ice scraper
- More complex and more fragile than one-piece ice scrapers like the Hopkins Subzero
- Some questionable reliability
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This three part ice and snow removal tool has an innovative design featuring a thick bristled snow brush, a squeegee and an ice scraper blade, mounted on a telescoping handle. It extends up to 39” which gives it an adequate reach for most car windshield de icing tasks, though it falls short of competitors like the Snow Joe ice scraper and snow brush combo.
Like those other extensible snow brushes, it can have trouble with leverage when trying to chip away thicker ice and its complexity, coupled with an effort to save weight, leads this ice scraper and snow brush to be somewhat more fragile than other ice scrapers such as the one-piece Hopkins Subzero (our #4 pick.) Also, read about the best long ice scraper.
#6 Desired Tools Premium Ice Scraper Set
Award: Best Budget
WHY WE LIKE IT: Shipped in a pack of two, this sturdy one-handed ice scraper is a bargain considering its solid ice breaking performance and superior durability compared to more expensive telescoping ice scrapers.
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- Durable one piece design
- Frostproof blade won’t warp or crack
- Comfortable thick handle
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- Less reach than the extendable ice scrapers
- No included extras like snow brush or squeegee
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Sometimes simpler is better, and when it comes to ice scrapers this durable one-handed piece is among the simplest. It benefits from a frost proof blade that promises not to warp or crack and that won’t scratch your windshield. It also has a thick, comfortable handle, which helps make up for the limited length.
What you won’t get is a long window washer style squeegee handle or telescoping reach; for that, one of the Snow Joe or Birdrock home ice scrapers may fit the bill better. However, you do get a two pack of sturdy ice scrapers at a bargain price. For sidewalks, read about the best de icer for sidewalks.
#7 RevHeads Ice Scraper for Cars
Award: Best Compact Ice Scraper
WHY WE LIKE IT: An ice chipping head with claws plus a cleverly designed, slightly flexible yet super strong chisel that matches the curve of your windshield, make this a good choice for a heavy duty ice scraper for cars.
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- Perfect for glovebox
- Claws for breaking up thick ice
- Scrapes windshields clear
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- Short handle
- Not extendable so may not be first choice for large SUV owners.
- No snow brush or squeegee features
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This basic yet highly effective ice scraper for cars gets good ratings for durability and promises to withstand repeated use in sub-freezing temperatures without warping or breaking. It’s also an ice scraper that fits easily in the glove compartment and so works well for those situations in which the best tool for the job is the one you happen to have with you.
While it lacks the long reach or extra brush and squeegee attachments of some other ice scrapers on our list, such as the Snow Joe (our #2 pick) it makes up for this with compact convenience and proven effectiveness. The slightly curved blade and J-shaped “claws” give you added leverage when scraping tough frozen over ice off your car windshield, too. While you are battling the winter cold, have a look at the best snowblower.
How we Decided
In order to pick the best ice scrapers on the market that were convenient, easy to keep in your car or truck and affordable, we narrowed it down to only those which featured “non-scratching” scraper blades–after all, ensuring you can get the ice off your windshield while leaving the glass intact is important.
We also only picked ice scrapers with comfortable handles, and with proven tolerance of sub-freezing temperatures.
Finally, we limited our list to include only ice scrapers that measured less than 30” for storage. Extendable telescoping handles, and extra attachments like snow brushes and squeegees were considered a bonus.
Ice Scraper Buyer’s Guide
Important Features to Consider
- Scraper Blade
The ice scraper’s main blade surface should be thick and angled slightly so as to clear away ice rather than “skate” over the surface of the ice. For thicker ice, a heavier and more wedge-shaped “blade” offers more leverage. In general, for ice scrapers for car windshields, the preferred blade size is around 4-5 inches. - Handle
Make sure the ice scraper handle is comfortable enough to hold steady while wearing thick gloves. You don’t want to have to freeze your hands while trying to clear the ice off your windshield so you can warm up. - Reach
For most cars and small outdoor surfaces, a one-handed ice scraper with a length of 11-17 inches is adequate. However, for larger trucks and SUVs, and for tasks like clearing snow off the roof of a Jeep, tall pickup or SUV, you may want a longer, extendable or telescoping handled ice scraper like our #2 pick, the 52” Snow Joe.
