OrchidCrazy

I'm a woman, 5'4", not starving, but not fat either. I am not afraid of power equipment, am a do-it-yourselfer within my own limits. When purchasing a snowblower as a surprise for my husband, I went and "Woman-handled" many machines. I ended up with a 9 HP Simplicity which was over the $1K limit I had set for it, but well worth it. I had originally looked at the 8 HP Simplicity and the competing Toro and Ariens models. What got me up above my budget was going for the Easy Turn feature of the 9HP and it was well worth the extra money! I was limited with storage space as well, the 9HP fit all our needs without being too big for where I needed to store it.

The Machine handles everything thrown at it. I live in NorthWestern CT, we get about 40 inches annually here but have gone above and beyond the usual the past 3 years. What I love it that when hubby is at work, I can easily go out, start up the machine, clean the driveway all with ease. Without that easy turn, I'd struggle with the machine.

My advice, take wifey shopping with you. Let her run the machines and get comfortable with them. If you want her to handle it, buy what she can handle. In the long run, you'll appreciate it.

You'll be glad you bought the 7.5 HP one. I actually wouldn't suggest anything under 8 HP, but it's close! I live in Danbury as well. We get 40 inches average snowfall a year. Not many storms, but the past 4 - 5 years, we've had quite a number of 16"+ storms, the last few years we've been above average for snowfall. You can always use a bigger machine on a small storm, but if you buy too small, you'll be out more than once during the storm to handle the snow.

If you are going to make that kind of investment, go with as much machine as you can afford. You don't need a monster, but get as much as you can. Go with the model that has the features for ease of use. You'll wish you had them when you're freezing your tushie off fighting the snowthrower and playing the "I wish I had" game. If you're going to go that far, I'd send you to Simplicity for their 10560E. But if you're stuck on Ariens go with the model that give you the options you are going to wish you had. Do a search here for comments on the models you are looking at as well.

I live in CT as well, the NorthWestern portion. We have about the same size, type drive, with the exception of the unpaved area you have. A few years back I bought my husband a snowblower as a surprise for Christmas. Went with a Simplicity, but the 9 HP motor. Went with Simplicity because after "woman-handling" all the different machines, I just felt it was a good quality, well built, simple snowthrower. I guess I look at the bells and whistles as more things than get break over time, so I passed on them. Going up to the 9 HP got me the Easy Turn feature, which means I can easily use the machine when hubby is not around. (Okay, so I wanted a snowblower, used him as an excuse to get one! Haha!) I'm not a huge woman, not small, can easily start and manuever this machine. That easy turn is really the key. Our machine has dealt with everything thrown at it, with ease, included that lovely end of driveway mess. Now instead of having to shovel every few hours to keep the drive cleared, we wait for the end of storm or clear it if someone needs to drive on it.

I know the other two manufacturers are probably purchased more often, but if I was to do it all over again today, I'd still stick with the Simplicity. I used their 12 months same as cash when I purchased. Had a budget of 1K, went a little above, but well worth it.

We have a Craftsman cordless drill. Bought it as a kit for hubby with a cordless flashlight in a case with 2 rechargeable batteries when we first got our house and needed something but didn't have the funds for anything special. They have all sorts of kits available in differing price ranges. It does the job, but it's nothing outstanding. It is big, bulky, heavy.

My father has a Makita that I would just love to buy for hubby. It is far more powerful than hubby's although same voltage. It is lightweight, small and far outperforms our Craftsman. If you aren't going to use it for much, just want something in the right price range, than check out the Craftsman. If you want something sweet that will last, looking for ease of use, check out the Makita line. A much better build, but you will pay for it. I love power tools! Guess it comes from growing up with a mechanic and handyman who felt his daughters should learn to fend for themselves.