totally agree with you. The snow in this demo vid was really heavy and despite my good health I'm sure if I had to shovel all of it that I'd likely give myself a heart attack! The HS520 actually has a decent sized motor (GC160 rated at 5.5 HP) and it can throw snow easily. I've since sold my HS520 and purchased the highly sought after HS621 with a GX160 engine and that thing has similar performance but doesn't REMOTELY bog down in heavy snow. The GX motor has more torque and is a heavy built motor. Two stages are great if you've got that hardened ice end of driveway snow bank that plows leave behind but on my street we never get a plow up that far. Oddly I found a great deal on a Honda mini 2 stage so I actually now have a 2 stage blower as well - the Honda HS622 which is really a 2 stage version of the HS621! Love all my Honda power equipment - so well made and they just work!

Say what you want.......this Honda is getting it done.

Honda makes a great machine! This can’t be disputed. Unfortunately, I think they’re pricing themselves into a problem. For a number of years now, many or most of their 2 stages have problems clogging on wet heavy snow. There are a number of videos and info out there with modification ideas to prevent clogging. If you invest this much into a machine, modifications shouldn’t be necessary. Many competitors are out performing them nowadays.

Yeah I used to not like the 622 because of its diminutive size and not being a big monster blower but I quickly realized after using it that it is the perfect two stage size for a home I. The city and it still has enough power to boot even for larger properties. I’ve come to love the 622. Another great blower is the HSS724 because that model has hydrostatic drive. Thanks for watching!

yes, this snowblower is truly amazing. Its a packs a powerful punch when the snow is fresh but to your point if a plow comes by an leaves a berm of ice and snow then it really isn't suited for that kind of removal. A 2 stage blower with a deviated ice breaker auger is what is needed to break through that hardened mess the city plows leave behind. I sold my 520 and 621 in favor of my 2 stage 622 (got a killer deal on it) but now I want to trade up to a 928 to plow my MUCH larger property. So much sidewalk and driveway and part of the road to plow and I need something with a variable speed drive system.

yeah I love the little blower. Lots of power even for our Canadian winters.

yeah hard packed snow is a pain and thus this snowblower (as with most other blowers) work best when the snow is fresh and not walked or driven on. Once the snow is packed I'm pretty sure any lightweight snowblower is going to struggle.

@ hhova29 - I will try my best to post a video tonight comparing the Poulan Pro from Costco. Very nice unit for the price you pay and definitely a contender against a higher end Toro or Honda unit. I'll see what I can do - stay tuned as I'l try to post within a couple of days.

The rubber paddles (when they're not worn out) easily drag the machine forward. You can regulate the amount of forward pull by how much you tilt the handlebars up. The higher you tip the handlebars up and forward the more grip the paddles have.

yeah it is pretty impressive what the little single stage Honda's can do. I've owned MANY honda blowers in a very short period of time and the HS520 is one of my favourites. Light, torquey and easy to handle and SUPER easy to start.

Try to find no ethanol gas in your area its out there somewhere.

up here in canada I believe esso and shell do not use ethanol in their premium fuels.

Aleways drain your carb's float bowl of fuel before storage or when not in use. It vastly reduces non strarting problems.

@ LeabKnott - fortunately no fine for us here but mind you that when we're blowing/shovelling snow that out of courtesy that we don't just dump it on the road. We pile it up on our small lots and the side of the roads. Interestingly enough if we help the city remove snow from the road we get fined. Weird law but I guess the city here argues it's a liability issue if homeowners take matters into their own hand. 16ft of snow... wow.

piercedasian Yup equivalent to 16 feet , it will come and go we never see the full 16' of it. We get snow daily + snow storms etc... Check it out on our City web site. www.cornerbrook.com/default.asp?mn=1.24.344

@ LeabKnott - I originally came from the east kootenays in BC and we had HUGE snow there. Can't remember how many feet but it was mental.

Where I live he'd get his ass kicked for blowing it on the cars.

@@shizzydee7341, Yeah same but it's his own vehicles.

The Honda HS520 has a Honda GC 160 engine which is 160CC and it has plenty of power for wet snow, in fact I found my single stage Honda HS 520 outperform some 2 stage units (not Honda ones) in wet snow and slush. When I first got this snowblower I was impressed with how much torque and power it really had in this tiny little package. Love it!

have you tried checking the conditions of the auger. If they're worn it won't pull forward.

***** haha, Yep that was my goal *wink*. The car you see int he vid is a car that I own that I didn't drive for a month so it didn't matter much to me. It was sure as heck fun using the snowblower though. Lots of power and makes light work of heavy snow :)

@ J Doe - lol trust me there were days where the street was so full of snow that you pretty much had nowhere to blow it. My neighbours are very happy that myself and 2 others own snowblowers. We literally had to do the work for the city so we as the residents could get to our homes!