Snowblowers.

Hydrostatic *sounds* sexy - but so did gear drive on my BCS & implements, but
it sucks pretty bad in practice: expensive, noisy, heavy...

So what about hydrostatic vs belt drive?

Belts, I can replace... but hydrostatic sounds way beyond my pay grade.

What does hydrostatic provide to earn it's $1000+ premium?

Honda's 28" (http://tinyurl.com/y7kxxm8a) claims a few more inches depth
capacity over the Ariens analog (http://tinyurl.com/y77ls44s), but $1,400?

Anybody own either one?

One Deal Breaker feature for me is handlebar height: 38" minimum, 40"
preferred... and Honda seems to offer that... not sure about other brands.

An important capability noted by many reviews is the ability to bust through
that 2-3 feet of ice/frozen slush/snow that the city plow leaves at the end
of one's driveway.

Three-stage blowers were sounding attractive until somebody opined that 3
stages was mainly a way to get the same performance from a smaller engine.
--
Pete Cresswell