You don’t need to give your bank account a beating to clean your car properly. Car detailing can be done on a budget, and this super-cheap Amazon/unbranded Snow Foam Lance is superb value for money.
How I Tested The Amazon/unbranded Snow Foam Lance
I used this budget snow foam cannon during one of my frequent detailing sessions. I filled it up with my favorite snow foam as I would usually do and then made some judgements about its performance – namely, its effectiveness and usability. I want to see lots of foam, nice features that make detailing easier, and a snow foam cannon that I personally want to use.
RRP: $26.20, buy now. £18.99, buy now.
First impressions
At this price, you have to reduce your expectations. This is budget detailing, and while that doesn’t mean bad products, you have to be realistic about what you can expect for your money. I have to be honest, this snow foam cannon does not feel like a high-quality product. That’s not to say it’s bad, it’s just that you can tell it’s been put together on a budget.
The foam mix adjuster is basic. The bottle is basic. The pick-up hose is stiff and doesn’t feature a filter. There’s no horizontal or vertical adjustment. But at least the components are made of brass, as you’d find on more expensive snow foam cannons. And the nozzle has a nice action to it – not too firm, and not too loose.
Features on the snow foam lance
Not many. Honestly, it does the bare minimum to function as a snow foam cannon. What I do like, and what a lot of other, more expensive snow foams would benefit from doing better, is the measuring scale on the bottle. It starts at 100ml and gives you numbered increments all the way to 1000ml, so you definitely get your money’s-worth as far as that goes.
What’s It Like To Use The Amazon/unbranded Snow Foam Lance
It’s fine, is about the biggest compliment I can pay it. Since I started using snow foam, this has been my personal snow foam lance. That wasn’t necessarily through choice, but more down to not wanting to spend loads of money on one. So that’s on me. And honestly, I had no problems with it.
Downsides to the snow foam lance
Its shortcomings only come to light once I tried far more superior snow foam lances that proved they were worth the extra money. It actually produces decent foam, and as the bottle is narrow, it’s easier to hold. The stiff pick-up hose is a pain when you’re running low on snow foam solution, though. It means you have to hold the lance at a weird angle to suck up the last of the fluid. And it falls over the moment you try to put it down, which is a pain.
Verdict
This might sound like the worst snow foam lance you can buy. But it’s honestly not that bad. I’ve used this one for years, and it’s still going strong. It just gets on with the job, and I don’t have to care about it falling over (all the time) or whatever, because it’s so cheap. Most other snow foam cannons are at least twice or even three times the price. And while all those fancy features are nice to have they’re far from essential.
If you’re on a budget but would like to get into snow foam, this is the perfect place to start. The best snow foam lances blow this one out of the water. But for the money, you just can’t go wrong.
Check out price comparisons for the Amazon Basics snow foam lance below:
