How to Find the Best Home Shave Ice Machine
If you’re looking for the best home shave ice machine, you’ve probably come to realize how amazing shave ice is, and how you need it in your daily home life. However, searching for the best home shaved ice machine isn’t as easy as you might think. With tons of available brands and models at different prices, it can be tricky to figure out which one’s the best option.
After putting in 70 hours of research, comparing more than 40 home shave ice makers and testing 8 of the best rated models (along with our kids) we’ve put all our findings here to help guide your decision.
Sure, the shave ice you get in Hawaii is made with large expensive machines and so it may be slightly softer and more consistent, but with these amazing machines you can make it at home!
What To Look For
Before you start shopping for your dream ice shaver, here are the most important features you need to know when buying.
Adjustable Blade
This refers to whether the shaving blade can be moved to produce a thinner or more aggressive shaving action. If the blade of the shave ice machine isn’t adjusted properly, your ice won’t be the right texture. All the machines featured here can be adjusted.
Texture Of Ice
Here, we’re talking about the physical ‘softness’ of the ice on a scale from 1-100. Lower numbers indicate chunkier ice more like a snow cone and higher numbers mean the ice shaves lighter – more like typical Hawaiian shave ice or Japanese kakigori. Because we’re talking about shave ice here and not snow cones, we gave higher ratings to machines that produced delicate, snow-like ice.
Warranty
This indicates the listed manufacturers warranty. Bear in mind that if you purchase these online from a place like Amazon, you may be better off dealing with their customer service for warranty issues instead of dealing with the manufacturer directly. Amazon is known for excellent customer service, and they’ll likely figure out a solution that will make you happy.
Electric Powered
Most of the ice shavers we’ve featured here are electric, however we did also include 2 manually operated ones. Although hand cranked shave ice machines aren’t generally as fast as electric ones and require more effort to operate, they’re an excellent option for when you won’t have electricity. Beachside shave ice anyone?
Cube Shaver or Block Shaver
This shows where the machine will use typical small ice cubes (like you’d make in your freezers ice cube tray) or whether they use block ice that’s been frozen in a mold. Genuine Hawaiian style shave ice is usually made with a block shaver, and these machines tend to make the fluffiest ice. On the other hand, cube shavers work great too and can use with any cubed ice – even store bought. We’ve featured a mix of machines in our roundup.
Replaceable Blade
This indicates whether the shaving blade can be replaced or not. Although these blades tend to last a long time, they will eventually need to be sharpened or replaced.Watch out for any machines that don’t have this, or you’ll be forced to throw them away when the blade wears out. All of the machines we’ve featured do feature replaceable blades. For replacements, you can contact the manufacturer, or check Amazon.
Speed
Here we’re talking about how quickly the machine can shave ice. In general, it’s better to have a faster machine, but this really will depend on how many shave ices you need to make and how quickly you need them. If you’re just making these for one or two people, any speed will do. To some extent, this will depend on how the blade is adjusted. If the blade is setup to be very high, the machine will shave faster but the ice will be bigger and crunchier.
Reliability
Here we’re talking about the long-term reliability of the machine. For this info, we judged the build quality of each machine and also checked out all the user reviews on Amazon. All the machines featured have lots of great reviews from verified buyers and good build quality. They should last for a long time as long as they’re treated right and taken care of.
Top 8 Home Ice Shavers
Now that you know what to look for, you’re ready to check out our ice shaver buying guide. Whether you’re looking for something for daily repeated use, a shaver that can use regular ice cubes, a manual ice shaver you can take to the beach, or something safe for kids, we’ve tried to include something for everyone. If you’re in a hurry, check out our overall top pick and best bang-for-your buck pick first.
Little Snowie 2 Ice Shaver
After comparing all the available models, we recommend the Little Snowie 2 as our top pick. This machine produces mounds of soft snowy perfection and it uses cubes from your freezer (or bought from a store) rather than having to use blocks of ice frozen in a mold. This is great for convenience because it means you don’t have to remember to freeze ice the night before. Some ice shavers that use ice cubes instead of blocks produce very crunchy snow, but this machine doesn’t have that problem. The shaving action is also really fast so it’s perfect for making lots of shave ice quickly. It’s even used by some commercial shave ice shops. Best of all, it has nearly 600 perfect 5 star reviews so you know it’s good.
Hawaiian Shaved Ice S900A
The Hawaiian shave ice S900A is an all around fantastic shave ice machine and offers excellent value for the money. It’s super easy to use and makes delightfully soft, fluffy shaved ice without crunchy bits in it – something that some other machines costing twice as much struggle do. The more you use it, the better you’ll get a feel for how to finesse it and produce just the right quality fluffy ice. Although it’s not specifically listed as being for kids, our 5 and 8 year olds had no trouble operating it. Our family loves this compact little machine, and it’s the one we find ourselves using the most even though we have “professional” machines costing a great deal more.
Great Northern 6060
With a commercial quality 1/3 horsepower motor, the 6060 is able to shave 6 lbs of ice per minute -more than 350 lbs/hour! This is a newer model of the well rated Great Northern’s Ice Cub (featured below). The main differences are that this newer model is 12 pounds lighter, has hand holds located on the back and sides for easier carrying, has two power switches for added safety, and has a safety enclosure preventing the ice block from scattered in case it breaks. The stainless-steel blades are adjustable and replaceable to make shaved ice as fine or course as desired. This model has lots of excellent reviews on Amazon, many of which are from people who use this shaver commercially for a retail shave ice shop. One drawback to this shaver though, is it’s fairly tall and does weigh 38 pounds. So you’ll either need to have a good amount of free counter space, or be comfortable lifting it whenever you want to use it.
Hawaiian Shaved Ice S700
Also from Hawaiian Shaved Ice, the model S700 is similar to the S-900A, except that it uses regular ice cubes for ice instead of cylindrical ice molds. Because of this, you don’t have to pre-plan to use it, since you most likely have ice cubes ready to go in the freezer. This shaver gets our pick for best kids ice shaver, since it’s nice and easy to operate and safe for kids to use as long as they can adhere to simple safety procedures. That said, kids could still potentially cut themselves if they really tried, so always supervise them. The ice it produces is a bit courser and crunchier than some of the other shavers on our list, so if that’s not your thing you may prefer one of the options that makes fluffier snow. If you prefer your shave ice slightly crunchier, this is a good one.
Great Northern Ice Cub
If you’re looking for a commercial quality ice shaver at 1/10th the price that feels very sturdy and dependable, the Cub is a great option. A heavy duty unit that works well and makes consistently excellent shaved ice, this is a great option to consider. This unit comes as close to making true Hawaiian shave ice as you can get without spending over $1,000. It is fairly tall and heavy (nearly 50 pounds) so that’s something to be prepared for. If you’re operating a low volume shave ice stand or are a total shave ice snob (no judgements), this is definitely the machine for you!
ZENY Ice Shaver
A great option for snow-cone style shaved ice, this well made ice crusher will quickly turn ice cubes into delicious ice-desserts. It’s fairly heavy and has an extremely durable, well-built feel to it. The ice it produces is slightly on the cruncher side, so it’s a better option for snow cones rather than true Hawaiian style shave ice. On the plus side, it’s super-fast and can create lots of ice very quickly. This shaver has tons of excellent verified reviews on Amazon, so it’s a good option for anyone who needs to turn lots of ice cubes into snow-like ice fast. Another bonus – it’s excellent for quickly making crushed ice to put under things like oysters or shrimp cocktails!
VICTORIO Manual Ice Shaver
The most affordable option we reviewed, this ice shaver is completely manual, so it’s not going to be as fast as the electric models. On the other hand, if you want something you can take anywhere with you this is a great option. With this thing all you need is a cooler with some ice and some syrup and you can make delicious shaved ice wherever you want! You’ll instantly be the envy of every other beach goer when you whip this bad boy out. It’s mostly made from plastic and seems rather fragile when you take it out of the box, but it’s actually surprisingly strong once you start using it. It does take a good amount of effort to shave ice with this machine, so it’s not one we’d recommend for very small children.
Gourmia GIC9635 Ice Shaver
This manual shaver is nice and small, making it a perfect ice shaver to bring with you to parties, the beach, the park, or anywhere you’d enjoy a cool shaved ice. Since it’s so compact, it’s also very easy to store – which could be an issue with some of the larger shaver’s we reviewed. The ice it produces is fairly course, so it’s best suited for snow cone style shaved ice. We recommend for people who only want an occasional snow cone or shave ice for one or two people, since it requires a lot of turning to make the ice. Lastly, several reviews on Amazon mention that the handle feels flimsy – so that’s something to be aware of.
Ready To Start Shaving?
Now comes the fun part. Just order some of your favorite syrups and freeze some ice and you’re ready to go! If you want to reduce the calories and make the shave ice a little healthier, check out our free DIY natural shave ice syrup recipes.
A tip about the ice: It’s always best to let the frozen ice “temper” at room temperature for about 5 minutes to get the ice ready to use. Otherwise, it’ll be too cold and will tend to jam the machines.
One last thing: Always make sure to disassemble and dry out your shave ice maker after each use. If you don’t, you run the risk of bacteria growing inside, or the machine starting to rust.
