Snow foam is one of the most satisfying and effective car cleaning products you can use, but there’s a bewildering variety of different snow foam guns to consider across a broad price range. We put them to the test
We’re testing the snow foam lances here, rather than the snow foam itself, so we used the same household brand solution in every foam gun, diluted as recommended according to the manufacturer, and with the guns’ adjustable mixture setting at maximum.
All were applied to a filthy but dry car using a mid-range Karcher pressure washer, and then left for 10 minutes before rinsing off. Our snow foam lances ranged in price from budget options to pricier equipment claimed to be preferred by expert detailers, and we rated the effectiveness of the foam coverage as well as the quality of the lance and bottle, and how easy it is to fit the gun to the pressure washer.
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Best buy:
Autoglym Polar Blaster
Fits: Karcher, Kew, Alto, Nilfisk, Nilfisk Pro, Kranzle and Lavor
The Autoglym bottle and nozzle feels reassuringly heavy duty, with brass fixings and a spring-loaded adaptor for the Karcher K Series pressure washers – though it also fits a wide variety of other pressure washers. The spring-release adaptor for the Karcher makes the Autoglym assembly a doddle to fit, and it’s also easy to fill thanks to the bottle’s wide neck and clear measurement lines. When attached, the snow foam gun rotates on that adaptor joint so that it stays level, which is a neat trick.
The bottle’s nozzle doesn’t do anything dramatically different to many others here, offering an adjustable spray ranging from a fan to a high pressure jet, but it foamed up the shampoo brilliantly for a really long-lasting foam. It didn’t go through as much snow foam solution as others here to achieve that, either, so should make the most of what can be expensive foam solution. It’s not cheap, but it’s really effective and the easiest to use of all our guns.
What Car? Says 5 stars
Runner up, and budget best buy:
Qooltek Adjustable foam cannon
Fits: Karcher K2 – K7 Series
The Qooltek foam canon does a great job at a good price. It can be a bit messy filling the bottle’s narrow neck, and it only fits Karcher pressure washers, which will rule it out for some. Even so, there are 100ml measurement increments marked to help get your mix right, the bottle and nozzle feels hard-wearing, and there’s even a 24 month warranty on the whole thing. The spray offers a standard fan- to jet adjustment, with a wider fan spray than most, and it leaves a really thick, satisfying duvet of foam.
What Car? Says 4 stars
BigBoi FoamRpro
Price £60.00
Buy from Theultimatefinish.co.uk
Fits: Karcher K, Karcher HD, Nilfisk, Kranzler, Lavor
The BigBoi is the most expensive gun here, but you can see why. There are five settings on the nozzle head – cone, jet, horizontal fan, vertical fan and downward. We found the downward spray really helped to get good coverage on the roof of a high vehicle, and it was really easy to use – plus, it fits just about every variety of pressure washer provided you choose the correct fitting type when you buy it. The foam it delivers is satisfyingly fluffy and lasting, too, but you need to be a real car-cleaning fanatic to warrant the cost of this for the marginal benefits it offers over usefully cheaper alternatives.
What Car? Says 4 stars
Car Gods snow foam cannon
Fits: Karcher, Nilfisk, Mechpro
The Car Gods foam cannon is good, but it’s no better than some other cheaper alternatives when it came to the foam it created, and it offers the standard fan- to jet nozzle settings, too. There are no measurements marked on the narrow-necked bottle, which is annoying, so you have to measure your foam-to-water mixture out separately to get an accurate mix. Ultimately, the Car Gods gun produced a decent foam, feels solidly made and does the job, but it doesn’t have the clever quick-release advantage of the Autoglym lance, and basically doesn’t do anything that cheaper options don’t offer.
What Car? Says 3 stars
NAME Sleekax Snow foam lance
Buy from Amazon
Fits: Karcher K Series
We like the Sleekax’s little rubber funnel that it comes with, to help fill the narrow-necked bottle, and the brass fixings feel solid. But the adjuster knob that alters the foam-to-water mix is very sensitive, so you only need a small twist of the dial for it to go from full foam to no foam at all. It also used up the solution more quickly than the others, here, but the foam is good and the nozzle offers the usual fan- to jet graduation. It’s okay, but the Qooltech is better at similar money.
What Car? Says 3 stars
NAME Ultimate Finish Snow Foam Cannon
Buy from Theultimatefinish.co.uk
Fits: Karcher K, Karcher HD, Nilfisk, Kranzler
The wide-necked bottle and clearly visible measurements are really good, and it has the same wide array of attachments, including a quick-release attachment similar to that on the Autoglym bottle. It produced a decent foam, too, but the Karcher adaptor on our bottle was prone to loosening as you used it, which resulted in it leaking a lot and giving out testers a wet arm. Not what you want on any snow foam lance, never mind a pricey one like this.
What Car? Says 3 stars
Karcher FJ6 foam nozzle
Fitting type: Karcher K2 – K7
The Karcher foam gun is the go-to option for many, given that Karcher dominates the home pressure washer market. But you’d be wise to shop around if you were just going to plump for the safe option, as the plastic fixtures on the Karcher gun feel lighter and cheaper than most others here. It’s also the smallest bottle, with a 0.5-litre capacity rather than the 1.0-litre capacity on every other alternative we tested. It’s useful that you can rotate the nozzle 360-degrees when it’s on the fan setting, but it didn’t manage the lasting foam coverage of the best snow foam lances here. It’s cheap, but you’re getting more for your money with most other options tested here.
What Car? Says 2 stars
