Cobra Supreme Guzzler Vs. the ShamWow

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Review of the Cobra Supreme Guzzler Vs. the ShamWow

Lets take a look at some of the basic information for each towel first.

ShamWow:
Cost, About $9.99 for two (price various from place to place)
Size, 20 Inches X 23.5 Inches

Cobra Supreme Guzzler:
Cost, $19.99 (from autogeek)
Size, 20 Inches X 40 Inches

Photos of the towels can be found here, Cobra Supreme Guzzler Vs. ShamWow - Imgur

Review Process:
For each towel I have provided a video and a description of what I think of it. Before each video the hood of the car was sprayed with a mist of distilled water and then I sprayed a light amount of Chemical Guys P40 (detailing spray) on to the hood. I like to spray P40 on the car before drying it just to add some lubrication and to prevent scratching/swirling of the paint. Also note that the hood of this car has been waxed and cleaned recently.

ShamWow:
Video of the ShamWow test can be found here, Review of the ShamWow Towel - YouTube

As you can see in the video the ShamWow towel does absorb some of the water off of the car, but does not dry the vehicle completely.

I have owned and used the ShamWow towels for about 6 months and it has been my findings that while the ShamWow does absorb some of the water off the car it does not come close to "drying the vehicle" I would estimate that it really only picks up about 50% of the water off of the car. For some reason I did find that brand new ShamWow towels do not seem to absorb as much water as one that has been washed. However I have also found that after just a few washes (two to three) following the manufactures directions that the towels seem to leave a LOT of orange lint on the car. I also find that the towels are not very soft so in the off chance that you missed a spot while cleaning the car I find that the ShamWow has a very high risk of scratching the paint on the car. While I prefer to air dry my microfiber towels it is nice knowing that I can dry them on low heat for a short amount of time to speed the drying process up unfortunately it has been my experience that any amount of heat and time in the dryer renders the ShamWow completely useless and must be thrown out must of the time.

Due to the above issues the overall lacking of anything positive to say about the ShamWow I would not recommend anyone to use this towel on there car.

Cobra Supreme Guzzler:
Video of the Cobra Supreme Guzzler test can be found here, Review of the Cobra Supreme Guzzler Towel - YouTube

As you can see in the video the Supreme Guzzler has no issues absorbing 100% of the water that is on the hood of the car.

I have used this towel around six times now and have found with each use that it has no issues absorbing 100% of the water on my Volvo S60. Due to its large size I would also say that it could easily dry a full size SUV with no issues. While I have not had the towel for an extended period of time I have washed the towel twice and have not witnessed any issues with the material. Unlike the ShamWow you can dry this towel on low heat for a short amount of time however I would recommend that you allow all of your microfiber towels to air dry. I do find the Supreme Guzzler to be much softer then the ShamWow which helps to reduce scratching in the event that you missed something while cleaning the car however due to its waffle weave construction I would say that there is still a medium to high risk of scratching the car with this towel.

Once again I have not had this towel for very long, but from what I am seeing so far I really like it. There are numerous reviews on this towel all positive and I am incline to agree with them. Due to this I would recommend this as a great towel for drying your car/truck/SUV.
 
Nice review you put together, it makes it more clear that cobra is the better choice
 
The Original ShamWow is sold at my local 99 Cents Only stores around the California Bay Area. Exact same as the ones that were on TV informercials. Lints like hell and doesn't absorb water very well, even though it is wet like it is supposed to be used.
 
Mikertt said:
The Original ShamWow is sold at my local 99 Cents Only stores around the California Bay Area. Exact same as the ones that were on TV informercials. Lints like hell and doesn't absorb water very well, even though it is wet like it is supposed to be used.
Click to expand...

Yes, they can be found all over the place... I bought 8 of them in a sealed box at a yard sale for about $1.00 last summer, lol. I have read where people said that you need to make the towel wet, however the directions that came with the ones that I have did not seem to indicate this. Although I did not see where it made any difference and when I tried this it made it so I was unable to dry an entire car without having to change to another towel. Washing the towel once before using it seemed to have the largest positive affect for me.
 
Great review and just shows what terrible marketing Shamwow really is.

I typically blow dry cars, however i will use a microfiber drying towel to touch up spots.

Thanks!
 
I remember when "Vince the Sham Wow Man" was released from his interment due to his escapade of:
Face-Punching a certain-"Pro"...just in time to plug one of his new toys.

With that in mind:
Perhaps this thread could be made a "Schticky"?!?!

Bob
 
Thanks for the review! I have a Guzzler too, and I have a question about it. When it gets full of water, you are supposed to wring it out like a chamois right?
 
GreatAvalon said:
Thanks for the review! I have a Guzzler too, and I have a question about it. When it gets full of water, you are supposed to wring it out like a chamois right?
Click to expand...

So the short answer to your question, yes I would think that you would be able to simply wring it out quality microfiber is very strong and I see no reason why this would hurt it.

Long answer...
The Guzzler comes in a few sizes the one that I have and that was used for this test is the Supreme from the photos here Cobra Supreme Guzzler Vs. ShamWow - Imgur you can see that it is pretty large. Given the size of it and the size of my car (Volvo S60) I have not had a need to wring it out, I just simply use it and let it air dry overnight. As stated above I don't see any reason why you could not wring it out once it has become fully saturated and keep using it, but this is not something that I have tested my self.

Lets see if anyone else has any questions regarding the Guzzler and what I will do is create a follow up post and test to see what happens.
 
arisking said:
Wouldn't the ShamWow marr the paint like crazy?
Click to expand...

cleanmycorolla said:
I'd never let and shamwow touch my car, kudos to you for doing that!
Click to expand...

So my long term test results for this product were conducted on an older Saturn that was not in the greatest condition...

That being said I used a LOT of caution when using the ShamWow as it does not have a thick napp and its not very "soft" at all. For the demo videos that you see I used my Volvo that had a very clean surface and a highly waxed surface so there was no marring. If there is one thing to take away from this review it would be NOT to use the ShamWow simply due to the risk of scratching the paint I did this simply for testing, in controlled conditions.
 
Isn't the ShamWow suppose to be damp in order for it to work as advertised? I thought I read that somewhere. Could be mistaken, but maybe that's why it didn't perform that well?
 
RubbishReview said:
...I have read where people said that you need to make the towel wet, however the directions that came with the ones that I have did not seem to indicate this. Although I did not see where it made any difference and when I tried this it made it so I was unable to dry an entire car without having to change to another towel. Washing the towel once before using it seemed to have the largest positive affect for me.
Click to expand...

StangFan25 said:
Isn't the ShamWow suppose to be damp in order for it to work as advertised? I thought I read that somewhere. Could be mistaken, but maybe that's why it didn't perform that well?
Click to expand...

See above quote, someone else asked the same thing... Also to add to that if you go to the ShamWow site https://www.shamwow.com/ it clearly states that the towel will work wet or dry.
 
RubbishReview said:
So the short answer to your question, yes I would think that you would be able to simply wring it out quality microfiber is very strong and I see no reason why this would hurt it.

Long answer...
The Guzzler comes in a few sizes the one that I have and that was used for this test is the Supreme from the photos here Cobra Supreme Guzzler Vs. ShamWow - Imgur you can see that it is pretty large. Given the size of it and the size of my car (Volvo S60) I have not had a need to wring it out, I just simply use it and let it air dry overnight. As stated above I don't see any reason why you could not wring it out once it has become fully saturated and keep using it, but this is not something that I have tested my self.

Lets see if anyone else has any questions regarding the Guzzler and what I will do is create a follow up post and test to see what happens.
Click to expand...

Ok great! My LSP has been 100% worn off my DD this winter, so when I water sheet dry it doesn't run that well. So that being said, my Guzzler was completely soaked by drying half my roof with it. Perhaps I got a too small of size one too.

Again, thanks for the info and for the review!
 
RubbishReview said:
So my long term test results for this product were conducted on an older Saturn that was not in the greatest condition...

That being said I used a LOT of caution when using the ShamWow as it does not have a thick napp and its not very "soft" at all. For the demo videos that you see I used my Volvo that had a very clean surface and a highly waxed surface so there was no marring. If there is one thing to take away from this review it would be NOT to use the ShamWow simply due to the risk of scratching the paint I did this simply for testing, in controlled conditions.
Click to expand...

Controlled conditions???
 
Andr3wilson said:
Controlled conditions???
Click to expand...

1. Car had been waxed about a week before.
2. Car had been washed/cleaned prior to doing the test.
3. ShamWow and Guzzler were both clean.
4. Used Chemical Guys P40 as a lubricant.

The only thing that could have scratched the hood was the fibers from each towel and I was not concerned about the Guzzler and I allowed both towels to simply glide over the car, no force was used. May not be 100% controlled conditions, but I felt the risk was acceptable. I can tell you that while doing this test the ShamWow did not put any noticeable scratches on the car.

Step 4 above is really an important step in preventing scratches when drying your car... What I do is after washing the car (while it is sill wet) I will spray the car down with Chemical Guys P40 Detailing Spray and then dry the car. I find that not only does this help to lubricate the car and prevent scratched, but it also helps with water spots.
 
RubbishReview said:
1. Car had been waxed about a week before.
2. Car had been washed/cleaned prior to doing the test.
3. ShamWow and Guzzler were both clean.
4. Used Chemical Guys P40 as a lubricant.

The only thing that could have scratched the hood was the fibers from each towel and I was not concerned about the Guzzler and I allowed both towels to simply glide over the car, no force was used. May not be 100% controlled conditions, but I felt the risk was acceptable. I can tell you that while doing this test the ShamWow did not put any noticeable scratches on the car.

Step 4 above is really an important step in preventing scratches when drying your car... What I do is after washing the car (while it is sill wet) I will spray the car down with Chemical Guys P40 Detailing Spray and then dry the car. I find that not only does this help to lubricate the car and prevent scratched, but it also helps with water spots.
Click to expand...

How is that any different than drying your car normally??

Controlling the environment would be doing inside where wind can't blow dust, sun won't heat the paint, and a hundred other different angles.

You do understand that the only thing similar between MF and shamwow is they are both a type of polyester.

You can't came it didn't mar without before and after pictures with exact same light and angle on a near perfect surface.

If you can't correct your car, at least do the CD test or something legit before claiming it won't mar.

I can promise you I would never use one on my car!
 
Andr3wilson said:
How is that any different than drying your car normally??

Controlling the environment would be doing inside where wind can't blow dust, sun won't heat the paint, and a hundred other different angles.

You do understand that the only thing similar between MF and shamwow is they are both a type of polyester.

You can't came it didn't mar without before and after pictures with exact same light and angle on a near perfect surface.

If you can't correct your car, at least do the CD test or something legit before claiming it won't mar.

I can promise you I would never use one on my car!
Click to expand...

See below...

"How is that any different than drying your car normally??"
Depends on how you dry your car normally and if the car is waxed or not?

"Controlling the environment would be doing inside where wind can't blow dust, sun won't heat the paint, and a hundred other different angles."
I agree with what your saying 100%, there are tons of "conditions" that one could control for such a test and lots of variables. However I also made no claim to have accounted for all of them just the ones that I could control so it was controlled, just not everything.

"You do understand that the only thing similar between MF and shamwow is they are both a type of polyester."
I am not sure where you are going with this, more details please.

"You can't came it didn't mar without before and after pictures with exact same light and angle on a near perfect surface."
I clearly indicated in the original post that I would not recommend using them due to there risk of scratching the paint. I was just simply stating that in this particular case I did not notice any scratches on my Volvo. Plus at the end of the day its just advice one persons view point it was never mint to be scientific fact, is anything on this site scientific fact?

"I can promise you I would never use one on my car!"
Since you seem to be all about the facts with out proof of this I simply can not believe you... lol
 
Any reason why you aren't blotting the paint with the Guzzler to
further avoid marring/swirls? Just my 2 cents. :buffing:
 
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