The-Golden-Gark Reviews

The Golden Gark Rake: Product Review

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GPR Recommendation

Ease of Use
Quality
Performance
Final Thoughts

Featherweight, multi-use garden tool that might be the finest leaf rake I’ve used

Overall Score 4.6

Available on Amazon

Buy It

Ah, The Netherlands, home of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes,…and the Golden Gark rake.

If you’re like me, you want to know what the hashtag is a gark? Urban dictionary informed me that a gark is “a universal word that can be substituted to mean anything you want it to be” and can be used as a noun, verb, adjective, etc.

Perhaps that’s why The Golden Gark (distributed by The Root Assassin—“Unique Garden Tools That Work”) is promoted as a 3-in-1 tool: rake, shovel, and sifter. In other words, the Golden Gark can be anything you want it to be.

But does it live up to its hip hype?

SPECIFICATIONS

Weight: 1.76 pounds
Shipping Weight: 3.75 pounds
Overall Length: 62”
Materials: 20 polycarbonate tines; plastic D handle; powder-coated aluminum shaft.
Tine dimensions: 8 ½” long, 14 ¼” wide
Warranty: 1 year free-of-charge replacement (not refund)

MINIMAL ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Lifting the BIG cardboard box from my front door, I thought the shipping company had inadvertently mailed me an empty box! For the size of the box, it was shockingly lightweight.

When I opened it, my amusement continued. Here’s this featherweight product next to a shipping label with such menacing words: ROOT ASSASSIN.

The Gold Gark Pack

At first glance, I was underwhelmed.

I spent more time looking for a screwdriver than I did assembling the tool. Within 3 minutes, tool in hand, I headed outside to put it through some paces.

One screw attaches the comfortable D-handle for the shaft.

Two screws fix the head to the shaft. Plastic caps cover the tops of the screws.

A GARK BY ANY OTHER NAME…

While the Golden Gark claims to serve as a rake, shovel, and sifter, I got hung up on just the word “rake.” When I think of a rake, I think of three very different tools in my shed that I use each year: a leaf rake, a steel rake (aka, bow, common, or garden variety), and a dethatching rake. Let me say upfront that I will not be able to replace all three of these rakes with the Golden Gark. The polycarbonate tines lack the weight and rigidity to dethatch your grass. Nor will I use this in the place of a single shovel. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Besides, even given those limitations, I couldn’t help but love this little tool. Read why.

the Golden Gark

Can the Golden Gark replace all of these tools? Well…read on.

GG-in-its-natural-habitat

The Golden Gark in its natural habitat

I tested the Golden Gark to see how it would perform 4 functions:

  • A leaf rake
  • A garden rake
  • A shovel
  • A sifter

Whether pushing like a shovel or pulling like a rake, the GG delivered great results.

Test 1: A leaf rake

North Carolina might proclaim First in Flight on its license plates, but I think it could also be called the Most Leafy state. I could rake leaves from October until May and still not get them all.

My traditional leaf rake with molded-plastic tines covers 32” of ground with each sweep. The problem is, that big size tempts me to overload it until the spine joining the tines to the head cracks. I go through at least two of these rakes each season. Those spineless tines lack the strength to clear away half of the leaves in their path. The straight shaft of the old-fashioned leaf rake presents a second problem: it encourages over-reaching and unnecessary bending. I already have back pain; I’m not looking for more.

How would the Golden Gark stand up to the leaves in my yard? And how would my back hold up? I held it tine-side down like a conventional leaf rake. The slightly bent angle of the shaft exerts natural pressure on the ground from the 20 tines. A couple of gentle pulls across the ground, and the ground became leaf-free.

The Golden Gark covers less than half of the ground of my traditional plastic rake, around 14”. That smaller head size, coupled with the polycarbonate tines, creates great flexibility and strength. And the bent shaft allowed me to work from an upright position, meaning no back strain.

As a leaf rake, I loved it! Best leaf rake I’ve ever used.

Test 2: A garden rake

I often use my leaf and garden rakes to clear hedge clippings. The oversized head on leaf rakes snags on still-attached branches, and it can’t fit between the hedges to clear away clippings. While metal garden rakes don’t get snagged, they tend to displace mulch on the ground that I want to stay put.

Having recently trimmed my hedges, I put the rake on task to clear cut branches from the hedges and surrounding ground. The light weight made it easy to lift my arms above my head to clear away cut segments from the tops of the hedges, and the small head size made it easy to maneuver between hedges.

The GG left my mulch behind but allowed me to rake up and then scoop out trimmings.

Flipping the tool like a scoop (which is a better description than “shovel”), I pushed it along the ground where it had no problem getting under pine cones, needles, twigs, Sweet Gum balls, etc. Normally, I use a garden rake to take on this sort of debris. The strong, metal tines stand up to anything I’m strong enough to pull; however, the short tines mean it clogs up quickly and has to be cleaned out.

In no time, I created a neat pile. Like with my metal rake, the tines became clogged with pine cones and Sweet Gum balls, but not as quickly.

One thing I can’t do with the Golden Gark that I can do with my metal garden rake is feed a fire. A couple of times each year, I burn twigs and branches in my fire pit. Sticking the polycarbonate head of the rake into the fire would be bad for the rake…and the environment.

Even though this tool can’t stand the heat of a fire, I really liked it as a garden rake.

Using it as a scoop, it skims the ground picking up pine cones and sweet gum balls with ease.

 

Test 3: A shovel

Golden Gark claims it’s a 3:1 tool, doing the work of a rake, shovel, and sifter. As I mentioned earlier, I like the term “scoop” instead of “shovel.” Why? You will not be digging holes in your yard or loading gravel into a wheelbarrow using the Golden Gark as a shovel. It’s not that kind of shovel. But you can push leaves, pine cones, and debris into a pile with ease. That’s a scoop. From there, you can scoop debris into a trash can or wheelbarrow. I’ll bet you could use this as a snow scoop, too.

It’s not a hoe, but it removed fast-growing spring weeds by the roots.

Standing upright, I pushed the pile of material 5 feet away to the edge of the woods. I’ve broken quite a few plastic leaf rakes doing this same thing. But this time, nothing broke! And because of its light weight, I cleared a large patch of ground quickly and with no fatigue.

Eying the pile of double-ground mulch in my backyard, I wondered how it would hold up to something heavier. Using a combination of pushing like a shovel and pulling like a rake, I quickly spread two yards. The light weight came in handy again. I didn’t get tired. No, you can’t lift up a scoopful of mulch with the Golden Gark, but the design makes it easy to push it along the ground to dump it into place.

As an added bonus, running the tool along the ground as a scoop pulled short-rooted spring weeds up like magic.

As a shovel (again, scoop!) tasked with moving piles of garden debris, I liked the Golden Gark.

Test 4: A sifter

My wife recently hoed and turned our raised garden beds. Flipping the rake around as a shovel, I scooped up a section of earth and shook it from side-to-side. Sure enough, the non-compacted soil fell through the tines, and I was left with a scoop of balled up dirt and rocks. It reminded me of cleaning out a litter box, something I have too much experience doing.

The GG easily sifts out topsoil from rocks, dirt clods, and weeds.

A few days later, I tried the Golden Gark as a pond skimmer. Full-disclosure: I haven’t cleaned my pond for a couple of years, ever since the pump died. Or maybe that’s why the pump died. Either way, my pond held equal parts of scum and water. To get it running again, I needed to clean out the muck. Skimming the top of the pond, I quickly filtered off the layer of floating debris. Then I flipped it around to scoop from the bottom.

The GG excels as a pond cleaner/skimmer.

It’s mean on filth, but gentle on liners and pond wildlife

Did I mention it’s been a few years since I cleaned out my pond? Several inches of sludge sat at the bottom. The tines sagged and bent under the weight of filth. Instead of lifting it out, I slid the scoop across the bottom of the pond—without damaging the liner—and slipped the full rake out.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, “Why lift when you can slide?” The Garden Gark proved much more efficient than my little net skimmer and much safer on the liner than a shovel!

As a sifter/strainer/pond cleaner, I loved the Golden Gark.

WARRANTY

Golden Gark

Strong yet flexible, meaning the GG springs back from abuse

Root Assassin LLC stands by every product they sell. If for any reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, they will replace the item free of charge within 1 year of purchase.

RECOMMENDATION

The Golden Gark is promoted as a 3-in-1 tool: rake, shovel, and sifter – and it does a fine job of all three. Sure, the Golden Gark costs more than your ordinary plastic leaf rake ($19 to $33), your garden variety—pun intended—metal garden rake ($20 to $45), or your typical pond skimmer ($18 to $30). But having tested it rigorously, my search for a leaf (and medium-duty garden rake) and pond skimmer that will last longer than one season is over!

WHERE TO BUY

You can purchase the Golden Gark for $44.99 directly from Root Assassin or through Amazon (best deal is with Prime membership with free next day shipping).

Price Reduction
Rake Assassin
3-in-1 tool: rake, shovel, and sifter.

Last update on 2024-03-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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5 Comments on The Golden Gark Rake: Product Review

  1. Brad McKinley

    The grip cannot be attached to the handle. The slot is too short for the screw to go through the hole. After many attempts to fix the problem, I finally resorted to super glue. Very disappointed. I don’t have time for this kind of problem.

  2. Judith Koester

    I have a Golden Gark with a red handle and I love it. We have acorns by the many thousands and this rake is amazing at cleaning up. My friend saw mine and asked if I would get him one. I did but it had a yellow handle. He used it twice and the bottom rake part split in two. It appears that the plastic cracked and had a smooth side to it. I have photos and the rake. Both were purchased in a QVC presentation. They no longer carry your rake as far as I can see on their site. My friend is so sad as he really thinks this to be great. We both believe that this one rake might just be a “lemon”. I would like a rake to replace the broken one. Please contact me. Thank you Judith

    • Jack Hemingway

      Dear Judith,
      We’re sorry to hear about your yellow handled rake. I contacted the manufacturer of the red handled Golden Gark. They never produced a yellow handled version BUT they have decided to give you a FREE red handle Golden Gark. Please contact them via this email: [email protected] and let them know that you spoke with me. They know all about your situation.
      Thanks for being a loyal follower of the Gardening Products Review.
      Sincerely yours,
      Jack

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