Product Review: Metro Vacuums Blaster SideKick Blower
by Zach McGovernMany people would agree that drying your vehicle is the most tedious part of routine maintenance. Quality drying towels, like the DI Waffle Weave Towel, do a great job absorbing the remaining water from the surface of your vehicle, but it is the water that you cannot easily see that makes the task of drying your vehicle so difficult.
Water will find its way into every crack & crevice of your vehicle, and can slowly drip from these areas leaving unsightly water spots on your nice clean car. Some of the most notable trouble areas that I’m sure most every car owner can relate to are the side mirrors, door handles, gas cap cover, and the trunk area that continuously drip water. No matter how many times you blot up the water in these areas with your towel, it seems there is more water that will drip out of it as soon as you look away. Luckily, there is a quick and easy tool to help solve this issue. Enter the Metro Blaster Sidekick Blower.
The Metro Blaster Sidekick is a small, hand held blower that moves a serious amount of air for such a compact piece of equipment. While this tool may not be the best choice for drying an entire vehicle, it is the perfect choice for removing water from all of those cracks and crevices that cause so much trouble. Another fantastic use for the Sidekick is drying wheels and tires. It can be a real chore to dry wheels by hand due to their complex designs and tight crevices, such as lug nuts, where water will accumulate and eventually drip out of.
Check out this short video that demonstrates how the Master Blaster Sidekick makes quick work of drying wheels and tires, as well as removing water from all of the crevices of your vehicle.
I highly recommend this tool for any detailing enthusiast or professional who is seeking a quick and easy way to eliminate those annoying water spots from water in all of the hard to reach places. The sidekick is so small and convenient, it is much less cumbersome to use than a traditional leaf blower, and (in my opinion) it works better too!
Note: If you are seeking a tool to blow dry your entire vehicle, not just the smaller areas, there is no better choice than the full size 8HP Master Blaster.
I own a black Ram 1500. Like you stated in your blog, I no sooner get done drying it off, turn my back and start putting all of my cleaning items away, water starts running down both my drivers side and passenger side doors from the mirrors and door handles. It also runs down my tailgate from the latch, through the Ram emblem. Annoying! I’ve been thinking about buying one of these for a while and frankly after reading this blog and watching the video, i’ll more than likely place my order tonight!
Definitely a great tool to have!
hi zach ! i use an echo leaf blower to dry the whole car and as long as it has a good coat of wax on it works real good.my concern is it detrimental to be forcing water into all those little gaps????or is it worse to be dragging a ‘super soft drying towel’ over it? and what about the acidity of the blower air?…..maybe i think too much. interested in you’re response.thanks..john.
Hi John, I would not be concerned at all with either of the scenarios you mentioned. Regarding “forcing water into all those little gaps”, the water will always follow the path of least resistance, therefore it will flow from the cracks and not be trapped in them, which is why blowers are effective tools for drying as they remove the water from these areas. Also, I am certainly not an expert, but I do not believe air really has a pH value… I assume it is dictated mostly by the moisture in the atmosphere. With that being said, I do not see how blowing air onto the vehicle will have more of an effect on it (from a pH point of view) than simply leaving your vehicle parked outside. I would not be concerned at all.
Zach, do you think that this unit could dry off an entire vehicle, or just mirrors, lug nuts, door handles?
Could it? Technically, sure, why not… it blows air. Is it reasonable? To me, no. It would take quite a bit of time and effort to blow dry an entire vehicle with this (especially when you know what the full size master blaster is capable of 🙂 ). So with that being said, I would point you to the much more powerful 8HP Master Blaster if you are looking for the absolute best vehicle blow dryer on the market. My typical workflow for my rinseless wash maintenance routine is to wash my car, dry with a waffle weave microfiber, and then use the side kick to clean up excess water in cracks and crevices.