You can't shovel but you just picked up 180 pounds, watch your back! A 2 stage in comparison to a 3 stage or a 1 stage? I wouldn't bother with a 1 stage since they can become useless in a wet snow and don't cut into the plow berms all that well, a 2 stage is better at getting that done. I don't know anyone with a 3 stage yet, they look interesting though.