I'm planning to buy a cube shaver in the next couple of weeks, for use out at Burning Man.

I don't see any mention of Snowie brand cube shavers. They're quite a bit more expensive than the others: $2350 or so for the 3/4 hp machine, vs $1550 for Hawaii's Finest (Gold Medal model 1047). Hatsuyuki and Swan also have cube shavers for a bit more than the Gold Medal brand.

Has anyone here compared the quality of the snow between the Snowie and the others? What about the quality of construction, etc.?

One thing I do like about the Gold Medal one is their "Maximicer", which is a tube that sits high on top that holds an additional 20 pounds of ice, and the ice spins as the machine works.

Yeah, they are not really that popular in the shave ice world. Majority of the people out there uses SWANS, FUJIMARCAS, and HATSUYUKI's. These three are more reliable and easier to repair to me than SNOWIE's. That is just my own opinion. Especially as you say, the cost wise too.

Ok, so I did end up going with the Snowie 3000 machine, and thought I would post a report.

I've had ice from a Gold Medal 1888 which I own, a Gold Medal 1800 ("Band Shaver"), a Hawaii's Finest 1027 (also by Gold Medal), a couple of block ice shavers that I own (a Hatsuyuki and a Swan manual knockoff from eBay), and the Snowie.

Block shavers with properly adjusted blades aside: The Snowie produces far-and-away the finest quality ice. It's unmistakably snow, and while there is the occasional granule, it's a damn-near perfect shave ice. Yes, block shavers do produce an even higher quality if you're careful, but this machine is pretty remarkable.

FWIW, I'd rank the other machines on order from lowest to highest quality: Gold Medal 1888 (old fashioned sno kone machine), Gold Medal 1800, Hawaii's Finest 1024, Snowie, on a pretty linear gradient. However, the 1027 is *slow*, and the Snowie is like a fire-hose.

I haven't had a chance to try the Hatsuyuki/Swan/Fujimarka, but their design looks like the Hawaii's Finest: Turning cubes over a fixed pair of blades. The Snowie uses a large band with many small openings.