Camping/car shovel recommendations

J_mcrane

J_mcrane

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Dec 7, 2013
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I recently moved to up north from Texas and figure I should get a camping/car shovel to put in my vehicle. Ideally it would be dual purpose for camping and emergency car. Any recommendations are welcome. I've looked at cold steel, Sog and Glock. Any recommendations would be great.

John


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I keep a Glock shovel in my truck. Has served me well for years :)
 
My brother and I were given WWII Army shovels .The short shovels which were sized just right for little kids ,do have good uses today . Working indoors, laying stones for a stone walk, working is a flower garden, etc. Still have mine but my truck shovel is a Glock ! Maybe I should call it a Rock Glock !
 
+1 for the Cold Steel shovel. I also like the Aimes E-Tool, just be wary of cheap import knockoffs. When my wife was carrying the mail on a rural route I got her one of the Eddie Bauer collapsible snow shovels. It saved her a couple of times during snows.
 
I like a grain scoop. Camping with it requires snow,,and a sled to haul it, but makes quick work of a sucky situation when stuck.

snow-scoop-shovel.jpg
 
Check out the Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel. It has a sharpened edge that makes it useful as a chopping tool, and the handle can be easily replaced in the field if necessary.

cold-steel-special-forces-shovel-with-cover-13966-p.jpg
 
I have kept and used the cold steel model as my truck emergency shovel for over 20 years. It's been reliable and I see no need to replace it. In winter I throw a snow shovel in the bed of my truck because it's much more efficient than the Cold Steel one. However, I have used the cold steel one for snow.
 
You're in the snowy north now, so you have to consider what it is you're needing to shovel. If you're stuck in snow, that's one thing, mud another, and loose soil still another. E-tools are a compromise for space and weight for an infantryman. They don't really move as much material as you'll need if you're high centered in snow. But they do serve well for leisure car camping. If you have a truck, go with a full size digging shovel. For snow, make it a square end shovel or spade. If you have a car, go with a D-handled digging shovel. Go with the biggest and most material moving tool you can fit comfortably in your trunk. If your vehicle gets stuck in snow in Alberta this winter, you won't be complaining that you brought too much shovel, I promise you!

This is in my Subaru now and I think it is rather small, though it has got me unstuck a couple of times:

img-thing


Zieg
 
The question is, do you want to dig out with a spoon or a backhoe! Pick the spoon and you will be warm, too warm.
Go with the backhoe and get back on the road sooner than later. Like stated above, 'You'll never regret being over shoveled'. ;)
 
J_mcrane said:
I recently moved to up north from Texas and figure I should get a camping/car shovel to put in my vehicle. Ideally it would be dual purpose for camping and emergency car. Any recommendations are welcome. I've looked at cold steel, Sog and Glock. Any recommendations would be great.

John



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


I've lived in the Crowsnest Pass for about a year. Before that, I lived for nine years on a 4000 acre wilderness ranch about 30 miles north of here on the very edge of the mountains, adjacent to the Forestry Reserve. Before that I lived in Manitoba for decades, where I did a lot of winter camping. Here's what I've used for about 20 years ... it's in my trunk right now, along with my other emergency gear.

h??ps://www.mec.ca/en/product/2404-192/Telepro-Classic-Shovel

It's for snow ... not digging latrines or clobbering Chechen terrorists. Bombproof, inexpensive at $49, designed/made in Utah (the company's CEO and founder is named Wally ... some folks joke that the name "Voilé" is not coincidental), actually packable in three pieces ... and free shipping for $50 and over. Very easy to find other "stuff you need" on the huge MEC website, or just go to the MEC store in Calgary or Edmonton ... :)

A snippet of history ... in 1980, "sales of the Voilé Plate gave Wally the means to invent other innovations that he built in his shop like a heavy-duty 3-pin binding, and an avalanche rescue shovel Frankensteined from a shovel bought at Sears. He rounded the corners, replaced the handle, and added pop buttons to make it collapsible. Grissom says there was really nothing like it at the time, and the shovel has basically remained unchanged to this day."

Edit: This newer model is marginally longer and scoopier, and still not too expensive at $64 ...

h??ps://www.mec.ca/en/product/5049-209/TelePro-Avalanche-Shovel

Edit #2 - A hard-core opinion ... :)

http://snowboardmountaineer.com/review-voile-avalanche-shovels/
 
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A few years ago, when my employer's snowplows piled crap up around & under my Subaru Forester, I had to use my Glock E-tool to get unstuck. I like that it folds up into a nice compact package (nylon case included with the tool). Very handy, and it takes up a lot less trunk space than a full sized shovel.
 
Welcome to Canada.

I would go with a full size shovel if you have the space. If not, try that telescopic one posted by oldmanron.
I have not found etool and trenching type shovels to be very useful. I have used them and have since thrown in a regular shovel. If it is such a small amount of snow that a trenching shovel(not designed to move large amounts of snow) can get you unstuck in a reasonable amount of time then you probably just need new tires lol. How long you want to spend(and how much of it on your hands and knees with a smaller shovel) is important to consider when you are dealing with sever cold weather(another reason to avoid those cheap plastic trunk shovels that just shatter in -40). If you are looking for something to help you out in an average parking lot or city street go for what ever but if you are considering any distance or remote travel then a full size shovel is a must.
This is Canada, welcome to the big leagues of winter.
 
I bought a ridgid brand shovel at home depot 7 years ago. Mid length (45 inches total) with a D handle and full size head. The main thing I like is it has a double length socket for the handle. The socket + head length is 26". Basically full sized capability now, and i figure if the wood handle ever breaks in an emergency, the 26" remaining shovel is still as functional as any of the mini shovels
 
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I've carried one of these german shovels/entrenching tools for years in my jeep and it works great and doesn't cost very much either. You could probably find one at a military surplus store or online somewhere.

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I have a small Hyundai so I carry a Mini D Handle Shovel
Does very well and is like an entrenching tool
 
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