Do you carry a shovel in your BOB?

I carry a small metal garden trowel that I picked up at home depot for about 6 bucks does fits nicely in my pack, does all the diging I ask of it, keep a snpw shovel in the truck as well
 
Has anybody triend out the Glock tool or the Fiskars tri-fold? Both of those look well worth the cheddar. I like the Glock just because it's lighter. The saw feature is cool also. One more thing to throw out of the camping pack.
 
I have been using a EZ-Bagger Sandbag shovel, its light weight, won't rust, durable, wide mouth and if it's hard dirt I break the surface with my bolo and then use the shovel. It works good for snow, sand and dirt.


http://cgi.ebay.com/EZ-Bagger-Sandb...QQcategoryZ303QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

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For the BOB I use my military trifold E-tool. It is not the lightest, but it is fairly compact. My BOB has more of my rugged (read "heavier") equipment. The lighter stuff goes into the day pack for hiking.

I like the u-dig-it and want to get one soon. The soil around here is rocky and I don't think the plastic/nylon shovels would do very well.
 
I keep an older e-tool in my bag. It's got the wood handle and the pick-axe option. It's heavy, but very solid. I figure I can drop/leave it depending on the situation if I need to loose some weight.
 
I have the Fiskers folding shovel, overall I like it and have used it for cleaning out fire pits, digging "gutters" around the tent during downpours, and in the garden transplanting trees etc.

We have the collapsing shovels in each vehicle for winter travel like the ones at REI. Great investment and have never failed yet.

I am partial to the Cold Steel shovel. Nice tool, fairly light and have used it for chopping wood and removing dead falls on the logging road to the deer camp - but I wished I had a real ax for that one. But it's a pain to take with a pack unless you know you will really need it.
 
Depending on the pack, either a U-dig-it or a nylon trowel. For the car, a standard shovel with the handle cut down to so it fits- not the best scoop for snow, but it can cut through crust and chip through ice.
 
I use a Swiss Army surplus shovel and leather belt sheath that I bought from CTD about 3 years ago.
 
skammer said:
I chop a stick out of wood from all around me and make a diging stick. Leave the trowel at home. 1 less thing.

Skam
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I've tried this, but never could get a stick that would dig worth squat. I finally gave up and carry a 99 cent plastic trowel after ruining the edge 2 or 3 times on my knives. When you have a kid doing the potty dance, you gotta move quick.... :D
 
sodak said:
I've tried this, but never could get a stick that would dig worth squat. I finally gave up and carry a 99 cent plastic trowel after ruining the edge 2 or 3 times on my knives. When you have a kid doing the potty dance, you gotta move quick.... :D
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VERY TRUE! But you do only need to dig 3-4 inches, you can almost scrape with your boot deep enough for that.

Potty dance is panic time I understand.

Skam
 
Serrinon said:
Great thread, it's definitely got me thinking, but now I have to choose ;)

Hummmm u-dig-it or Gerber.....

Gerber looks stronger, but it weighs a lot more, might go with the u-dig-it.
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I have a Gerber trifold. I keep mine on my ATV. It is a great tool but it seems heavy for a BOB unless you know you will need to do some serious digging. I have seen the U dig it tool and it is a very different tool. It is much smaller but very well built. Due to cost and weight I would probably use one of the nylon backpacker trowels and use a stick to loosen hard or rocky soil.
 
bigox said:
I have a Gerber trifold. I keep mine on my ATV. It is a great tool but it seems heavy for a BOB unless you know you will need to do some serious digging. I have seen the U dig it tool and it is a very different tool. It is much smaller but very well built. Due to cost and weight I would probably use one of the nylon backpacker trowels and use a stick to loosen hard or rocky soil.
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Thank you for the input!!
 
CorpsmanUP! said:
i carry the cold steel special forces shovel based off the spetznaz shovel in my tool box in my truck.
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+ 1 for this in my wife's jeep. I've used it a couple of times and it's a great vehicle shovel. I cleaned up the sharpened edge. I used it to de-limb a small tree and it worked great. I've also used it to dig out a spot to place a jack.
 
lukus said:
+ 1 for this in my wife's jeep. I've used it a couple of times and it's a great vehicle shovel. I cleaned up the sharpened edge. I used it to de-limb a small tree and it worked great. I've also used it to dig out a spot to place a jack.
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+2 or is it 3?:D I have the cold steel shovel too and was actually very impressed! Pretty Sturdy!
 
I carry a special forces shovel in my truck tool box. Short, sturdy, can be used for chopping, throwing, cooking, oh ya, and digging. might be a bit heavy for packing (unless you were carrying it instead of an axe).
 
I've been too many places where there wasn't any decent wood for crafting a digging stick; and searching for a decent rock was too time consuming. For the lightest option a small plastic trowel is simple, doesn't take up too much room and weight is acceptable; Fiskars does/did make a great little "nyglass" trowel that is quite durable. The U-Dig-It is robust, but pretty heavy, but it does allow you to move hot coals around for your dutch oven. Another (very expensive) option is the titanium spade. I picked one up several years ago (when they were much cheaper). They have a longer attached wooden handle which gives you a little more leverage and reach...for family trips, it's usually what goes along as the "crew-served" digger. Are they a necessity? No, but they do make some backpacking functions much more convenient and a little more efficient.

ROCK6
 
Me too for the C.S. Spetznatz knockoffs. I actually got one of the Russian surplus ones and the C.S. was better fit and finish and better quality steel. Sharpen up the edges. Works well for S.D. also!
 
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