- Joined
- Jan 15, 2001
- Messages
- 3,792
Some years ago i started an article on e-tools, looking at them from a military application. I dug a foxhole with each shovel, dug for ten minutes, rested, measured took,photos, continued on for two more cycles for a total of thirty minutes. Only dug one foxhole a day, the soil around my home is very rocky. I tested the M1951 (with shovel and pick) the Glock, the current all metal folding e-tool, and the Cold Steel model. Later I had a chance to test the Fiskars (Gerber now) e-tool. Hands down the M1951 is the best digger of foxholes. I was 18-inches deeper at thirty minutes than the next best e-tool, the Fiskars. The Glock's shaft came apart on me twice, but I was able to re-screw the two halves together. The Glock saw is not very good as stated above. The Fiskars is better than the all steel military model, for one reason the tightening knob is up by the handle, not down by the shovel head, where it is more likely to get full of dirt. Having said all above, most folks are not digging in under fire (read an Australians report on Operation Anaconda trying to dig in with a knife and stating he would never go out again without an e-tool) and weight matters. The Glock works just fine for most applications, and that CS shovel in in my truck. I have not had to use it yet, but nice to know it is there, along with a Fiskar's hatchet, multi-tool and emergency sleeping gear. If you do not like CS there are a lot of older military e-tools very similar to the CS shovel. I have both a Hungarian e-tool and an old Finnish e-tool, same type construction, metal heads, with non-folding wooden handles. I just got my Sportsmans Guide catalog, and they are selling two East German shovels (Item H5M-608468), with 42-inch handles for $17.99 plus Shipping and Handing. I have not seen them, but from the photo , they look like they would be good truck shovels. John
