Looking for a shovel, suggestions?

M

Mikel_24

Joined
Sep 19, 2007
Messages
2,959
Hi there,
I am a climber and I already own a Black Diamond snow shovel. I has a two piece telescopic handle and aluminum scoop with ss springs. It is a nice tool for removing large quantities of ice and snow but whenever I happen to hit gravel, dirt or rocks... the edge dents badly. As you can imagine, I only carry it on snow season.

That's why I am looking for a new fixed small shovel. I plan to keep it on the trunk of my VW Cali T4 Syncro so I can use it for camp chores, dig a few holes, get me out of trouble if I happen to get stuck in the mud or whatever. I don't really plan to pack it so weight is not really an issue here but I don't want it to use up much room on my trunk. Long long ago I had the chance of handling a folding army shovel and by no means I want one of those. Things that unfold can easily fold again... on my fingers or even break. I think they are not that realiable. I hope you get the picture.

Right now I was thinking about the Cold Steel Special Forces shovel. Don't take me wrong, I am not going to throw it, I don't plan on killing anyone with it and I don't want to chop either (I have an Ontario SP8 for that... I can't find any other use for that sharpened prybar). I just looked solid and realiable.

I would really appreciate any feedback on that shovel and of course, any other suggestion would be wellcome. By the way, I have a little trouble here... I am from Spain and none of Ebay stores that stock the CS Shovel ship them overseas... help me out on that. If you happen to know about any online store that could send it here let me know.

Thanks a lot,
Mikel
 
The Special Forces shovel is a good deal; it sounds like what you're looking for. Also, Cheaper Than Dirt has good deals on some German-made surplus shovels that are somewhat small.

If you still are having trouble finding the Special Forces shovel in Spain, let me know. I may be able to get you one.
 
I can be found with either a CS Spec Forces shovel or a Glock folding shovel. I like em both about the same but the Glock gets the nod for being compact :) Both are plenty tough enough though. Also the Glock has a sawblade that screws into the handle so it adds a little extra usage.
 
I don't know if you have access to them, but I have a German surplus folding shovel/pick, and a very secure folding mechanism that locks in 90 degree increments. They still seem easy to find in the US in used, but usable condition.
 
I prefer the standard military e-tool (folding shovel). It's never let me down. I've used it damn near around the world in just about every kind of weather you can imagine in all seasons.

It's not the lightest shovel in the world for it's size but, it's also far from the heaviest.

Very compact. It can be used as a pick ,a shovel (of course) a sharpenable side to use as an axe , a serrated side for roots, etc.

Also it's strong enough to use to pry very heavy objects.

If you're looking for the "coolest,newest,fashoinable piece of gear this won't be for you. If you're looking for a serious to hell and back (IMO) piece of gear this fits the requirement.
 
I have never really cared for the US Military E Tool. Seen a lot of em break during my time in. Not always from abuse either. The other thing I didn't care for about them was how they had a tendancy to lock up if dirt/debris got into the locknut threads. Kinda bothered me that the tool couldn't take a little dirt on it. Of course your mileage may vary :)
 
The Cold Steel is pretty indestructible. I used mine as a kindling splitter and fire poker. Actually kind of useless as a shovel. Good for breaking ground and roots but it doesn't move much material. I tried using it to dig my old truck out of some snow once and it was very time consuming. I'd still get one for hard ground and keep your Black Diamond for snow.
 
Thanks a lot for all your responses. As I said long ago I had the chance of using an e-tool / trifold kind of shovel... and I really didn't feel confident, that is why I am looking for a non-folding tool. It is going to stay mainly in the trunk so I don't care much about the weight. I had a look at the Glock folding shovel but... man... ¡that thing is expensive! Somehow I thought there will be some more shovels just like the CS Special Forces Shovel... ¿is it the only known brand to have one like that?


I know there is a few surplus stores in France (don't know any here in Spain) so I may just get out of eBay and just wander on internet for awhile. I will drop and email or two to some online stores to see if they agree to ship them overseas. I will as well go visit a few hardware stores... maybe they have something I could do with even if I have to cut half of the handle and shape it a little bit. If everything fails I will come back and let you know.

Mikel
 
The Cold Steel is a nice little shovel. The varnish makes it a bit slippery so you may want to sand it down or stretch a bicycle inner tube over it. If the shovel is to be kept mainly in the car why not just bring a small garden type spade. You could even make the handle removable for portability and construct a shaft if the need arrises.
 
I have bent a Cold Steel shovel before.I think I was trying to break apart a pallet at the time.I'm not trying to trash them,just letting you know they are far from indestructable.
 
personally, i would buy a good solid shovel and cut down the handle, or just buy a short shovel. these will shovel the most efficiently, and since you said its only going to be for shoveling, you don't have to worry about not having extra utility of edge.
 
Bill Siegle said:
I have never really cared for the US Military E Tool. Seen a lot of em break during my time in. Not always from abuse either. The other thing I didn't care for about them was how they had a tendancy to lock up if dirt/debris got into the locknut threads. Kinda bothered me that the tool couldn't take a little dirt on it. Of course your mileage may vary :)
Click to expand...
Stick with the old WWII version that folds once at the shovel itself. These work great.
http://www.mooremilitaria.com/USMC Shovel.JPG
 
I just had the occasion to dig out of snow twice with my Glock folding shovel. It did not fold on me at all and considering its size it moved a respectable amount of snow. I used it while I was in the military because I greatly prefer it to the E tool. This thing can handle a ton of abuse and the saw is excellent.
 
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