Snow shovel recommendations

[Beck]

those companion probes are totally lame pieces of equipment, plus when you're scrambling to get the probe out of your shovel in the heat of an emergency, the shovel blade goes skittering to the bottom of the debris pile.

Whoever thinks a shovel works WELL as a stove holder is full of crap, even a foam pad is better. the shovel, you're going to want that available anyway while you're cooking so you can get more clean snow or custom out your kitchen.

Don't buy a plastic shovel unless you never intend to use it to move avalanche debris.

[mattp]

Whoever thinks a shovel works WELL as a stove holder is full of crap, even a foam pad is better.

 

Roger that. Bring a small piece of the thinnest plywood you can find.

[snoboy]

I tried that on one of my first winter camping trips (shovel as stove pad). Boy was I hungry by the time the snow cave was dug!

[Scott_J]

I'd get and have a metal blade shovel with extendable shaft and D grip. T grip is silly and uncomfortable for moving large amounts of snow.

 

Anything short shafted is going to make the digging less efficient. The extra weight is nothing to me and I like lightweight stuff.

 

If it comes with a probe great.

I agree absolutely with Caveman. I also looked at the weights of some plastic shovels and they were more than some metal models.

[Nick]

SOS snow shovels are the best designed and sturdiest that I have used. The curves in the forged blades make the blades exceptionally strong. All of the several handles and blades are interchangeable AND sold seperately, so you can buy an ultra light full sized blade (or a slightly heavier and cheaper blade that is still very good) and choose between a short one peice handle or a long telescoping handle, or you can buy both types of handle and take whatever seems right on a given trip. This is one of the biggest blades and strongest shovels, but it is still lighter than many other shovels.