Shovels

[marylou]

Besides skillzz, which is an ongoing project, I am now almost outfitted for the BC. One thing I still need to get is a shovel. Any thoughts on types, materials, brands?

[Crackbolter]

Tele bobcat with a saw. They weight quite a bit but are worth it when your really need to dig.

[ken4ord]

I forget who makes it but there is one that has a t-handle that is really sweet. You can either set it up like a regular shovel or you can set it up like a scoop. It light and is about the same price as all the others.

 

 

Well I guess it is a little on the expensive side, but it is light and great design. Check it out.

Edited December 26, 2003 by ken4ord

[cracked]

Buy aluminum, I know too many people who don't like plastic. I've got a BD Tele Lynx, which is very small and light. I'll go a bit bigger next time. I've also used a Voile shovel, which works just as well.

[HRoark]

I've also been told to get a shovel with a metal blade. Of course, I was told this AFTER I bought one with a plastic blade.

[murraysovereign]

Agreed - Lexan is for water bottles.

[thelawgoddess]

i've got the ortovox that ken4ord is talking about and it has worked fine for me. some say a metal blade is better because it will bite into harder snow easier than a plastic one. and a bigger blade will dig faster. but the plastic blades really work just fine ... and are lighter. and i don't know of anybody who has broken one.

 

you might think about what you want it for and go from there. otherwise, just get one that's within your budget.

[marylou]

No, really, I would like to do better than that. I want to get something that is good, and will last me a long time. Hopefully it will make the work of digging a pit as easy as it can be.

 

Budget is a poor standard for buying gear, IMO.

[EddieE]

I know a couple of cases where plastic shovels broke. The weight savings is not that much - go with metal. If you're using it just for skiing, going with a smaller one is okay. If it's going with you on expeditions - get a bigger one.

[griz]

Plastic blades are good for digging out burried tents 'cuz metal blades ends get chewed up and can shred your tent like a knife. Plastic is also good where the odds are you won't be using them (like digging people out or other emergencies)and going light is better.

 

If you are doing day in/ day out mountaineering where you need to move allot of snow for sure or will be digging in the bulletproof shit then a big aluminum blade is the way to go with out a doubt. Plastic is USELESS in the bullet proof stuff.

[cracked]

But if plastic is useless in bulletproof stuff, how do you expect to dig someone out of avy debris?

[ken4ord]

But if plastic is useless in bulletproof stuff, how do you expect to dig someone out of avy debris?

 

I am sure they are talking about old frozen cement. They type of stuff you might run into when digging out a snow cave. That is the only stuff that I have had trouble digging in with my lexan bladed shovel, but even with an aluminum blade it is still going to be slow going and quite the work out.

[To_The_Top]

If your looking for a shovel for the Pacific Northwest, go aluminum (own both plastic and metal) with a D-handle (easier grip), with extendable shaft. For BC skiing you would want to have something to dig out in the event of an avalanche that can go through hard packed debris. Pro Mountian had a bunch, and they were pretty lightweight.

[griz]

But if plastic is useless in bulletproof stuff, how do you expect to dig someone out of avy debris?

 

I define bulletproof as the shit you run into at 17k on Denali where you need a stick of dynamite to get your snowstakes out. Avy debris depends on snow conditions. Will a plastic be right for every condtion? Fuck no. But it will be better than nothing most of the time and they are light. If I only had 1 shovel to use then I'd just get a big aluminum blade, for sure. But if I'm going out in CO for some snowshoeing or a weekend winter camping trip then I'll feel pretty comfortable with a lightweight plastic one, ya know? You can carry a 9lb driveway shovel for all I care, if that makes you feel safer but I hate weight and feel it creates its own dangers.

[snoboy]

Get the shovel that you would want your partner to have.

 

If your partner shows up with something that you think is too flimsy, offer to trade.

[iain]

I like the lifelink metal ones, the black one. Don't skip on scoop size (though some of those things are enormous). I guess I haven't tried other shovels too much, but a medium-sized metal one seems to work well. I attached a strap to the handle and shovle so I can ski with just it and a probe duct-taped to it when yo-yoing.

[iain]

here it is:

 

but $45 now? what a rip. go to canadian tire and pick up a driveway scooper! looks like life-link has a nerdy gizmo that replaces my duct tape deal I said above. In fact, they even badmouth the duct tape deal.

[thelawgoddess]

No, really, I would like to do better than that. I want to get something that is good, and will last me a long time. Hopefully it will make the work of digging a pit as easy as it can be.

 

Budget is a poor standard for buying gear, IMO.

 

in some cases, buying something you can afford is better than not buying anything at all. i'd feel fine skiing with someone who bought a decent lexan shovel than with someone who didn't have a shovel at all because they were saving up for a titanium one that comes with its own russian bodybuilder to operate it for them.

[HRoark]

 

THey have that? Is that in the REI catalog next to the backcountry margarita mixer?

[thelawgoddess]

I attached a strap to the handle and shovle so I can ski with just it and a probe duct-taped to it when yo-yoing.

 

are you strapping this to your back somehow or ... ?

[girlclimber]

yeah, i think he slings the strap across his chest so the shovel/probe duo is on his back.

 

definitely recommend the D-grip. they're much more comfortable when digging, but can be a bit tougher to put on your pack if you're using the regular ice-ax loop. my dad has a life-link and i have an off brand i got for $35 on sale, and they've performed equally well.

[Beck]

whatever shovel you get, attach some way to carry it on your back and a way to attach the probe to handle (I use the rubber bands you get with broccoli and elastic 5/8" bungie as the shoulder straps) as a go tool- you want to drop your pack at a safe zone if possible before going out on a beacon search and is the way to have your shovel during those yo yos

 

and plastic shovels break, are NOT that much lighter, and can't be used to hammer the s*** out of pickets or your tentmate nearly as well as ANY shovel with a metal blade.

 

there isn't any real debate with the shovels, eh? But do get the snowsaw in the handle if possible... plus, used shovels can be found cheap, i got a Voile Telepro for twenty bucks last season because second ascent didn't realize the spring clip had worked its way UP into the handle.... they had it marked 'as is' for a Jackson and I knocked the spring out with a few quick raps with my palm before buying it!

Edited December 27, 2003 by Beck

[snoboy]

Some of them have a woodsaw in the handle. Works as a snow saw, and also good for making splints or cutting firewood.

 

Most of the saws in handle that I have seen are too short for real snow pit work.

[Beck]

Naw, the saw, plus the shovel handle, plus your arm length, is pretty sufficient in most snowpacks to cut everything except the back side of a rutschblock- bring a knotted cord to cut bigger blocks of snow. Use a ski if you need a smooth snowpit face , then use with a soft brush to accentuate the layers in the snowpack... you can always use an evergreen bough as a brush, if available...

[snoboy]

I meant more the length of the blade can be a little lacking for cutting out a shovel shear block that should be 35-40cm upslope, need like a 45 or 50cm blade for that. Jamming a shovel handle in there can knock it apart, and I find they don't cut crust that well (the handles that is).

 

Also if I want to do multiple shovel tests, then I don't wanna be taking the handle of the shovel off to cut the block, then back on to do the test, then back off to cut it, then back on... And no, I don't always have a buddie along.

 

I just use shovel and glove for everything else, I like the evergreen branch idea though.