Every tool has it's purpose, and it's limitations. I carry one of these little guys:
in my truck for an emergency shovel (and have one in the wife's car). But in the winter, I also add a full sized snow shovel.
Around my place I have a few inches of topsoil over an incredibly nasty white clay (red river gumbo). A small shovel like that, or the trencher would do nothing. In fact, a long handled shovel does next to nothing.
If I need to dig a hole, I need to use one of these to start, and then scoop it out:
or, if I need a post hole, I have to use an auger. When I had the hole dug for my pond, the operator had to keep switching buckets. a small one with teeth to break up the clay, and then a big smooth one for scooping
That said, that little shovel has dug more than a few latrine holes with minimal effort while out camping, along with fire pits. I wouldn't want to pack a full sized shovel on a 10 day canoe trip, both for size/weight, and necessity, but that little one makes a few key jobs worth its weight.
Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day!
Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!
Cat's are food... not friends!
If you're going to fight, then fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp into Noah's arc... and brother, it's starting to rain.
I always hated filling sandbags with etools.......
WARNING: This post may contain material offensive to those who lack wit, humor, common sense and/or supporting factual or anecdotal evidence. All statements and assertions contained herein may be subject to but not limited to: irony, metaphor, allusion and dripping sarcasm.
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You guys don't use pipes to fill sandbags??
Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day!
Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!
Cat's are food... not friends!
If you're going to fight, then fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp into Noah's arc... and brother, it's starting to rain.
Awesome thread! Thanks for taking the time to put this together Stig.
I think this is the only place on the Internet, where you can get an in depth shovel/ETool comparo!!! One of the things that I love about this place is that my brain gets tricked into thinking about things that I never would have considered before.
The 12 Gauge... It's not just for rabbits anymore.
Common sense is so rare these days, it should be re-classified as a super power.
Great point Slowz. Like AK said, I can't afford to act on all the things that come up on here that are fantastic ideas. Just gotta pick and choose. But the ideas keep coming, and several times I have figured out a less expensive way to do it, or even sometimes reuse something I already have to make it work.
Keep em coming folks!
I used to carry a small entrenching shovel in my car for emergencies. Over many years, I used it perhaps three times. Twice in snow conditions in the mountains and once to begin fighting a small brush fire in the local riverbed. I no longer carry it as there really is no decent place to keep it in a Ford Expedition. Been driving that car since Oct. of 2003 and have not needed it. Certainly I know the time could come when I need it. However that could be true for thousands of pieces of gear that none of us carry.
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