Trowel – which one?

From a woman's point of view, I'd have to agree that the Montbell trowel is sexy!

Ummm Mike, not above tree line. What would you use, a rock?

I made my own from sheet Ti. It don't weigh much. Got to put a rock on it so it don't blow away in the wind.

Works pretty good as a combo spoon, shoe horn and snow/sand stake.

My potty trowel.

MSR Snow Stake for me. Light, durable, digs well around roots and rocks, and I didn't have to make it.

Sticks just don't work well enough in areas with roots and rocks, or else there just aren't stout enough one lying around that will do the job in the stuff I usually encounter.

This is on the heavy side (3.3 ounces) but after snapping one of the straight orange trowels in hard ground, I started using a Fiskars plastic garden trowel. Very durable and digs well. $4

The snow stake allows a little bashing with a stick or rock which virtually none of the other trowel options will endure. I wrapped mine with some light line to give some grip and protect my hands, not to mention giving an emergency line supply. A little duct tape would work too. If you really trash one they are cheap and 100% recyclable. In a pinch it can be used for a tent stake :)

I am with Pamela… I use a shaped stake (.4oz). Besides being a trowel it's used as a stake :-) I make it a luxury item by using a small plastic "t-joint" (.4oz) as a handle. This lets me press down hard without worrying that I will hurt my hand. The t-joint is also used to push in stakes when the ground is being troublesome. I found my stakes last longer this way rather than using a rock as a hammer.

–mark

Another stake user here. Mine is a 1-oz. aluminum semicircular stake left over from some tent or other many years ago. It works just fine. Since my dog also uses it (or rather, I use it for his leavings), he gets to carry it! Only fair since he does his thing twice daily while I need the stake only once a day.

I have also used my shoe heel or trekking pole points, but I've found that the stake is far more effective.

I've found that those cheap plastic trowels are completely useless unless the ground happens to be soft and soggy. After a month of no rain in Pacific Northwest summers, a plastic trowel won't even scratch the surface of the ground.

Here's my version…

MSR snow stake with CCF cushioning the handle (wrapped with cloth bicycle handlebar tape). Stronger, lighter and more comfortable than most solutions…and it can still be used as a tent stake!

34 grams on my scale (1.2 oz.).

I use a Montbell Trowell as well.

For snow I would consider a Coghlan's Back Pack Trowel.

I don't carry a trowel. I'm just selective about my choice of spots and use the back of the heel of my boot to dig a hole.

"I don't carry a trowel. I'm just selective about my choice of spots and use the back of the heel of my boot to dig a hole."

Spot on. Trowels are unnecessary, IMO/IME. A proper choice of smaller boulders works well, too. Roll them back and you've got a pre-dug cathole. Just roll 'em back in place when you're finished and carry on with your day. Also, below timberline a sturdy stick makes a good trowel.

Ah – bit tricky on alpine grasslands…

Cheers

My trowel is similar to Mike's – I just spent more time with my file ;-) It weighs 50 grams and now, thanks to suggestions here, has a hole in the handle so it can be used as a tent stake.

Ok, I know this thread is really old, but I just saw it.

How about the Suluk 46 Titanium Trowel: 7" long, 2.5" wide, and only weighs 0.53 oz.

http://suluk46.com/products%20%20-%20P11%20Titanium%20Trowel.html

That Qwiz guy who posts here has a great trowel…but spendy. Don't lose it.

What I've wondered about trowels like that Suluk 46 (including the Deuce of Spades and similar) is, don't they dig into your palm as you're digging the whole? They look liked be uncomfortable.

I, like others, use a snow stake. REI brand. It has a rolled top edge to make it more comfortable driving into the ground, and I glued a cord from a wine bottle that also helps form a comfortable handle. Just over an ounce, and $2 not including the wine.

>> is there a cottage maker of titanium trowel ?

http://lawsonequipment.com/Ti-Digger-p1017.html

I do not have it (yet).

I got one of the 15 gram trowels. Then I dipped one inch of the handle end into some glow-in-the-dark latex paint. Then I put a stripe of International Orange paint over some of that. Then I put a coat of clear finger nail polish over that. All of that paint serves to protect my hand from the metal edge, but it cost me one extra gram.

–B.G.–

I finally broke down and bought one of these, after struggling too much with my heel (and my tiny little ti stakes are no match for digging a proper hole): http://www.qiwiz.net/trowels.html

It is actually quite find on my hand, cuts through all matter of -ahem- crap that i may need to dig through to get an adequately sized hole.

Highly recommend.

DUECE OF SPADES

At a recent “digging competition” at an LNT workshop among hikers, the Deuce and a similar item from Montbell won

Why ultralight hikers should carry potty trowels

"http://lawsonequipment.com/Ti-Digger-p1017.html"

aka Deuce Scoop

I do have mine, and love it. Works better than the orange plastic or the Montbell, both of which I've had in the past.

While many consider the Qiwiz one to be one of if not the best I simply could not justify spending that much money on a trowel. I wound up picking up Lawson's and it does the job great, is light, and cheap (relatively). The Deuce of Spades one also looks nice but is probably a couple bucks more figuring shipping.

Thanks for the positive comments from those who have tried and like my trowels. I know they are not cheap, but I make them by hand, one at a time, with love. The handle end has an extra latex layer to further cushion the edge, BTW.

I've only lost one of my trowels, but the event has its bright side. A few years ago I dug and used a cathole and then walked back to my tarp site. Then realized I had left my trowel back next to my cathole. I went looking for it and despite 30 minutes of hunting, could not find the spot. Too well returned to a natural appearance. This loss led to my starting to coat my trowel handles with bright yellow latex, which continues to this day. Somewhere in the Hickory Creek Wilderness, a few 100 yards south of where the trail crosses Jack's Run, there's an Original titanium trowel, just waiting to be discovered. Might be under a few season's leaves though. ;)

Love my QiWiz "Big Dig" — hope I never lose it (and yes, the yellow coating should help with that!).

Definitely easier to dig with a trowel than a rock/boot/stick, and sometimes (ahem) time is of the essence! ;^)

Edited to add: It's got about 25 days x 2 people on it so far; after this summer, it should have almost triple that, so – providing I don't lose it – the amortization is making it fairly cheap!