They’re back again: The lightest cathole trowels on the planet ! Titanium, two sizes

[Robert Kelly]

I guess she was impressed

Can you dig it?

[Eric D.]

I received my special combo kit over the weekend. The "Big Dig" is weirdly light in my hand, though it's certainly not too big.

And the special deal was to add one of the Little Buck 2G saws, with a free tyvek envelope for the saw and save $5 over the price of buying the trowel and the saw seperately.

The saw is pretty neat, it goes together easy and should be excellent for making quick work of cutting firewood on the trail. While I was first putting it together on the kitchen counter, my wife walked in and asked "what's that?" Finishing the assembly, I proudly stated "a saw", she responded with "I thought you were trying to take less stuff, to make your pack lighter. I handed her the saw and she said "ohh, that is light, I guess it makes sense." I handed her the Big Dig, and she said "what is this made of?, it hardly weighs anything." She really doesn't care about most of my hiking gear, but I think that both of these items impressed even her.

And kudos to the new website, it made ordering easy and meant that I didn't have to wonder if I did my math right.

Thanks for making such cool products available

[Kevin Hall]

I just sent you some funds for a Big Dig… I'm actually excited….about going in the woods.

Thanks,

-Kevin

[j lan]

I also want to give Daps to QiWiz for my combo.

Incredible tools! I won't ever feel guilty about packing a saw or a trowel again.

High five!

[Robert Kelly]

James – Thanks for the kind words.

Trowel plus saw "combo special" offer expires midnight PST on 3/31/12.

I'll be out of town from 3/28-4/1, but will be able to ship any combo specials you order on 4/2 or 4/3 when I'm back.

Can you dig it?

[Robert Kelly]

Details available on the website as well as easy as pie ordering. See QiWiz.net

Now you're cooking!

Can you dig it?

[J H]

Do you think you the stove could be used with an Esbit brick, in the case of wood being too wet to burn, or is the distance between the floor and pot too great too heat sufficiently? I would imagine you would need to use the solid notched floor plate if using a solid fuel brick like Esbit.

[Robert Kelly]

Justin and others with multifuel stove interests: I am actively working on a multifuel option for the FireFly but its hard to do R&D when orders need to be fulfilled. In any event, you can expect that in 2-4 weeks there will be an option to get an UL Esbit and/or simple alcohol burner for the FireFly stove that will be suspended at just the right distance from your pot base, with heat concentrated and protected by an effective windscreen (which is not needed in woodburning mode). It looks like this option will be very light, possibly less than an ounce. Stay tuned. There is a FireFly stove thread on the Gear Deals forum and that's a better place to continue the discussion if you like, but I'll let you know when this option is reality rather than vaporware. ; )

[Robert Kelly]

Discounted price on either a Big Dig or Original titanium trowel when ordered at the same time as a FireFly stove.
Special will be available until May 1st.

[Curry]

Curious…the edges look very sharp. Are they meant to be cutting instruments as well? I would want that thing lose in my pack if it has "ninja edges!"

[Robert Kelly]

One of the key steps in making the trowels is to make sure they are not sharp, so as not to cut someone accidentally. However, they are thin enough to 'cut' through small roots and turf with ease. Can you dig it?

[Robert Kelly]

Don't miss out on the opportunity to get both the lightest cathole trowel AND the lightest 15" buck saw on the planet at about a 10% discount. QiWiz.net has all the information. Offer good until midnight, Memorial Day, EST!

Can you dig it?

[Robert Kelly]

Just found out that a PCT thru-hiking couple really like their Big Dig. Thanks for the compliment. Check out their blog at:

https://alongerwalk.tumblr.com/post/22722805849/gear-of-the-week-the-big-dig-cathole-trowel

[Robert Kelly]

Until midnight, PST, on July 4th, you can get a great 10% off deal on a titanium trowel with a Little Buck saw. Don't miss out on the opportunity to get both the lightest cathole trowel AND the lightest 15" buck saw on the planet. QiWiz.net has all the information. if you want to get the larger 24" MEGA Buck saw, contact me and I'll give you a similar discount.

If not familiar with my trowels, you can read a recent review at SectionHiker.com

Can you dig it?

[Robert Kelly]

I'll be on trail from 8/30/12 through 9/15/12.

Gear ordered in next week (through 8/24) will be mailed out before I go. ; )

After that, you may have to wait until the week of 9/17 to get your gear : (

[Robert Kelly]

Order any two pieces of gear as long as one of them is a trowel, and I'll give you a 10% PayPal refund!
So, thats's a trowel and a stove, a trowel and a saw, or even two trowels.
To get the refund, mention "BPL SPECIAL" in PayPal message field at time of purchase.
Offer good through 9/30/2012 only.

Can you dig it?

[Kenneth Jacobs]

Just ordered at Little Buck and a Big Dig. Can't wait to use them next month!

With a combo like that, one could probably call themselves a "Log Master". Cut'em up and lay'em to rest! HA!

[Robert Kelly]

You betcha! Just because you make the lightest cathole trowel on the planet doesn't mean it can't be made even better.

I'm always interested in improving my designs. Credit to Stephen Barber (see his Big Dig mod thread in Gear forum) for raising the issue of a more comfortable handle end. Credit to Ken for giving me the idea of adding more layers of rubber coating. But I decided to add extra just at the very end of the handle (so as not to add weight), and I like the results a lot. See the photos. As of today, all trowels I ship will have this "handle-end enhancement" treatment. Added weight is negligible. The average Big Dig even with this beefed up handle end still weighs just 16 grams. Can you dig it?

[Stephen Barber]

Excellent! And two grams lighter than the Sugru mod! Your clever adaptations of suggested mods are why I enjoy interacting with you! Thanks for the honor!

[Robert Kelly]

During December, stuff your Christmas hiking stockings and those of friends and family with the lightest cathole trowels on the planet.

The more you get, the more you save . . .

Can you dig it?

Details at http://qiwiz.net/specials.html

[Gary Dunckel]

I want to remind everyone that all of my Zia products are on sale as well, through December 31.

Details on this thread:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=69161

So when you buy your fine Big Digs, don't forget to click on "Stoves," then "Accessory options," to find my products on Rob's QiWiz.net web site.

You can't have enough titanium stuff!

[Robert Kelly]

If you are hankering for a titanium cathole trowel and Santa forgot to put it in your stocking, I'll rebate 10% of your PayPal purchase back to you – just send a message that includes the code "BPL10" when you order one or more Big Digs or Original trowels through the end of January. QiWiz.net is the place to go.

[Renais A]

QiWiz,
Any more news on when the canister stove wind screen will be on your site for sale?

[Robert Kelly]

At this point I'm leaning towards not selling canister stove windscreens. I have several designs that work for me and I finally have the titanium foil I would need as of a few days ago. However, I'm concerned about user safety, given that people don't always read and/or follow directions, given that I cannot possibly test my system on all of the canister burners that are available, and given that literally ALL the canister stove manufacturers recommend never to use any kind of windscreen due to the danger of overheating a canister risking canister explosion. Though the risk seems small to me, I certainly don't want anyone to be injured using gear I have sold them.
However, I will be selling 4 sizes of titanium windscreens for alcohol and Esbit stoves on my site fairly soon. Give me another week and you'll see them there.
One thing I might do is post pictures or videos of what I have come up with, so that others who want to use my canister stove windscreen designs at their own risk can do so.

[Robert Kelly]

MEGA Dig to the rescue.

I have had some requests for custom larger trowels. For example, there are some folks that use small wood burning stoves to heat tents and tipis in the winter, who wanted a light tool to remove and manipulate coals and hot ash in these stoves.

Then there are those who just want something even bigger than a Big Dig ; )
The MEGA Dig is 8.5 inches long and weighs 0.9 oz.
Big Dig for comparison is 7.25 inches long and is less than 0.6 oz.

Anyway, you now have 3 size choices for your next titanium trowel purchase at QiWiz.net

Can you dig it?

[Author]

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