UKC

http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/grivel-steel-blade-shovel-E7220017?loc=sub

A few questions about it:

How does an axe lock into it?
How well does it perform compared with a more conventional shovel?
Does it work well with a DMM Cirque?

In reply to Trevers:

good review of shovels here, not the one you are looking at, but worth reading anyway


http://www.avalanche.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMedia.aspx?DocID=5c956bbb-c147-4aed-...

In reply to Trevers:

Why waste money on a toy when you can get a decent one for the same price.

In reply to Trevers:

http://www.braemarmountainsports.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=28...

http://www.facewest.co.uk/Shovels.html

In reply to OwenM:


Well I don't know much about shovels so can you qualify that? I'm just thinking about weight/volume considerations.

In reply to Trevers:

What do you want your shovel for? If it's to leave in the back of the car in case you get stuck, then the grivel one will probably be OK. But if it's to dig your mate out of an avalanche or snow holing then plastic shovels have a reputation for breaking.
A proper shovel will have a nicer feel and will be easier to dig, (I haven't used the grivel) but it looks like the sort of thing that might fall of your axe when digging.

The report above shows examples of how aluminium shovels can even fail when used in anger.

In reply to Trevers:


It's a bit of soft plastic with a small strip of mild steel riveted onto the back of it. How long will that last when chopping into ice?
There's almost no handle so no leverage, having it wobbling around on the end of your ice axe wont be any help either. For the same price or less you can get a metal bladed shovel with a decent handle that will last for many years snow-holing and will weigh only 150g more. That's two screwgates.

In reply to OwenM:

Thanks. I actually didn't realise it was mostly plastic, the Cotswolds description was misleading.

In reply to Trevers: An extremely misleading name although its not exactly Cotswolds fault since Grivel call it the 'Steel Blade Shovel' and it has that name printed on it.
Hovering over the pic shows a tiny leading edge of steel on the plastic body- Shite !
http://www.grivelgb.co.uk/products/accessories/steel-blade-shovel/

In reply to Trevers:

I've used this shovel - not great, went back to my Black Diamond one that I got of Ebay for £6.

Shovel split at the entry hole for the shaft - I had used an old style DMM Circe as the shaft - It felt like it fitted ok but the plastic failed.

Might by ok for very light use but its only good point was its weight.

In reply to Trevers:

when your mate is buried and cant breath you need a shovel that you can rely on,metal blade and handle proper locking action

In reply to Trevers:

Own it and used it, for shelters and avi drills.

Shaft is friction fit to the grivel ice axes - would be surprised if others fit correctly, suspect that may contribute to splitting as described.

Not had shovel come off shaft with a grivel airtech axe at any time, even with vigorous(ish) use.

It isnt the ruffty-tufty steel monster you'd want if you're digging a mate out of an avalanche, but then very few of the others its being compared to are either.

Unlike the BD series, you can actually get a boot on top to push it into the snow.

TBH its not a bad shovel, the handle is just a bit short with just an ice axe in - the tip of the ice axe spike sits right down between the upper set of deadman holes so you only get something like 40cm of extension.

On the plus side, its one of the best for finishing the inside of a shelter, due to the shape and side handles

In reply to klhsfderfr:
I've a mate with one (and has been using it for years), and it's not nearly as bad as some folk above are making out. We've used it on avalanche rescue practice (with real debris) and it didn't have any problems getting through it (or at least no more than any of the other snow shovels), and was actually pretty good for the more delicate digging near the "victim" (or rucksack in this case).

Definitely only use with a grivel axe though - its not been designed for other makes.

On really hard, icy debris, the only shovels we found all that effective were big workman's shovels, even metal bladed snow shovels were pretty inefficient and hard work in that kind of material.

I'd not bother with it unless I already had a grivel axe and was desperately trying to weight save though. I've a cirque, and I don't think it would work with it - the bend in the axe would be too much I suspect.

A lot will depend on what your trying to do with it. Is it realistically more for digging the car out of the drive/carpark, or snow holing or part of the "holy trinity" for touring etc.

I have one of the BD shovels and I've been pretty happy with it.

Some of the ortovox ones seem good, but are heavier than most for the quality ones. There's your trade off weight vs efficiency/durability.

Cheers,

Stuart

In reply to Trevers:
It might seem a really good idea but in reality when working in a confined space the pick tends to hinder. I've magaged to tear/cut trousers and jacket when using an axe combined with a WHITCO shovel in the past. I'm also assuming it's also a push fit into the shovel... this will never feel as secure as a mechanical locking system. I eventually abandoned the idea as an interesting experiment/gadget that didn'really live up to expectations. It doesn't after all save much space or weight.

I should add that next up was a shovel handle that had an avalanche probe stored inside its length. This also seemed a great idea but again the push fit failed from time to time, the probe was difficult to extract from the handle and worst of all you had to screw the probe sections together. Just what you need in an emergecy! Abandoned and put down to experience!

In reply to Brownie:



having seen the Voile shovel which came out best in that review directly compared to many of the other offerings I'm buying one - there was no competition, a very sobering experience.

http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/1073-Voile-Telepro-T6-Avalanche-S...


(similarly I'll be ditching my Ortovox probe for a BD one (again, miles apart in practical usability) and, when I can afford it , my Tracker 2 for a Barryvox Pulse which absolutely pissed on all the other top of the range transceivers, especially for multiple burials)