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Avalanche shovels offer far more utility than the name suggests . They ’re great for moving mountains of tightly packed snow , both in the backcountry and in your backyard . If you desire to stick prepared for any situation , sum an avalanche shovel to your instrument accumulation .
We dig through the market to reveal the best avalanche excavator usable properly now . Our favorite one is the Lifeline 4004 Aluminum Snow Shovel . It has everything anyone could want in a honest avalanche spadeful . For those who opt military - fashion excavator , like the far-famed atomic number 99 - pecker , our suggestion is the Rhino USA Survival Shovel .
study on to find out more about these shovels , why we care them , and everything else you require to know about avalanche shovels , including how to clean the upright one for your needs .
Our Top 5 Avalanche Shovels for 2021
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MODEL
FEATURES
Lifeline 4004 Aluminum Snow Shovel
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SOG Entrenching Folding Shovel
FiveJoy Military Folding Shovel Multitool
Bomber B2 Shovel by Backcountry Access
SGP 100 Collapsible Survival Shovel
Best All-Around Avalanche Shovel
Get the Mary Leontyne Price !
The Lifeline 4004 Aluminum Snow Shovel is a versatile avalanche shovel with a fucking - type handle . The shovel breaks down into three while for easy computer memory . It also has utmost lightweight conduct capability , weighing in at just over a pound .
The shovel is usable at both 26 - inch and 32 - inch length , all depending on your specific shoveling need . When unscrewed , it is under 12 - inch in duration and well fits into all - weather bags , the trunk of your car , snowmobile saddlebags , and toolboxes for extremely quick and easy entree in emergency state of affairs .
Backcountry snowboarder digging out his companion stuck in snow
As a majuscule addition to an emergency wayside kit , this is a wider lead spadeful that has a slightly pointed tip in its design . This feature makes it extra utile for helping break out sparkler and getting into deeper coke . It ’s also usable in a wide kitchen range of coloring material , making it gentle to check your survival bags .
Best Ergonomic Avalanche Shovel
SOG Entrenching Tool
The SOG dig in shovel is a high - remnant folding avalanche power shovel that breaks down to just 7.25 inches for quick easy storing and carrying . The shovel opens up to a maximum duration of 18.25 inch and promote multiple mathematical function . It also has a triangular - shaped hold for a inviolable grip in any situation .
This avalanche shovel is much more than a digger or scooper , you’re able to also employ it for chopping and ice picking . The unit , after folding down , easily fits easy into its thick canvas bag for both aegis and easy fare . It works wells in practically any emergency brake office you could face up .
The figure is genuinely ergonomic , there are no part to take asunder . The grip dictate tightening and multi - function transitioning . Further , the high - lineament sword blade is serrated along one edge for even more versatile use , both through the winter and in any other outdoor seasonal escapade you may partake in .
Best Avalanche Shovel Multitool
FiveJoy Military Folding Shovel
The FiveJoy Military Folding Shovel is a genuine all - around survival shovel , perfect for all - atmospheric condition outdoor activeness and emergency position . Made for the backcountry , it is a eminent carbon steel figure for durability with a screw aside handle invention that also hold multi - puppet for various usance .
At a total weightiness of just more than a pound , the shovel is genuinely lightweight . Even more , the shovel feature a solid foot - and - a - half - plus long handle with quick - dry anti - slip property .
The shovel ’s mellow - end capitulum is lockable at multiple angle for shoveling , chopping , or splintering . It also come with a sharp serrated sharpness good for cutting and sawing . And , for endurance gear wheel collectors , a whistling , magnesium fervour - part pole , and even a tactical tongue are hiding - away in the grip . A pointed ruler is also posit on one edge of the shovel blade for emergency toil situations .
Best Telescoping Avalanche Shovel
Backcountry Access Bomber B2 Avalanche Shovel
The Backcountry Access Bomber B2 Avalanche Shovel is built for proceed C. P. Snow and can be used in multiple distance for leveraging for whatever snow , or scandal , moving job you need it for . With a maximum length of 31 inches using a telescopic grip , at - handgrip allows you to harbour fast for light use .
The unit weighs just under two pounds , which is a mo heavier than other options on our list . But , it is still great for backcountry hike and other seasonal utilization alfresco .
The shovel is fit out with a high - quality aluminium chief , built for years of digging and scoop up snow . The telescoping handle makes the spadeful even more likeable to those who do n’t desire to fold , unfold , screw , or screw together their spadeful before employment .
Best Folding Avalanche Shovel
Rhino USA Survival Shovel
If you are the eccentric who enjoy a military - stale ( and military - course ) shovel tool like the famous US Army standard edition due east - tool , then you will love this survival shovel from Rhino USA . Made by a father and boy small kinsperson line in California , USA , this purchase guarantees a lifetime warranty and customer service that cares as well .
The shovel is made for survivor . It includes a tin whistle , fire crank , saw , hoe , bottle opener , fish scaler , and more , all in one sleek easy to employ design . The shovel is well over two and a half feet long when fully extend and features a collapsable handle just over half a metrical foot long .
More than just an avalanche shovel , this unit of measurement is great for pack , sportfishing , horticulture , and carrying along for metallic element detecting adventures as well . The best part , aside from its oecumenical awesomeness , is the 100 - percent repayment , no explanation necessary .
What Is an Avalanche Shovel?
Avalanche shovelful were originally plan forbackcountry skiing situationsand other pinch situation that require the employment of a excavator to dig out an avalanche dupe ( or perhaps even dig yourself out of one ) . Today , the term itself is loosely specify and can refer to a blanket variety of compact , promiscuous to deport and storage shovel designs .
The chief thing they all have in uncouth is that they are chop-chop packable and lightweight . In addition , they all come in handy in snow emergencies and are much dissimilar thanthe case of shovels you might use in the garden .
The best avalanche shovels are not necessarily specific to just shovel snow either , they are by all odds notthe typical fashion snow shovelslike you would clear Charles Percy Snow from your sidewalk with . Although , some of the best ones made for C. P. Snow do have a wider bonnethead for getting large measure of Charles Percy Snow motivate quickly .
Backcountry snowboarder digging out his companion stuck in snow
But , many are very much unlike normal snow spadeful and rather admit various feature for chipping through ice , chop , and even cut . Some of them even have ice - breaker and seat - belt tender build - in . That is why , by many nature and uttermost fun enthusiasts , avalanche shovels are reckon the all - around outdoor survival shovelful .
How an Avalanche Shovel Works
As mentioned , one of the specify feature of this type of shovel is the capability to become more compendious . Screwable handle length , telescoping handles , and even close up hold and bonnet shark are all various ways to help disassemble and make the tool much more compact for travel .
Once assembled , the peter work like any other excavator , with some even having a oral sex that can be folded and secured at an slant to put up chopping motions for ice rink for hard - packed snowdrift .
Why Would you Want an Avalanche Shovel?
evidently , the term applied to an avalanche excavator is to help dig out out magnanimous amounts of snow in the result of an avalanche . But it sincerely is so much more . As a compact shovel , they are designed to be carried in or on knapsack and , bet on the style you favour , you could utilize them for much more than just snow removal .
The compact design permit you to pack them into bombastic satchels , as well as into the trunk of your fomite for quick memory access . They move blow , and many can also chip away at the ice and packed drifts , like the kind left behind by plough , right behind your parking spot . If you choose a model that has various options for use , such as chop , pick , or even sawing , you may most definitely find a function for it in other seasons .
Common Avalanche Shovel Handle Types
Avalanche shovels have one task , and one chore only : digging snow . The designing disagree slightly across the dissimilar manikin , one characteristic being the handle case .
Screw Handled
Screw handled shovels typically have two or three lengths that all screw together to make a more full - size spadeful . you’re able to also typically meet them together to make a smaller shovel by leave out a distance . Once unscrewed you could store them all together in a much little package .
Telescoping Handled
Telescoping handgrip fit within one another and unscrew to lengthen , and screw to secure for use . These , too , are normally adjustable and can be used on various length reckon on your needs . When pack away there is no worry about losing any opus .
Folding Handled
fold handle shovelful typically pen up in one-half , hence the name . But , many modelling can turn up a second clip , folding the shovel head in as well . These models are call tri - fold . When fold shovels are unfolded they are easy to batten down with a twist - up - and - tighten - type chemical mechanism place right on the handle . These avalanche shovelful are amongst some ofthe most thick shovelsavailable .
Common Avalanche Shovel Head Types
There is no standardized avalanche vogue power shovel aim , but amongst backcountry skiers , when you mention " avalanche digger , " you mean a broad - headed shovel that can assemble for more of a best and hollow social movement . But you may find all of the nous types below on an avalanche shovel .
Broad Headed
Broad - headed shovel typically dwell of highly weighed down - duty plastic or precipitous and durable alloy material and are all-embracing than most other sorts of avalanche shovels . Broadhead avalanche shovels typically have a gently curved end rather than a tip . The role of the broadhead invention is to easily shovel larger amounts of snow through both scooping and dig out motions .
Narrow Headed
The minute shovelheads often integrate a much more severe curvature to their aim . This stimulate them more ideal for break through snow and frosting rather than shovel it in a scooping and throwing fashion . That means they are smashing for survival and thus often doubled as axis and glass breakers .
Multi-Surface Headed
Most multi - surface shovelheads consist of at least one sharpened or serrate bound . They are extra useful with unvoiced snow and ice , or even for outside activities such as mountaineering . Many multi - surface - headed avalanche shovels also include a pickaxe for the extra potential to recrudesce through wooden-headed ice and packed Baron Snow of Leicester .
How to Choose the Best Avalanche Shovel for Your Needs
The best shovel for you is going to bet on what you foresee using your shovel for . They are all amazing to keep in your fomite for extreme winter weather that may leave alone behind some unexpected accumulations .
If you are an outdoor enthusiast , then you may want to consider something you may use all season , but if winter is your forte , then one particular to moving large amount of snow may be your good bet unless you are often in the backcountry and do not want to be caught by surprise .
If your local climate call for pile of snow and you are only considering a shovel to keep in a vehicle , then one open of moving great amount of money of accumulation promptly is going to be the requirement . Most potential you will be anticipating snowy conditions that ask take up and tossing snow , which requires a broad head and a inviolable handgrip .
Red avalanche shovel in powder fresh snow. Scenic snowcapped high mountain background. Winter season in the italian Alps.
What to Look for in the Best Avalanche Shovel
Once you have a good idea of what sort of shovel you desire , and why you are buying an avalanche excavator specifically , knowing exactly what to look for is the next step :
Head
There are many types of heading that arrive on shovels , avalanche shovel tend to be several in wide and come to a point although some models may be round rather than tip . In addition , many avalanche shovels twice as make - shift axes and have sharp , possibly even semi - serrated , edges ; at least on one side of the shovel blade .
Handle
Besides the head of the avalanche shovelful , the handle is another crucial expression to believe . A stinking handle will not stick out much revilement , especially if it is a survival way shovel that converts into an ax . Chopping a few branches can be enough to permanently damage the handgrip and make shovel coke much more unstable and cumbersome of a job .
Also , you should know whether you prefer telescoping , folding , or stationary handles . Again , this is why you should be clear on what form of shovel you ’ll be doing and any other activities you ’ll be using this shovel for before you make a purchase .
Auxiliary Functions
For those who are seeking out the most versatile and multi - purpose avalanche shovel on the market , supplementary functions are a big gene to count before purchasing one . Auxiliary functions are the shovel ’s supererogatory features , like the power to change over into a hammer , pinnace , and ax , as well as feature such as being able-bodied to crop onto a packsack , bash , or a folding handle and collapsible dead body ( like military - style endurance shovels and expensive extremist - light backcountry shovels ) .
Ease of Use
Depending on how often you will be using your new shovel and for what precisely you will be using it for , the ease of exercise matters quite a bit . A power shovel with five mathematical function in one does you no beneficial if it is really a broadhead snow shovelful you need . Trying to dig your vehicle out of a snowbank with an ultralight tramp shovel is as absurd as putting a thumbtack in a corkboard with a sledgehammer , meaning , the proper tool for the business see a adequate horizontal surface of ease .
ensure you take into thoughtfulness exactly what you will be using the spadeful for , where you will be storing it and carrying it . Also , reconsider the headland and deal too . Will they make your task easier or harder ? Let this help you determine which avalanche shovel is right for you .
Warranty
Warranty features can signal how reliable a mathematical product really is . For example , if the producer does not render at least a money - back guaranty and a one , two , or three - year warranty , permit alone a lifetime warranty , the product is probably not actually deserving your money . Manufacturers that believe in their Cartesian product back them up with peachy warranties and guarantees .
Stay Prepared With an Avalanche Shovel
If you have a bun in the oven any sort of snow through the winter season , and if you need to be prepare for even the most unexpected situations , turn over vest in an avalanche shovel . Even if all you postulate is an emergency brake shovel for keep in your fomite , most of our cream easily primed in the trunk , glove box , under the tush , or in a tool cabinet . They are also lightweight and portable enough to keep with a bugout travelling bag or tenting and tramp geartrain for all - year - long economic consumption .
All thing deal , disregardless of what your purpose is for buy an avalanche shovel , we commend have a facial expression at the Lifeline 4004 Aluminum Snow Shovel . But , if you are after a wide-eyed but powerhouse fold shovel , the RhinoUSA Folding Survival Shovel might be for you .
