When packing for a camping trip, I hate when the room in my car starts to become scarce and I have to begin choosing gear that is essential vs. luxury items that may have to stay in the garage for that particular trip. I recently came across a folding shovel, by Coghlans, that takes up almost zero room. That means I get a few more inches to cram in those superfluous pieces of gear that I’ll probably never use, but make me feel comfortable having – just in case.
Coghlans Folding Shovel is a heavy-duty camp tool that has a tempered forged steel blade with metal handle and shaft. It has a positive locking collar so that it doesn’t come undone at inopportune times. The folding shovel opens to 23 inches in length but then folds back down to 10 inches for storage.
I found the shovel extremely handy when it came time to extinguish the campfire. The folding shovel made it much easier to mix around the water and coals, as opposed to using a flimsy stick to stir around the slurry ash pile. Not only did this little digger help out numerous times around the campsite, but it also may find a permanent spot in my car. It’s not winter yet, but I think this mobile shovel is durable enough to help out in snowy and icy situations. It won’t replace a normal winter shovel by any means, but will most definitely work better than mittens or gloves should my car slide into a snow bank.
The folding shovel only weighs in at 2.35 pounds and costs less than $14. I’d recommend it to anyone who needs to do minor shoveling or digging, but doesn’t want to take up tons of room with a full-length shovel. As a bonus, the Coghlans Folding Shovel will fit in any backpack with ease.