Black Diamond Transfer 3 Shovel

Yeah, this is a great shovel - light, good anglage for digging. SexyColor.

Never had a problem, sturdy, even works for pounding in stakes in the snow, blade is plenty big for clearing a campsite and small enough to take on day hikes to the summits.

I do almost all of my skiing in the Sierra or Cascades, only rarely venturing into the central (drier) US.

The Transfer 3's shovel blade was made for heavy wet snow, in my opinion. It is a great size for chewing through snow to dig pits, caves, or the unmentionable. I've dug through hardened debris, but never in actual anger, and it has worked great for me. Why? Because I can't overload the blade as easily as I can with my girlfriend's Voile big-shovel (size of the transfer 7). If you have the intelligence not to fill up a blade with heavy snow, or you live in light fluffy snow land, go for the 7 or a bigger blade. If you live in a coastal region or are an over-eager shoveler, go for this one. Your back will thank you.

The Transfer 3 has not once let me down. The pointed shape of the spade allows me to power through any ice and dig with ease through the sticky layers of snow that us Washingtonians have come to know and love. The handle is shaped so that it fits into the head with no question as to the direction and locks in, eliminating any loss of shovel power do to the twisting of the shovel head and shaft. Extends nicely for GREAT leverage and hasn't failed to my forces yet (although they're limited... not a big guy). Handle is easy to grip and everything is very, very strong.

Just keep the handle near the shovel! Easy to lose track of cause it shrinks down so nice. Now go save some people! or build a BC kicker.

gets the job done, great quality. Exactly what you would expect from black diamond products!

I also like the smaller size of the transfer 3, allows me to get into smaller places and really move some snow.

I own this and have used it for digging snow pits, moving snow, etc and avalanche courses. The blade is smaller than some, but keep in mind that when you're digging out packed snow like avy pack, that's heavy stuff, and a shovel full is quite a bit even with the smaller blade. The aluminum blade cuts right through hard snow and is very sturdy. I would definitely recommend this. A couple things to note, the handles can stick together when collaped. For a long time i didn't remember that it extended so far. It may take a good tug and jerk to get it to come out all the way. Great shovel and very light. T-shaped handle is nice, and work okay even with mittens.
Hope to never have to use it in a real avalanche situation.
Don't forget, no equipment can ever take the place of proper training.

I have a Black Diamond Outlaw pack and an Osprey Kode 22, this shovel fits preferctly in both of them. This shovel can move snow! Luckily I haven't had to dig any buddies out yet, but when that day comes having this in my hands will make the job easier and quicker. Its a pretty rugged shovel for something so light weight. Has made a few booters and has got my car out of some pretty rough spots. All in all a worthy purchase

I used this shovel when hiking Tuckermans Ravine, it was a great first shovel for me, it does the job, very small, lightweight, and easy and quick to assemble. Great for the money

This shovel is everything you need it to be.its light enough that you dont really feel it in the pack,it assembles super quick with no fiddling what so ever at the cruical momnet and it shfts snow.while the blade isnt the biggest its still big enough and light enough to power through even the toughest debris.
Everything you want and need it to be!!!

This is a great shovel and packs nicely. The extendable shaft is a nice feature, and the shovel is light enough that it doesn't add too much weight. I felt it could be bigger, especially when digging snow pits to set up camp, but also wouldn't want to carry something much larger for the day. Need to make sure to pack both parts of the shovel in the same place in your pack in case of emergency (may not have time to fish around for the handle!)

I bought this with one of the BD probes in a package, which made it really affordable.

Highly recommended though this is the first shovel I've ever bought.

Awesome shovel, digs out tent holes, crap holes, pounds in tent stakes all around awesom

This is the best shovel I've ever owned. It replaces my old BD Cougar (?) shovel. The trapezoidal cross-section shaft is stiff and sturdy, and is dead-easy to lock-in/together when you need to deploy it in a hurry -- no need to spin the shaft to get the button-lock aligned. Load it up with heavy, wet snow all you want, the shaft design has got more than enough to handle that too. The blade design is equally sturdy and I like the smaller Transfer 3 blade for digging precise pits. The hybrid grip is better than my old T-handle and lower profile than a D-grip-- it works really well. Great design, great shovel!

Great shovel! I keep it in the back of my SUV and it has helped me get out of some icy and snowing spots. I also carry this shovel when snowmobiling and without it I would probably be dead or still trying to dig out my machine by hand right now! Lightweight, sturdy, and the handle is surprisingly comfortable.

The first time that I whipped this shovel out to dig in and look at the snowpack on Mt. Hood, I depressed the button on the handle to slide it into the shovel head and discovered to my surprise that it would not return, immediately rendering my shovel fairly useless. The culprit seems to have been a tiny bit of snow that got in the way of its return, but the button is still offset and won't return. I am disappointed and will be exchanging it in the hopes that it was a simple defect and not a design problem.

Edit: I believe it is a design problem with the shovel, but having found a simple fix, I'm going to hang onto it. If the button is stuck inside, the handle can be swung in a "get the ketchup out of the bottle" sort of arc, and the button will slide back into place.

its amazing
its light
it folds to get very big and gets very small
moves snow fast i love it

Small enough that it doesn't take up much room in your pack and sturdy enough to dig you out. The extendable handle gives you more power and makes it much more comfortable to use

This shovel has a sturdy build and is light for the strength of this shovel. I like the handle, although the shaft of the handle has an odd shape it works ok, but I would not want it shaped like this on a big scoop shovel...seems okay on this size though.March 24, 2010 Update: Used the shovel to chop into the ice surrounding the hot tub in Park City and my buddy had some other avy shovel that was bigger but aluminum. My shovel was able to basically be used like an ice chopper to get into what was once snow but so firm you can jump up and down on it and not make a foot imprint. I broke it loose and he shoveled out the big chunks. Shovel is holding up very well after two season of various types of use. Haven't dug anyone out yet thank God.

I like the small size of this shovel as it fits better in my pack than the BD 7 size. Weight is good and the shovel is as strong as I would ever hope for. For days when I'm going out to practice avy drills, I'll bring my deploy 7 because the bigger blade does move snow faster, but for most days of touring when things aren't too hairy, I'm confident carrying this guy and enjoy the space and weight savings over a bigger shovel.

I used this in a week long avalanche training course. It was used a lot and it dug through some very icy thick snow. I would highly recommend it.