G3 Spadetech Elle Shovel - Women's - 2008 BCS

First, I'm not sure what makes this shovel women's-specific. I mean, the color's not even particularly girly and there aren't really and patterns on it or anything. Near as I can tell, it's just with a smaller blade than G3's other shovels though not smaller than the smallest of any other shovel maker. I'm not a woman so I'm not particularly concerned. It was on sale, so I figured I'd pick it up as a backup to keep in the car if nothing else.

This isn't the lightest shovel I've held, but that's not necessarily a bad thing; it is solid and confidence-inspiring. The shaft extends to a good length even for tall people (I'm 6'2"), and the blade is made of thicker metal than the CAMP shovels I have. The front edge of the blade is not particularly sharp, but it's enough to cut through pretty hard snow (ice really requires a saw anyway).

My one gripe is how small the blade is (~8x8"); it would require a lot of fast shoveling to move a lot of snow. Now, this may be where the "women's specific" comes in, figuring women can't lift as much weight per shovel. There's also the school off thought where a lot of small shovel loads is faster than a few bigger loads as it wears out your arms slower. Once our season starts here I will probably take this and another larger bladed shovel out into the snow and time myself digging two big holes, one with each shovel, and see how that actually works out. I like this shovel, it feels good in the hand, I just want to make sure the small blade isn't a liability.