Lightweight and very strong. Easy to adjust. Curved shovel takes a little practice to cut straight edges for your pit, but doable once you get the hang of it. Able to chop through icy layers, and move lots of snow quickly.

this shovel was surprisingly strong for it's compact size. i personally don't think you would need more unless you were planning on using it to build igloos every day. i own a landscape company and I'm rather picky about tool quality and this is a nice piece that's very light. it also fits great into an arc'teryx quiver bag that i purchased here once you remove the handle. great value!

My girlfriend and I mostly ski in the Sierra. If you don't ski the sierra, let me tell you, Snow here is HEAVY. Avy debris and consolidated snow is therefore also heavy and heavier than, oh, say, Utah or Wyoming.

I bought my girlfriend this shovel, because she is 5'3 and thought a smaller shovel would work better for her (allow her to more quickly dig my a-- out of an avalanche without hurting her back). I am now a convert, and downsized to a BD transfer 3 shovel, but I really like her Mini's shape better. Digs great snow caves, dug out my car three times with it. If you live in a place with a heavy snowpack, give this and other smaller shovels a serious though. This is one of those pieces of gear that when you need it most, it performs best.

The mini shovel can handle anything a bigger metal shovel can with ease. The super sturdy construction makes it vastly superior to a lexan blade for cutting through ice and debris, and the smaller size won’t tax your back when lifting dense snowpack. I find I dig faster with this unit than with a full size blade which is the most important factor when trying to save your buddy. Killer Shovel!!!

This is a badass shovel- It is super light and compact- yet can move snow like the bigger voile shovels. The shovel head is tough enough to take on any type of snow!! Great Buy!!! recommend to anyone who wants to shed the lbs for a shovel. I would prefer to have a "D" shaped handle so that I can grip it better with mittens or gloves... other than that.. great buy!!!

I'd just like to say that I've been impressed with this shovel but I have a couple of important quibbles with it. Cutting snow out for avalanche tests, a very important function of a back country shovel, would be made much easier by the cutting area and base of the scoop being flat. The concavity of this shovel and the trough running along most of its base made cutting the snow flat very awkward, and compression tests difficult and painful enough to be unreliable. This is a big design flaw but not insurmountable. I hope to see a redesign on the market soon as it is potentially a very good product.

I use this in the backcountry for patrol. You could always have a burlier shovel, but this one does the trick. Sturdy metal if you need to break ice or anything, yet super light.