Backcountry Access

RS Extendable Shovel

Best shovel ever

Familiarity:

I returned this product before using it

Size Bought:

13m

Height:

6' 1"

Weight:

190

I work as a ski guide, avalanche educator, and ski patroller for much of the winter. This shovel is always with me. I have used it for several seasons now. It's held up great, giving me no reason to switch. There are a few key aspects of this shovel that have made it my favorite. 1) The shovel can be used for normal digging or in hoe mode. Utilizing hoe mode is so much faster than traditional digging! This is true for excavating a snow pit for stability tests as well as in a rescue. 2) The flat blade makes cleaning up snow pit walls super easy. 3) There is no "neck" on the blade. In addition to increasing strength, it also makes it much easier to fit in a backpack. 4) I have the RS Plus version of this shovel. It came with a little sleeve of nuts and bottles, giving it the ability to turn the shovel into a rescue sled. I'm always carrying shovel. Might as well be able to turn into a rescue sled. 5) The shaft is a rectangle. This makes it super easy and fast to assemble. My experience is shovel with a round shaft can sometimes be a pain to line up with the blade to assemble. I've loved this shovel so much, I have purchased three others as gifts for co-workers. Once you try this shovel, you will never go back.