I'm looking for a small shovel to store in my jeep wrangler for the winter.   Any suggestions, maybe one of the fold up entrenching tools?

Glock shovel, it even has a saw in the handle

I have a Gerber E tool in a kit that has a saw, hatchet, maglight, gerber tool, and leather gloves. It folds up into a briefcase.

But a surplus e-tool will set you back about 10 bucks and should have the carrier.

What are you going to do with it?
















 

I've never been impressed with any of the folding shovels. I'd go to Home Depot/Lowes and get a short garden shovel for $10.

You can move a lot of dirt in a hurry with an e-tool when you are pissed off.  

I don't have room for a garden shovel, a back hoe, a tow truck, or a jack hammer, so I have an e-tool.  Over the years I have used it a time or two and it is always there when I need it.  

If you are disposing of dead hookers, there are better tools than an e-tool............

At different times I've had a current issue style folding e tool, an old school WW2 shovel (that I should have kept), and my current iteration is a D handled pointed shovel.  I have used it in snow.  I would much rather have the D handled pointed shovel than a flimsy snow shovel.  Case in point, I pulled over to the side of a logging road to let someone pass.  I had pulled onto a flat of ice crusted snow that looked like road shoulder but the actual ground was lower than what the snowplow blade left,  Of course I  broke through and was stuck.  The larger D handled shovel had the strength to bust through the crust to make a path on real earth to get out.  Otherwise the crust was strong enough to hold each spinning wheel in it's own pocket.  A plastic shovel would not have done the job and would have likely broke.  An e tool would have but the extra 2 feet  of handle make a job that much easier.  Mine shovel sits behind my rear seat backs.  All I have to do is open the rear door and snake the shovel out, I don't even have to tip the seat back.

I keep a German folding shovel in the back of my car.  It has a flatter point, and I have used it to clear a little snow off of the front stoop of the school I teach at.  Nothing major, but it got the job done.  A longer handle would have been helpful, but I don't have much space to store it.  

I have also used it to dig fire pits and such, and it has been adequate.

It looks like this (not my picture)

Harbor Freight has smaller
square & round point shovels.
I bought one of each for my Jeep.

Link

Later!

John

Picked up the SOG folding shovel/entrenching tool from Walmart. $9

That's what I have in my truck. It's small, lightweight and strong.

They don't need to fold. Joints mean weak spots, as far as I'm concerned.

I've never had one of these German shovels but I've heard nothing but good things about them.

I have a Cold Steel shovel under my back truck seat.
Strong handle and blade.

I've busted though rock digging with it and it preformed like a champ.

Con's, it don't fold, spade is kinda small and of course short handle.

I still like it though.

My wife wanted to get a folding shovel for her SUV to replace the d handle square point garden shovel she currently keeps in there during the snowy months.

I reminded her that if she needed the shovel she would more than likely either be stranded in a snow bank or have gone through a snow bank and is now stuck in deep snow.

I then asked her if she would rather use a 4 foot long shovel with a larger, square scoop and d handle for optimum crusty snow chopping and/or snow dragging

or

a 2 1/2 foot long shovel with a small surface scoop and short handle.

When I explained that she will have to more than likely be on her knees to shovel herself out of a snow bank using the shorter handled shovel as well as laying in the snow to shovel the snow from underneath the vehicle she soon agreed with my logic of keeping the d handle shovel. (I keep a long handle square point in my truck for winter)

tldr: use the longest shovel you can store for optimum reach, leverage and general ease of use

Fpni....although a regular d handled spade is a wonderful tool and worthy of the space strapped to a spare tire...

I keep one of these in each vehicle.  Costco had them in a 2-pack.
http://www.lifelinefirstaid.com/product/72

Those look great!

Have you used one before and if so any problems? The blade is rugged enough to handle icy snow?

I can envision the pins freezing in place after using in winter, but nothing a little heat can't take care of.

I got a collapsible snow shovel from the parts store. Aluminum telescoping handle and it's maybe a foot wide, light as Hell and compact it still flings a lot of snow quick. It's not for much else than snow but that's what you'll be most likely to shovel in the winter anyway.

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I carry one of the surplus entrenching tools in my old 4Runner, as well as a full sized shove.  There is always room for stuff you really need.  

Glock shovel year round and a metal snow shovel or grain shovel during winter.  If you get stuck off road in 3-6' deep snow you don't want plastic and you don't want small.  It's very easy to end up in deep snow even on flat ground if the road is higher and there is a lot of snow plowed from all winter long.  That same packed snow will kill plastic shovels or flimsy folders with stretch corded handles.  If only one shovel, get a typical snow rescue shovel used on mountain slopes.

If you are stuck in a storm you only get one chance to dig out before the wind wins and drifts you in, again full size shovel.  

A tow strap so other people passing by can pull you out.  Chances are good they don't have a strap, even if they have a 4wd.

I carry this in my Jeep. It is heavy, around 30 pounds, but very useful. It has dug me out some a couple of situations before.

Have the Cold Steel one also.  It was about $20 shipped from MidwayUSA during a sale.  It's small.  It's well buitl, and should work in an emergency.

What model Jeep?

The TJ Wranglers have a nice round tube in the front of the frame. You can just shove a full-sized shovel right through the hole. Way nicer than a small shovel when you actually have to use it.

I'm struggling for a picture, and this particular shovel has since... departed... the Jeep. I was holding it in with a Bungee, which worked for years, but it disappeared on the trail this spring. The new shovel is held in with a bolt and wingnut, then though one of the holes that used to hold on the factory endcaps.

Check out the Lesche Predator tools. Wide variety of styles and sizes. Super high quality. High price too but they won't let you down

I have one of these in each of my cars.  I wrapped paracord around it as well to kill 2 birds with 1 stone.  In addition I keep an army surplus folding etool in my jeep in case need a point (or I can put the son to work as well).  The etool has dug me out of several situations.

I have one of those west German folding shovels I keep in my Jeep. Got it zip tied to the rear passenger side roll bar. and it HAS come in handy. I got a chance to use it back in May when I was driving some back roads in Oregon. Most of the snow was gone but we came across a stretch of dirt road that had snow across it... Where I was  trying to get to was just up the road. I had just put a set of new duratracs tires on the jeep which are supposed to be excellent in the snow. I thought what the hell.. Lets do it. First try went about 20' and stopped but was able to back up. Figured I would just have to try a few times making some tracks. Well second time it sunk right down to the skid plates in no time. Tried every trick in the book. Letting air out. Throwing sticks and rocks under the tires. Throwing the floor mats under the tires... She was stuck and the snow was hard packed.. pretty much wet hard packed icy snow. I dug with that shovel for a good hour to no avail.

It really is harder to dig yourself out of something like this with a flat blade like that. Worked best in the 90 degree position acting as a sort of pick (which it also has). Since i was trying to clear the hard snow under the jeep i could not really shovel like you normally would but i had to scrape a little away at a time. But the darn thing was there for me and with enough time I could have dug myself out. And it did not break. Luckily an older couple out cruising around in their new truck happened to come up on us and they also happened to have a tow strap with them and we able to yank me right out.  Usually I carry recovery gear as well but I was on a cross country trip and just could not fit everything under the sun in that little jeep. Figured the tow straps and chain were the least likely to come in handy.

Moral of the story. Test it out before you need it. And never underestimate having it. Glad I had that shovel then and glad I carry it now. :)

I keep a Max Axe in the PU cause I have the room. It's come in handy many a time.



In my other vehicles I keep a WW-2 era Swiss E-Tool. When I had a 4-Wheeler I had one on it too. Very useful what with the cutting edge on the side. I prefer non-folders.

I like the fullsize shovel in the front bumper/frame hole of the tj.  Gonna have to look at that.



I make room for a d handle shovel but I also use it to help others and what not.  If I am out and about and what not having a decent sized shovel is what I prefer.



Then again I pulled the back seat out of my wrangler and consider it to just be a 2 seater.

Love those suckers, never had a good time with the folding ones.  Left one in the trunk of a rental car once, of course no one had seen it when I went back for it.  Cold Steel Spetznaz works the same but not as cool.

I just strapped a D-handle shovel to the inner side of the spare tire when I had a Jeep.

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