Glock, Gerber, USGI, or the nearly identical German GI tri-fold will do the job.  Save the last two, the different designs/materials have their plusses and minuses.  Whatever you buy, make sure to get a carrier that will interface with your pack/LBE.

Tool bad you found our the hard way about inferior quality items.

Take it back, and demand at least a store credit.

Quoted: Doesn't the gerber come with a plastic handle?  I have a USGI tri-fold e-tool I purchased from my local army surplus store, and it has been working well for me.  Feels sturdy and locks down well.

Yes, it does.  However, it seems pretty stout.  Keep in mind a few things:  The Gerber is accepted as NATO issue, the metal handle on the tri-fold is not as strudy as it might first seem, and lastly that on ANY folding shovel the joints are most often the weakest link in the system.  Make CERTAIN to snug things up tight before doing any work, and check periodically lest things work loose, and slow, incremental damage occur, often invisible at first. This incremental damage usually is accellerated wear on the rivets (which are often hollow), and on the holes in the handle/blade/shaft through which the rivets pass.

Some folks solve the rivet issue by drilling out the OEM rivets and substituting Stainless Steel bolts and then double-nutting them.  Be advised that drilling out and removing rivets is a definite PITA.

If you have more time than money, and if the component parts of your GI tri-fold are in good shape, fixing worn rivets and elongated holes is do-able and much less expensive than a new, not worn-out GI replacement.  Just measure the most elongated hole, and then select a drill size, and bolt size that will make things round (and tight) again.

A USGI tri-fold (or an older, bi-fold) will have stamped on the blade: U.S., and below that Mfr name and date of mfr.  It might be buried/obscured under paint, but if you look closely you should be able to make out some of it, at least.  I assume German tri-folds are similarly stamped.

FWIW, there are a lot of pretty good quality, older bi-folds on the market, usually of European origin, especially German.  Some of the West German shovels have a fold-out pick, which can be extremely useful, depending on the type of material you find yourself engaged in digging.

While the German and ComBloc square-bladed spades are useful, they are poor digging tools unless the soil is just right .  Most soils require a point to the blade, and some a pick.

Again, whatever you buy, and if you mean to carry it on your person, the shovel/e-tool MUST have a sheath/scabbard/carrier that protects you/your pack/gear against the sharp-bladed/dirty shovel, and which easily interfaces with your gear.

Negative points for leather, cotton, and cotton thread, as some/all are probably old and ready to fail.  Plus points for new, stout synthetic.  New (or even fairly old) leather can be treated with Picard's  leather oil which will preserve it for a good while.  Does nothing for cracked, dead leather.

If you are simply going camping, unless it is with a fairly large group, then a trowel is best, as it is small and light.  I'd shy clear of plastic units, as they react badly to rocks (common hereabouts), and extreme cold can cause them to fracture, possibly cutting the user far from medical help.  Metal units, even lightweight aluminum types, can do double duty as light hammers, such as for tent stake insertion.  Dunno if the Stainless folders will hold up to that.

OTOH, if a "tactical" scenario was a possibility, then you are going to want more digging power than a simple trowel can deliver.