Best Backpacking Shovel Buyer Advice
The best backpacking trowel is an ultralight trowel
As trowels spend 99% of their time packed with one or two digging sessions per day, we believe that weight minimization is more important than functionality maximization. Optimize for what they do most – which is being stowed.
Furthermore, basically any backpacking trowel can get the job done with enough elbow grease, even smaller ultralight trowels weighing half an ounce. Therefore, we advise choosing smaller models, even when larger shovels with more scooping capacity are available. In the event that the ground is too hard/rooty/gravely for a dinky 6″ backpacking trowel, you can almost always get your hole started by pulling up a half buried rock or small log to achieve the desired depth.
While it’s nice to be able to dig faster, especially in the event of an “emergency,” you can always take care of your business with the hole that’s available ASAP, excavate a deeper hole immediately adjacent to your first hole, and then push the contents into the second hole with a rock or stick.
Don’t buy a cheap backpacking shovel from a knockoff brand on Amazon
In attempting to find a budget backpacking trowel, we discovered a lot of flimsy shovels and very little in the way of high quality designs. Stick to retailers like REI and Garage Grown Gear who source from reputable brands run by experienced backpackers who know what’s up.
Best backpacking trowel features to have
- Edge Serration: This feature is generally quite desirable because it makes cutting through roots and hard packed soil much easier. However, it does have a downside. Serrated edges are capable of damaging outdoor fabrics used to store them, such as exterior pocket mesh and lightweight dry bags.
- Grip Enhancement: Smooth, thin aluminum or titanium handles aren’t the most conducive to secure grip, which is why most brands add some degree of grip enhancement. This could include a rubberized coatings, cut out holes, or 3D bumpers.
- End cap/rounded end/flared end: A final desirable feature would be anything that allows you to exert downward pressure on the handle without a narrow strip of metal digging into your skin. We love the plastic endcap on the BoglerCo trowel. Bending the metal back slightly to create a flat top surface works too. Another solution is creating a flat transition point to press your hand down into at the intersection of the handle and shovel end. Flared ends don’t necessarily help exert downward pressure, but do help you hold the trowel in place while making a sawing motion.
LNT matter, please pack out your toilet paper
Many popular backcountry campgrounds are becoming overwhelmed with toilet paper litter. It takes longer than you think to decompose, people are lazy about achieving six inches of depth, and/or the soil itself may be too rocky. Worst of all, some small animals, like squirrels and mice, are prone to digging out the TP to use in their nests, which is unsanitary for all involved.
As such, we recommend using a zip lock bag to pack out your used TP. This is recommended for all backcountry trips, but absolutely critical whenever you cannot achieve adequate cathole depth, or are in low decomposition zones, such as at high altitude. Or use a wag bag!
The classic orange plastic Coghlan’s is definitely not the best backpacking trowel
One of the most iconic backpacking shovels is the orange plastic Coghlan’s. We’ve all seen it before, but the design has not aged well. Firstly, it weighs at least two ounces, which is 2-4x more than the best backpacking shovel designs Furthermore, the plastic is softer than metal, and more prone to breaking. It also releases microplastics into the ecosystem as it strikes small rocks while digging. And of course, it’s big, bulky, and more awkward to store.
