>>145952Cold steel shovel. 26.6oz, 20in long, roughly. Fixed head, thicker metal. In my experience a superior digging tool, cutting tool.
Military folding shovel, 40oz, roughly, much more compact. Not as good for digging or cutting, though it can bend to be used as a pick, making it slightly more useful for some situations.
I prefer a non-folding shovel, because they dig better, and I prefer the cold steel over other options such as what
>>145961 suggests... One, the blade is thicker and more heavy duty, two, the $14 shovel he suggests has to be modified and is a whooping $2 cheaper.
>>145970Actual axes absolutely are better for chopping, but if you do a lot of digging in woodlands, being able to chop roots is a must...and you don't want to use your axe. And as a redundant "if I need to, I can use it for an axe" feature, the cold steel's nice.
>>145974The sheath is pretty crap, but the handle is field-replaceable. (I've done so, to put a longer haft on it, for more serious digging). I'm debating modding my sheath, but...eh. it works alright, I toss a carabiener through the loop and clip it on my pack or belt.
