Hiking sometimes requires you to dig some holes, whether it's for turning over ashes of a fire or digging a hole for your toilet, shovels have lots of uses while on the trail. Keeping the weight of your pack down is important for lightening the load on your body while walking but most shovels and trowels can be quite heavy. That's why today we are reviewing the Pocket Trowel from Sea to Summit to see if it is a great alternative to the heavier, metal trowels you can often see being used by your average adventurer.
What features does it include?
Well this trowel can be pulled apart into two main parts, the handle and the scoop which are both made of strong, ultralight, high strength Nylon 66 which makes this trowel durable while remaining light-weight, weighing only 87 grams. The Cap on the end of the trowel handle can be removed and has a small amount of space for storing items such as a roll of biodegradable plastic bags or a box of matches which can help with space efficiency in packs with very little room. Finally, there is the added bonus of being able to easily clean the scoop due to its ability to be detached from the handle and washed in a river or stream to clean off any muck or dirt stuck on to the end. This is very helpful as it allows you to avoid getting this dirt and other muck into you bag and mixing with clean items such as your plate, cutlery and most importantly food.
What are my thoughts on the Trowel?
Well I must start by saying that this product is well made and well designed, it's clear that they thought deeply about what hikers need when making this Trowel and it's design reflects this. Because it has been made with an extra strong Nylon 66 material, I can use it in a careless manor knowing it won’t suddenly break on me while using it or will wear out suddenly after a short period of time. The Trowel comes in one colour which is the orange and grey shown above but there is also an alloy version which uses a lightweight metal alloy instead of the Nylon 66, this version is better for use in moving hot coals but for everything else the Nylon version seems to be better. This is because it weighs less and yet does just about everything you would need it to do while hiking.
The fact that it folds up into itself will make most hikers (me included) who are space conscious take a sigh of relief as it fits into any small crevasse of your bag that you can find with ease. This space efficiency on top of its durability and lightweight material makes it one of my new favourite tools that I can use while out on the trail and has now become a permanent fixture of my packing checklist before setting off on an adventure.
So in summary I would recommend this product for any hikers looking for a lightweight alternative to the heavy metal Trowels you typically find in stores and think it is good value for the total cost.
For this review I use the Ultralight Nylon 66 Pocket Trowel from Sea to Summit which costs $12.99 AUD. Most major retailers will have their own version of this product so make sure to do your research before purchase and try look for sales or discounts as it can save you a few dollars.
Written by Josh Welch
Comments