That $15 camp shovel I laughed at actually saved my trip last Saturday

I was at the REI in Denver and saw this little folding shovel, thought it was a joke for $15. My buddy swore by it for digging cat holes and fire pits. I grabbed one on a whim, and last weekend I used it to clear a muddy patch for my tent stakes. It took me 4 minutes to dig a proper hole for my fire, way faster than my old trowel. Who knew a cheap shovel could beat a fancy $40 trowel? Has anyone else found a random piece of gear that weirdly outperformed?

2 comments

2 Comments

claire9926d ago

Honestly, the real win here is that cheap gear lets you beat the crap out of it without caring. A $40 trowel breaks and you're mad, but a $15 shovel gets dropped, left in the rain, maybe loaned to a friend who treats it like a pry bar, and it just keeps working. Ngl, there's something freeing about not having to treat your kit like it's made of gold. Tbh, that kind of gear is the backbone of a good trip.

mason2096d ago

Cheap gear breaking? I have to push back on that a little @claire992. Dropped my $12 camp shovel in a river once, bent the blade on a rock trying to get it unstuck, and it was basically trash after that. Same with a cheap stove I loaned a friend - the valve stripped out after one trip with some dusty fuel. I'd rather have one good trowel I treat carefully than three disposable ones that fail when I need them most. Dependability beats "freeing" when you're miles from a store.