March, 2006 Commentary & Opinion...
Part Two:
Plastic Backcountry
Shovels: It's Time To Stick A Fork In Them, They Are Done (Or
At Least Should Be)
by
Mitch Weber
"Plastic avalanche
shovels have earned a bad reputation. Although polycarbonate
(Lexan) blades are nearly unbreakable, they tend to flex which
makes them bounce off hard snow. When seconds count, a shovel
that cannot attack avalanche debris is almost worthless. Aluminum
blades are stiffer so they chop much more effectively..."
so begins a
two year-old "SNEWS" (Specialty News) review of Indigo's standard model Snow
Logic plastic shovel. The review went on to praise Indigo's then-new
shovel for overcoming "the weakness of previous polycarbonate
models" by making this shovel's polycarbonate blade more
stiff. This was accomplished by shrinking the overall dimensions
of the blade, while adding beefy ribs and taller sidewalls. Just
one problem: when Indigo was done, they ended up with a plastic
shovel the standard model of which weighed 27 ounces (SNEWS listed
the standard model at 23 ounces, but ours weighed 27 ounces,
which is identical to what Indigo lists on its own website). That's just 3 ounces less than
the larger standard aluminum model from Voile and about the same
as standard aluminum blade shovels offered by G3 and Black Diamond.
And it should be noted, the taller sidewalls of the Snow Logic
made it significantly more difficult to find room the room to
tuck it away safely inside several of the more popular ski packs
we carried it in (does anyone still carry their shovel strapped
onto the outside of their pack? We sure hope not). So the question
has to be asked, exactly what is the advantage of this plastic
shovel?
As mentioned in Part One
of this opinion and commentary, way back when, backcountry skiers
justified carrying a lightweight plastic shovel for emergency
avalanche rescue use by using logic that essentially boiled down
to "at least this piece of inferior crap is better than
nothing." And most of the time that made at least some sense,
quite often our partners weren't carrying any shovel at all.
Thankfully, things have changed. Today, backcountry skiers are
far more avalanche safety conscious than they were just a decade
ago. Most of us realize now that carrying a shovel isn't just
about being socially correct. It's about making sure that we
at least might have some chance to save a friend and/or loved
one if and when disaster should strike.
In the last few years the
writing has been on the wall for the makers of ineffective, plastic
backcountry shovels. Not only are bc skiers more avalanche safety
aware than they were a decade ago, thanks to widespread internet
connectivity many hundreds of thousands now have the ability
to freely communicate this knowledge to one another worldwide,
and in real time. One manufacturer's rep actually complained
to us in 2004 at a tradeshow about the years of hard work he
and his company had put into convincing bc skiers that plastic
shovels were effective avy rescue tools. He bemoaned the fact
that all of this effort was now wasted as a result of the avalanche
at SME, survivor Seibert's account how the plastic shovels a
few were carrying that day simply didn't do the job, and how
the new travelled so fast (presumably despite having been ignored
by the skiing print press). Somewhat desperately it seemed, the
rep tried to plant within us the improbable suggestion that the
ineffective plastic shovels involved were not dedicated backcountry
tools, but rather the kind of plastic shovels normally found
in hardware stores or in toy stores at the beach. We walked away
shaking our heads in disbelief. Say what one will about the decisions
made that day on La Traviata, but it is beyond the inconceivable
to those of us that know or knew the survivors and the dead that
they would have ventured into the backcountry that day with beach
toys for shovels. Sorry friend, that just didn't happen.
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So it came as no big surprise
to us when "composite" plastic shovels soon thereafter
began to be marketed more aggressively. The term "composite"
sounds so high tech, doesn't it? Add a bunch of short, chopped
glass fibers into the plastic resin for more stiffness, along
with a dash of grey pigment to make the new shovel "carbon
colored" (in the words of one bold e-talier) and what do
you know? Those rainbow colored polycarbonate plastic shovels
with the bad reputation are suddenly the latest and greatest
"composite" backcountry models, "designed to chop
ice & stubborn snow." Again, there is just one problem,
this time a really big one, avalanche debris has always consisted
almost entirely of "ice & stubborn snow," and yet
thousands upon thousands of those crappy polycarb shovels that
apparently weren't designed to chop ice and stubborn snow,
but were sold and used as avalanche rescue shovels anyway, are
still out there. Worse even yet, they continue to be sold
by at least one manufacturer alongside their composite models,
and with copy urging
potential buyers to "be prepared, always carry a shovel
in the backcountry." What exactly is it that backcountry
travellers are preparing for by carrying these polycarb shovels
anyway? Digging a cat hole to take a crap? Puhleeese. Sorry to
be so crude, but the cynicism behind this kind of marketing is
almost unbearable. |
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For what it's worth, these
new stiffer composite plastic shovels do penetrate hard snow
better than the bendy Lexan blades from which they descended.
But despite their exotic sounding "composite" name,
no doubt chosen carefully to breathe new life into what has to
be a declining sales category, they retain many of the drawbacks
associated with plastic shovels, most worrisome among these is
the tendency for plastic to "bounce" off of hard surfaces
to a far greater degree than metal (those of you with nice new
hardwood floors in your kitchen can ask yourselves which type
of utensil you would rather drop, plastic or metal?). The composite
plastic shovels also tend to be thicker as well, making them
harder to drive into firm snow and ice. Additionally. experienced
backcountry users of both plastic and metal shovels have observed
that when in failure mode shovels made of plastic tend to do
so catastrophically and without warning, while aluminum shovels
are more likely to bend before they break. With the increased
stiffness of a composite plastic shovel blade comes a substantial
reduction in ductility and fracture toughness, indicating that
a reduction in this tendency to catastrophic failure is not likely
to decrease as compared to previous plastic models.
And the weight saving can
only be viewed as minimal, at best. The top-of-the-line Life-Link
Ice Pro composite plastic shovel with a handle extending to a
little under 37", weighs in at 25 ounces (709gr). Voile's excellent, tried-and-true Telepro
aluminum model, with a handle that extends to a little under
40", weighs just 5 ounces (142gr) more. The Traverse from Backcountry Access has a
9" x 10.5" aluminum blade, it extends to a little under
32" and weighs just 21 ounces (595gr). The lightest composite
plastic shovel offered by Life-Link has a fixed length handle
that give an overall length of 25", well more than half
a foot shorter than BCA's Traverse but they weigh the same, 21
ounces.
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Happily, as one might guess
from the above numbers, when it comes to metal blade shovels
there are many solid choices out there.
Along with the notable
models already mentioned from Voile and BCA are G3's
burly but still
lightweight 9.5 x 10.5" blade AvyTech shovel (right). It
has a handle that extends to 34" in a package that weighs
about 27 ounces (770gr to be exact). The AvyTech can also be
configured into a shorter handled "ultra light /mini-mode"
that weighs nearly 5 ounces less. And along with this versatility
comes nearly bombproof construction, utilizing 6061-T6 heat treated
aluminum and manufactured using the almost high-art of TIG welding. |
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Black Diamond has also
been making dependable backcountry shovels with aluminum blades
for years. Recently this employee-owned outdoor industry leader
announced a promising new line of shovels due out this coming
fall. The new line includes the "Deploy" model we have
been using this winter. Ours has a 10.25" x 12" work-hardened
aluminum blade, a strong, trapezoidal handle which extends to
26" and which retracts neatly, down to an overall length
of 18.5 inches, all the while remaining attached securely to
the blade. And our Deploy shovel weighs barely more than 24 ounces
(680.4gr).
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Among the lightest
backcountry shovels we have seen is Voile's one pound XLM has a 24" fixed
length handle, and is a minimalist's delight, as in tours with
a minimal number of real friends. Still, the XLM's 6061-T6 heat-treated
aluminum 13.5" x 10" blade is far more effective in
penetrating hard snow than most of the plastic shovels in use
today. Weight conscious backcountry skiers with a conscious should
check out Voile's 24 ounce "Mini" (right) instead.
It has a handle that extends to 30", with a heat-treated
13.5" x 10" blade.
Even the leading plastic
shovel makers offer aluminum models of some note. Life-Link's Alpine Pro model has a 42"
length extendible handle and weighs less than two pounds. Ortovox has several worthy looking aluminum
models as well. |
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In choosing a metal shovel
be aware that aluminum comes in various flavors all of which,
like most structural metals, have considerable amounts of ductility
and fracture toughness. Some aluminum, such as the 6000 series
alloys require heat-treating and sometimes artificial aging to
acquire their optimum mechanical properties, when done right
this process results in a very high-quality material. Other alloys
such as the 7000 series respond well to "work hardening,"
a process that restructures the material at the molecular level
either before production or during forging, stamping or bending.
Work hardening can increase the strength of the aluminum alloy
by some 20%, and with little effect on the material's ductility
and fracture toughness.
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Of course design characteristics
also influence a shovels overall strength and potential for durability,
perhaps even more so than choice of aluminum alloy and how the
metal is treated for strength. For example BD's Deploy shovels
(right) are formed in a way that creates a box-like enclosure
to bear the strain of the handle, a design that depends on a
weld mostly just to close up the section.
Choose the shovel that
is right for you. Very often backcountry skiers have found that
they can move more snow faster, and for a longer session without
a break by using a shovel with a smaller blade. That monster
model with the giant blade and a name like "Everest Guide
Pro" or some such thing, might be great for a human-lung
aerobic king, but maybe not for most of us who should probably
be looking at medium size blade models. |
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Consider why exactly it
is that you are buying a backcountry shovel. Many skiers want
a shovel to carry for avalanche rescue, and that's it. For these
skiers ease of use might not be as important as it is for others
who do a lot of winter camping and multi-night tours. The former
group might decide that an aching back will be the least of their
worries while digging out a partner, and members of the latter
group may want to choose a longer handled extendible shovel that
spares their spine when shoveling shelter platforms, digging
deep pits or doing many Rutschblock tests. For this grou, the
kind of handle the shovel is equipped with is probably more important
as well. Consider your own needs carefully and choose accordingly.
The time has come to put
a fork into plastic shovels for backcountry use.... they are
done. Plastic shovels had their time, and it is passed. Born
of an era when any shovel was better than no shovel, they have
hung around longer than they should have. Plastic shovels offer
no real advantages over metal shovels, and they have proven to
be unreliable as avalanche rescue tools. Just say no to ineffective,
possibly even dangerous plastic backcountry shovels. It's the
right thing to do. |