One of the things I hate most in life is equipment that does not do what its makers claim it does. I hate the unfulfilled promise of gear that looks good but doesn’t function. This is why one of the maxims I try to live by is, Never field untested gear. As with anything in life, however, I am not always consistent, nor do I always follow my own advice. Such was the case with the Taiwan-made entrenching tool that I put in the trunk of my car after buying it from a military surplus store.
I mean, come on: it’s a shovel. How complicated could it be? Specifically, this was a copy of an old government-issue e-tool. My father always kept the genuine article in his truck. I have no idea how old that e-tool of his was, but it served him well for many years (as did several other pieces of tried and true, vintage military surplus). The reason I carry an entrenching tool in the trunk at all is to follow his example.
Well, I never tested the shovel. I didn’t see any reason I would need to. So there finally came a day when I tried to use the shovel to cut through sod while planting, of all things, hydrangeas. That’s all I was doing: basic landscaping.
What I found out was that my no-name Taiwanese shovel wouldn’t, er, shove. No matter how much I tightened the folding shovel blade, it wouldn’t stay open, so it couldn’t dig. It was utterly useless. Had I needed that shovel to dig out my vehicle or do just about anything that might be important, I’d have been completely screwed.
In my disgust, I cast around for a shovel to replace the Taiwanese model (which I threw into a dumpster without delay). To my delight, I found an even more compact shovel that works really well. It is the SOG Entrenching Tool, which I obtained through Base Camp Echo.
This is a Chinese-manufactured, tempered steel trifold shovel designed by SOG. It ships in a cardboard display box and comes with a lightweight carry pouch (although this is really too light to serve as a means of carrying the shovel in the field). The key to the folding mechanism is a locking collar below the blade of the shovel. Loosening the collar permits you to fold the shovel or move the blade into “pick” position, while tightening the collar secures the shovel for digging.
My first tests of the shovel were at the beach. I reasoned that if it couldn’t even function as a beach shovel, it would join the Taiwanese e-tool in the dumpster. Dig it did, however, and it did so well. I was ready to dig my own foxhole instead of a sand castle. In so doing I learned that the shovel is quite solid (although there is a little play when it is locked open, as you’d expect) and very comfortable in the hand. The triangular handle allows for a great grip and more leverage than a simple straight handle of the same size.
In actual earth, the shovel performed very well. It bit deeply into packed ground and displayed no signs of collapsing. There are saw teeth on the blade of the shovel, but they are not sharpened. My test partner, Michael, was able to cut his way slowly through a branch with these, but they would really need to be honed if you intended to do any extensive cutting with them.
I even tried using the shovel as a pick, both with the blade and with the opposing handle. It did just fine in this capacity. By “just fine,” I mean that it stayed locked open when I wanted it to be locked open, which is really all you can ask of a shovel of this size.
The only trouble I had with the SOG entrenching tool was that grit and dirt got under the collar and made it difficult to release the collar until I shook the collar back and forth a bit. I don’t see this as a downside; you want that shovel locked open as securely as possible while it’s in use. If it requires a little cleaning before storage, that’s not an issue. Once folded on top of itself three times, the little shovel practically disappears. You can tuck this thing away just about anywhere. You’ll notice the extra weight in a pack, but it’s not so heavy that it will bother you.
This is a great tool that has become part of my daily vehicle kit. I’ve used it a lot over the summer and am very happy with it. Should your shovel refuse to “shove,” this is a great choice for a replacement. Pick up your SOG Entrenching Tool through Base Camp Echo and tell them we sent you.
