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Cathole camping Shovels
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For light tasks, and light backpacking, a good small
camping shovel will be all you need. They are
lightweight and dont take up a lot of room. If you
are going to cover a lot of ground on foot, and dont need
a heavy duty shovel, then this may be all you can
pack. Primary mission: digging "Cat holes" for
waste disposal. The orange coghlans shovel shown at
left is a commonly found cathole shovel. For the
same price, you can buy a fiskars trowel or fiskars
transplanting trowel (shown below) which gets you
some additional benefits; not only is it sturdier,
you can take the cap off, jam a straight stick into
the handle, sharpen the point, and you've got yourself a
spear.. (hopefully you've been paying attention
and are armed sufficiently that it wont come to that
though). |
You can also roll up a decent amount of toilet tissue (or
whatever else you want to stash) and put it into
the handle and put the cap back on, the seal is tight
enough that it is essentially waterproof. Both the coghlans shovel
and the fiskars model have a hole in the handle to attach a lanyard,
or hang it up.
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COGHLANS vs
FISKARS
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SPEAR
HEAD
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STASH THE
T.P.
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Obviously for heavier jobs a small cathole camping shovel like
this will not be adequate, but as long as the soil is not too hard
or rocky, and you only need to dig a small latriene hole or small
firepit, its something to consider. If you are putting
together a bug out bag and trying to keep it light this is a good
option. Remember, Human waste is a contaminant and can cause
dysentery, cholera, Schistosomiasis, typhoid and all kinds of
other nasty stuff that you do not want to experience. Dig your
hole about 6 to 8 inches deep, in the decomposing layer of the dirt,
and well away from any water source. Cover the hole
with dirt and if possible, leaves or other organic material.
Tree huggers call it "Leave no Trace", I call it "Catch no
diseases".
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The U-Dig-it folding shovel is another good small
camping shovel, its made from Stainless steel, so it wont
rust and will do a better job on harder ground. A
metal shovel also means you can place it in the coals of your
fire and cook on it if you have to. You could
get a small piece of fish or meat, or an egg cooked on a
shovel this size pretty easily. It goes without saying
that you really dont want to use your toilet digging shovel to
cook on, were talking pretty extreme survival The
folding mechanism is simple enough, but does not lock into
place 100% reliably, it can fold if you are stabbing at the
dirt with it. The handle is a little fatigueing after
prolonged use, but overall its a nice tool. A
little pricey at $15-$20, but comes with a nylon sheath, and
its made in the USA. ..and its small... really small.
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If you wind up in a spot where you need a shovel, and you
didnt think to bring one with you, make an improvised shovel from a
stick. Find a good piece of recent deadfall hardwood about 2
to 3 inches in diameter and work the end down to a 45 degree angle
with your fixed blade knife that you didnt forget. If it
will break up the ground, you can use your hands to do excavate the
dirt. If you cant find a suitable branch to make a
shovel, look for a flat rock with a pionted end and go fred
flintstone.
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