One thing that has always been very important to me is being prepared for emergencies. I learned so much growing up in the country from my family. We always had extra tools, blankets, and other supplies. You just never knew when you might need something or there might be an emergency.
A tool that was always in our trunk was an old army shovel. We used it for all kinds of things. But since those days, shovels like the army shovel, have been vastly improved to be even more that what we had way back when.
FiveJoy has a great shovel that will help in pretty much any kind of emergency you might run in to. Here's a short diagram that shows you a lot of what is a part of this little shovel.
There is more than the Magnesium Rod, Whistle, Tactical Knife, and Blade. There are actually 2 blades on the shovel as well as a saw. There is very good length of paracord included and attached to the handle of the shovel.
The shovel is made of heat-treated high carbon steel. This little thing is going to hold up for a long time. The handle is made of aerospace grade aluminum and treated with anodic oxidation technology that will give it stability. Believe me, this is a very well made product.
The whole thing comes in a sturdy canvas pouch with a pocket for the shovel with half of the handle folded down and a pocket for the rest of the handle. The actual shovel/blade has a similar canvas pouch over it. Both of the canvas pouches have Velcro straps to attach the shovel to a belt or a pack for easy carrying. There is also a nice adjustable strap that can be slung over your shoulder if you wanted to do that. The shovel pouch has two small Velcro closures to hold it securely in place, but both can be opened quickly while it is hanging on a belt so yo can pull the shovel out fast with one hand.
I was surprised at how light weight this is. It is very easy to use and carry. I strapped it on for a few hours to see how it felt, and it almost became unnoticeable after a while. Although this is something you could tuck into a pack if you want to, I would keep this out to be accessible fast. There are so many things this little shovel can do. The handle does take some practice to get used to moving it with ease. After a few tires it becomes much easier and faster.
The handle sections unscrew easily and each part of the handle is easy to use. The whistle is super, super loud. Perfect to really get someone's attention. I think it is important for everyone who hikes or camps to learn the whistle code. I learned it years ago.
One Whistle: Stop
Two Whistles: Come here
Three Whistles: Come immediately/emergency
This shovel is actually a shovel, hoe, axe, hammer, auto emergency escape hammer, saw, knife, wire cutter, bottle opener, fire-starter magnesium, whistle, and it also comes with paracord that can be used for a large number of things itself. You should try each of those things out before you need them in an emergency so you know what you are doing. The last thing you want is to be in a situation where you need to act quickly and you are struggling with how to operate your equipment!
Yes, the shovel is a lot smaller than our old army shovel we had, but it does so much more and is a much better tool to have in an emergency, to just go camping, or to keep in your car for emergencies. This is something I think every family should have at least one of. Ours is going into our emergency kit we have prepared.
This reviewer received the
product free or at a discounted price in order to bring you an honest
review. No other form of compensation was given. All opinions are
those of the reviewer.
