Snow pits are far too easy for this shovel, so I decided to use it to dig my Jeep out of the snow on a recent dawn patrol gone wrong.
My ski partner and I used this shovel for five hours of nonstop digging in the most God-awful icy crust you have ever encountered. There were sections we had to chop up with a hatched and dig out the chunks, no amount of kicking or hacking with the shovel could break it up.
At the end of it all I casually put an almost new looking Black Diamond shovel back in... my pack, ready for the next any pit or Jeep extraction.
I should never have to replace this shovel, but if I do I'll gladdly buy another one.
I love that it it stows within itself and you don't have to try and fit the pieces together when you are in need of emergency digging.
When you need a rapid deployment shovel, the Black Diamond Deploy 3 Snow Avalanche Shovel features a trapezoidal shaft that locks into place with a quick pull, so you don t waste time putting things together when you need to be digging. When it s time to stash the Deploy 3 Snow Avalanche Shovel in your pack, the curved handle slides down and hugs the contours of the blade to take up minimal space.