TheTentLab  The Deuce #3 Heavy Duty Backcountry Trowel

I’ve had my eye on this lil guy for a while & I finally grabbed one on my last trip to REI. It’s crazy how strong it is considering how thin & light it is (I did try to bend it & couldn’t - I’m not the strongest person ever, but still)! if you’re cool with adding another half an ounce or so to its weight you can easily add a paracord handle wrap that makes it nicer to hold while digging.

This is the heaviest of the three versions of the Deuce trowel on offer, at 0.97 of an ounce rather than half an ounce or even lighter, but I picked it because I can be hard on gear sometimes, to say nothing of the rocks and clay in the soil near me, and the weight penalty is barely above negligible. Material appears to be top quality; the trowel is formed from a single flat sheet of aluminum, cut to shape, and creased to multiply strength, rather like corrugated cardboard. It had no trouble with the soil shot through with clay and sandstone chunks in my backyard and the park nearby. (Just test digging, not full-usage catholes, naturally!) Also makes an excellent gardener’s aid and beach toy, if you really want to get your money’s worth. Trustworthy manufacturer and designer with a history of putting out quality lightweight hiking gear. Would recommend.

Lol that REI pinged for a review on this. Look, it did its job. It does not dig through large rocks though, so pick your spot carefully. And don’t be one of those ultralight backpackers that use this as their eating utensils. That’s so wrong.

It worked exactly as it should. It was able to cut through smaller roots, and could dig in rocky soil. It wasn’t comfortable in my hand, but it’s not hard to hold either. Ultimately I broke the tip off against a large buried rock, but I can’t really hold that against it because I think that would’ve happened to any lightweight trowel.

Have not used this yet. It is compact and light. Product is as described.

Ok, we know what this is mainly for. Don't expect it to do more than that. It's strong and light as you probably can get. Great for hiking and handling your business. I saw in one of the reviews, someone made a cord wrapped handle. Good idea to make it easier to use. Have to give that a try. I would recommend wrapping in something when you put it in your pack to prevent any tears. I recommend this, so get digging.

I took this trowel backpacking in the Eastern Sierra and it was completely worthless. We were camping near a lake with a lot of trees. The ground was typical of the Sierra—fairly hard and rocky. This shovel could not penetrate more than a couple inches. It is made of a thin piece aluminum; It would need to be at least twice as thick to actually be able to break up the dirt. I ended up having to use a rock to dig my holes. I am returning it as soon as I can.

Even though the #3 model is the heaviest duty, I still twisted the handle a bit on the first outing. Otherwise, it works as advertised. I wrapped the handle in a couple layers of duct tape, which helped minimize the edge digging into my hand (+ extra tape is never bad)

Excellent little deuce shovel! I was skeptical at first because of how thin and light it felt. I live in Mendocino county and hike around where the soil is pretty rocky and hard in places. I’m also planning on hiking the rim to rim and have been gathering ultra light hiking stuff. This little shovel handled the soil with ease, and it’s super light.

So, I got all weight-conscious, and ditched my cheap, strong, plastic trowel for fancy titanium. Uhm---not worth it. This works, but the plastic one was easier on my hand (this is rather uncomfortable if there's any resistance at all in digging), not much heaver, and frankly felt sturdier--this flexes with any pressure at all.