Ortovox Badger Shovel

Good value Shovel. . . My only niggle would be that it's quite easy to get the handle in the wrong way as the handle is different each side but not a major issue.

I am a regular off-piste skier, and I bought this Badger shovel as part of my avalanche kit. I'm not interested in building kickers next to the piste - so ease of use and low weight were my priorities in choosing this shovel. The shovel is easy to assemble with gloves-on, and is effective at moving snow. The handle is a good length which means it's not too tiring to use, and the contour of the blade makes the whole snow-moving process much easier than other shovels I've used. It's very cost effective - being badged as the 'value' member of the Ortovox range. Other than that, there's not much to say - it's an effective yet essential part of the transceiver-shovel-probe combo. The only negative points to this relate to the pronounced areas at the sides of the cutting-edge of the blade. Where mostshovels have a 'clean' blade, I am concerned that over time the shape of the blade will wear-out my backpack. Having said that, the likelihood of this being a problem in real-life are very small. It's not the lightest shovel available on the market - but by the time you've put a bottle of water and a sandwich in your pack, it's very unlikely that the weight will be noticeable to any except the professional ski-mountaineer, racing up the hill on skins with just the bare-essentials. . . Overall, this is a cost-effective, efficient, and easy-to-use shovel.