You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: Awesomifying a Folding Shovel
I'd make a leather case for that thing. But I'm compulsize that way. The one you mentioned was floppy that has leather case... does it hang low enough to add a string like on a holster to minimize the flopping?
The photos that I see of soldiers wearing similar shovel (it's basically an Austrian variant of the M43) don't seem to holster the handle. The flopping mustn't have been all that bad.
It may be that with other stuff on it stabilizes enough. I wasn't thinking of putting a string on the handle so much as the lower point of the case. But it also may need to be movable to keep it out of the way when changing positions all the time.
I think you're right. If the spade is worn on a pack then there was normally a special pocket that held the whole head onto the pack. The photos I saw from WWII of the Austrian's showed the shovel worn on the left side of a belt. In that position you might want a single attachment point for mobility as you describe.
Interestingly, the new NATO folding shovels are tri-folders and collapse into a package no larger than the shovel's head. I have a spade carrier from a British PLCE webbing set and my local army contacts confirm they carry something similar on their webbing. I think that tri-fold design eliminates any swinging or leg entanglement hazard from the handle.
Ours, if we ever need it, will probably go on a saddle pack or strap on otherwise that way. We don't do much long trips on foot.