I have recommended that you always carry a metal trowel particularly as an aid to procuring survival water. A hatchet or machete is also vital for this if you ever travel in dry country – as who does not? Such a trowel is also a powerful tent anchor in sand or snow or other loose material.
If you have bought ultralight shoes such as my new Topos which have a tendency to fold inwards as you put them on – at least when new(ish) and if your old fingers are kind of arthritic as mine are and you have trouble fishing the bits out, then you will already know a shoe-horn presents itself as one of mankind’s greatest inventions – but who wants to carry one just for that purpose when a trowel will serve just as well – and you already have one?
And here you go:
PS: My ankles really aren’t that thick – it is a very bad angle, just to illustrate that the trowel works very well as a shoehorn.
BTW: That is the The Rolls Royce of Back Country Trowels: Survival Water Sources I actually prefer Gossamer Gear’s Deuce of Spades trowel even though it is 3 grams heavier and made of aluminium. It is not quite so sharp on the hand and would wear the hand out less with sustained digging even if the trowel lasted longer! It also works better as a shoe-horn.
See Also:
The Best Hiking/Hunting Shoe Ever
