Which Shovel Is Best For Building Snowboard Jumps & Going Backcountry?

Today’s reader question:

Can you recommend some shovels for building snowboard jumps and going into the backcountry?

Picking a good shovel is actually pretty simple, you just need to make sure your shovel meets a couple simple requirements.

1) Aluminium blade / shovel head

Ski shovels usually come with either a metal aluminium shovel head or a plastic composite shovel head. Don’t get any shovels with a plastic head.

Plastic shovel heads suck for cutting through snow. They just bounce off instead of cutting the snow.

Aluminium shovel heads are definitely something you want when you buy a good snowboard shovel.

2) Telescopic handle

You’ll want a handle that collapses down to make it easy to carry with your backpack.

While there’s nothing saying you can’t have a non collapsible handle, you don’t really want to snowboard while carrying a long shovel the whole time.

What shovel brands should I buy & Where do I buy a good shovel?

As far as shovel brands go, any of the companies that make a lot of avalanche safety and mountain hiking gear tend to make high quality shovels.

Here are just a few companies I’d recommend you look at:

• Black Diamond
• Ortovox
• Voile
• G3 – Genuine Guide Gear
• BCA – Backcountry Access

You can find them online, but if you want to buy locally you can find good shovels at most outdoor backcountry / mountain shops. Snowboard shops sometimes carry shovels too, but your best bet for quality shovels are the backcountry and hiking shops.

Hope that answers your question.

- Jed

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