Snowclaw

[Wayland]

I've been thinking about doing some serious winter skills work lately and been tinkering with my gear in advance as it were.

I was looking around for a lightweight snow shovel of some kind and came across this.

http://www.snowclaw.com/index.htm

It looked interesting and was certainly light so I looked for a UK supplier (No connection etc.) and ordered one.

Now I'm a fan of gear that has more than one use and the thing that struck a few of us at Middlewood last weekend was how many things this could be used for apart from it's primary use as a snow shovel.

The web site suggests a few like using as an emergency splint or a snow anchor but it doesn't take much imagination to see uses for this that don't even involve snow like sitting or kneeling on wet ground (which I end up doing a lot while I'm out taking pictures) or collecting leaf litter for shelter building.

I've yet to get the chance to try it for real in the snow of course but I'll post something up when I get the chance.

I thought I'd post it up for the record because I only found it by accident but I think it's going to earn a regular spot in my winter pack.

 

[addo]

Looks a rearly usefull bit of kit, I like the use of two together for collecting leaf litter.

 

[Danceswithhelicopters]

I have one, the red one in fact, used last year in the garden with a limited mount of snow and it did exactly what it says on the tin!

I've also rigged it up as a panel on the front of my rucsac which you can then use as a stowage area for wet gear.

**** sitting on is also a design spinoff.

Warm and dry keks.

 

[sam_acw]

what about as a sled?

 

[big_swede]

I've used a snowclaw. It sucked in comparison to my ordinary folding shovel. I wouldn't trust it for winter/mountain use. The shovel is one of the most important tools in arctic regions (where there are no trees).

 

[Jared]

I thought Dakine made something similar to these, and now it seems they don't anymore.

http://www.kinderski.com/acatalog/snow_claw.html

 

[crazyclimber]

I'm surprised at big_swede's comment there; I carried one throughout the whole winter season last year in Scotland and it's definitely one of my better purchases. Digging snowholes in the cairngorms is so much faster with that than with either an ice axe or a standard shovel especially once you get inside... also keeps your hands a lot warmer than using an aluminium shovel unless you've been super efficient and covered the handle with a foam sleeping mat (is anyone that organised?!!).
I didn't try using it as a base with my petrol stove; too great a risk of it being melted IMO (though no evidence to back that up - an advantage of a metal one though), but in warmer (ie near 0) conditions it's also a great base for a gas stove in the snow. For the weight and price well worth taking along

 

[Wayland]

I've used a snowclaw. It sucked in comparison to my ordinary folding shovel. I wouldn't trust it for winter/mountain use. The shovel is one of the most important tools in arctic regions (where there are no trees).

Interesting comment.

Could you expand a bit on what you thought the problems were?

 

[Wayland]

I'm surprised at big_swede's comment there; I carried one throughout the whole winter season last year in Scotland and it's definitely one of my better purchases. Digging snowholes in the cairngorms is so much faster with that than with either an ice axe or a standard shovel especially once you get inside... <Snip

That was the sort of thing I thought it would be good for too. It needs much less space to use than a normal shovel as far as I can see.

 

[crazyclimber]

yep, slips right down the back of a rucksack and takes no space. Even better is when you use a lightweight frameless rucksack (as I did at the end of the season), useful for providing some stability along with a foam mat folded in the back. All part of my cunning plan to stop carrying a small house up mountains one good thing you can say about the French and their climbing style!
Oh and you can use it as a deadman too if you're into that kinda thing. Sling through and done

 

[big_swede]

Okay, wayland I will try to explain.

My ordinary shovel is an aluminium (7075 T6) folding story. What I lack in the snow claw is the handle, it gives a certain amount of leverage. Lifting a full shovel of snow can be somewhat heavy, and doing this with the snowclaw is cumbersome (the arms are in the way so to speak). The amount of snow for each take with the shovel lifts away more snow easier than with the snowclaw. And with an ordinary shovel you can throw the snow further away with greater accuracy (if you want the snow to land in a certain place). If you were to take two guys and ask them to shovel a certain volume of snow as fast as they can, and equip one with a folding hi-quality shovel and the other with a snowclaw, the shovel would win hands down everytime. One might argue that speed isn't an issue here, or that the snowclaw has more uses. But to ME, speed is definitely an issue, the shovels foremost asset is in companion rescue in case of an avalanche. I never venture into winter mountains without a shovel and a avalanche probe, and I wouldn't trust a snowclaw in this aspect. And further more, should you find yourself in really bad weather and you are forced to build a shelter in the snow, speed or more precisely volume of snow per unit time is critical. I know this by experience (digging for someone trapped under snow is extremely stressful and tiring). Maybe someone has come into this situation and made it fine with the snowclaw but I would not sacrifice the safety the shovel provides with the saved weight or the other odd features the snowclaw claims it has.

A folding shovel doesn't take so much space. It's very flat.

Oh yeah forgot, I have never ever found the handle too cold, I use mitts, thought most people use this during the cold season?

 

[Wayland]

Thanks for that Big Swede, makes sense in serious snow country I guess.

Over here the volume of snow tends to be much less and I think for my needs the light weight is a big factor.

I have tried it out in sand and found that by kneeling and scooping I could shift it faster than standing and using a shovel. Not a fair test I guess, but it's the best I've got at the moment.

 

[Tor helge]

I must say I agree with Big Swede here.
I have however not tried the said issue. And when seeing the man on their site scooping snow it seems to work fairly well. But the snow seems loose and not like the snow along the coast up here. The snow is very seldom loose (just in the beginning of winter) but is mostly a hard and icey. I can`t see myself hacking a snow hole out of the hard snow with the Snowclaw. Besides I also think lifting the snow with a showel seems easier and faster.

This is the showel I mostly use. It is light and IMO doesn`t take up much room.

Tor

 

[mentalnurse]

looked at one of these at middlewood, nice bit of kit.

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

... also keeps your hands a lot warmer than using an aluminium shovel unless you've been super efficient and covered the handle with a foam sleeping mat (is anyone that organised?!!).

As in kayak paddles, shrink wrap the shaft or put some old inner tube over it.

Nick

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Over here the volume of snow tends to be much less and I think for my needs the light weight is a big factor.

An Interesting Concept

Some points to consider though -

• If you have enough snow to use it then volume is not the question but type of snow. Powder or neve ?
• A shovel is designed to cut into snow not just lift it.
• The hands are gonna hit the snow every time you use the snowcat, no hands touching the snow with a shovel.
• Every time you use the snowcat your are making the hole as wide as the plastic plus the widths of the hands.
• You can't fry an egg on the plastic thing

The blackdiamond type shovels are seriously light. I'll stick to a real shovel in snow.
My work use the BD ones above. Good for deadman anchors too.

Nick

 

[BorderReiver]

We seem to be divided into two factions, one lot living in countries which get proper snow and the other lot living in the UK.

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

We get proper snow here. Cairngorm and The Lecht were open two weeks ago for skiing. It's the function of the snowcat that's not as good as the shovel.

Nick

 

[crazyclimber]

In fairness I too have wondered how the claw would deal with concrete-like avalanche debris, thankfully I've not had cause to try it yet. The plastic, though flexible, is seriously hard and I've had no problems cutting through a few days worth of freeze-thaw and decent breakable crusts... how it'll perform beyond that I've yet to discover. I have confidence in it though. Case of the right tool for the job; if you plan on doing a lot of hard cutting a metal shovel is likely better - for moving large volumes a short distance the snowclaw does a damn good job

 

[Wayland]

I think possibly there is a certain familiarity factor to be considered too.

If you are used to the traditional type of shovel then the Snowclaw would obviously take some getting used to.

As a fresh hand at this sort of thing I had no preconceptions of how a snow shovel should work and looked at the problem completely differently.

I'm not saying that is the "right" way to approach things, just different.

I can see arguments for both views, what remains now is to try it and see if it suits my needs.