That’s right, I keep an avalanche shovel in my car. More specifically, it’s a Voile Telepro T6. You see, I have a habit of breaking the plastic “emergency collapsible snow shovels” marketed by auto accessory makers. The last thing I want to hear when digging out my car when I’m on the go is “SNAP”.
I did a lot of research last winter, and ultimately decided that if an avalanche shovel cannot endure a few tours of duty as a compact auto shovel, I’ll need to start driving around with a full size square shovel.
I am happy to report that the Voile shovel is working quite well. I scraped up the bottom edge of the shovel pretty good last week after a blizzard, but it’s better used and abused than pristine clean and wasted.
The compact size of the shovel allows for easy stowing and rapid digging, and the handle extends to a decent length. The T6 version is made from a harder heat-treated aluminum, and the D-handle is a welcome feature that is more ergonomic than competitors’ T-handle models.
The Voile avalanche shovel is priced at ~$40, and the T6 version is only a few dollars more at $48. These shovels are made in the USA.
Voile Telepro Shovel via Amazon
Product Info via Voile
rob says
Being a pretty avid skier who goes to the Lake Tahoe area many times a year I carry a shovel in my pack of “goodies.” I learned long ago to be prepared becuase you can get stuck on the road for hrs….if not a day almost sometimes. My pack includes not only a shovel but a “anti slip” mat that goes under a tire for extra traction, tow strap (that has been used a few times to help neighbors stuck in the snow), and also chains….I have a 4×4 truck so 99% of the time I don’t have an issue but there have been a few times where it was so bad I did chain up my back tires for added tractoin. Granted California/Utah/CO snow storms are different becuase we deal with many grades but still always better to be safe than sorry.