Totally agreed, Nighthiker. No doubt the Snow Claw or the Traverse would be extremely handy for snow removal. And the CS does add a little extra weight and it doesn't fold up like the GI shovel you refer to. On the other hand, with its sharpened edges and point it will power through any compacted material if that is a concern. I have not had any experience with the avalanche shovels mentioned elsewhere but they look like just a more compact regular snow shovel with a flat leading edge - translation, no point. I have also been reading that the avalanche material tends to get extremely compacted. Sorry to digress and not trying to hi-jack but I was wondering why the avalanche shovels don't have more of a pointed or at least rounded tip on them more useful for breaking up the compacted ice and snow. Am I missing something? Obviously I have had no personal experience with this but I have shoveled a fair amount of snow in my day. Always had to switch from a snow shovel to a pointed shovel for the tough stuff at the end of the driveway. Was just wondering.

Back to the thread, snow removal is not so much of an issue for our area hence the CS. I accept the slight weight disadvantage for the ability to dig up and remove the rock that would otherwise poke me in the side all night long. Could it be we are inadvertenlty pointing Outdoor Quest to the obvious conclusion: there is no one shovel that can do many tasks well but rather many shovels that will do certain tasks very well and others just so-so. Any one pack shovel will be a compromise between its intended purpose (what it does well) and whatever else you use it for (what it does so-so) and any one will have its advantages and disadvantages. To each his own. Sorry, Outdoor Quest, looks like you are gonna have to buy more than one shovel