Multi-Tool

I get bombarded by survival shovel ads in all forms of social media.  Twitter, YouTube, Facebook...

Now I am not against multi-tools, per se...  But let's say... some forms are better than others?

And they are not a new concept, clearly.  I have a rosewood handled one around here somewhere from the turn of the century.  No, last century.  Like this one.

I first became enamored and aware of such from a Gilligan's Island episode.  The Spy Gilligan episode.  I had a Swiss Army knife, later, like everyone.  And I like and use Leathman style multi-tools today.

But the shovel?  That is also a hatchet and a saw and whatnot?  That's stretching it a bit too far.

My love of multi-tools and their do every job but be a master of none was hammered in by hard experience from the get go.  The Swiss Army Knife saw was sub optimal.  I learned a mid sized axe was nigh useless.  Get a hatchet or get a real axe, the neither fish now fowl axe shaped object could do the job of neither with any satisfaction.

And a soldier with a folding shovel?  Just the regular, robust, does just the shovelling, GI shovel, was a compromise.  A a real shovel would always be preferred but it's too hard to tote a real shove on your web gear AND carry a rifle.  These ads for the wonder shovel that does everything makes me thing they took a sub-optimal stop-gap necessary solution and asked it to take a bridge too far.  The shovel with a saw blade on the side is Arnhem Bridge, I say.

Like this Foon.  I like a good spork, but this is too much.

KnifeForkSpoonBottleCanOpenerCarabiner.  I think a multi-tool, too be good, has to know when to stop adding features, and that is sooner rather than later.