A shovel in its most simple form is a wide and wedge shaped blade fixed to a shaft of roughly 1 meter. Its purpose is to simplify the moving of large mass of lose materials such as soil, sand, ash and snow.

For outdoor activities shovels are usually in the form of the military shovels or entrenching tools as they are named. They are compact and often foldable shovels that usually have more functions than just being a shovel , for example doubling as an improvised axe or leverage.

A shovel is a good tool to bring to base camp as it is essential for improving a campsite over time, for travelling in snowy terrain or any other flat area where you need to dig to create a shelter for cover from the wind and other elements.