Having had the wonderful experience of trying to dig a two man machine gun foxhole into a rocky hillside at Camp Pendleton with a modern USMC E-tool I can't say it's easy going. It does however work. They sorta "armour" the edge of the blade a bit for this purpose.
You should be able to find a real one at a good army-navy/surplus store as they've been using the same design for years now. A lot of the online stores should have them as well.
I'm told that the WWII era shovels were a bit more user friendly with their longer wooden handles. I know the e-tools are a bit short for long use. I've seen them at gunshows and the in some of the online sites but I can't say if they were real or reproductions and if the reproductions are up to snuff.
Anyways, if you want compact an e-tool is hard to beat.
You should be able to find a real one at a good army-navy/surplus store as they've been using the same design for years now. A lot of the online stores should have them as well.
I'm told that the WWII era shovels were a bit more user friendly with their longer wooden handles. I know the e-tools are a bit short for long use. I've seen them at gunshows and the in some of the online sites but I can't say if they were real or reproductions and if the reproductions are up to snuff.
Anyways, if you want compact an e-tool is hard to beat.
