Do I Need a Trowel for Backpacking?

By Anna Duncan

Trowels are an essential tool for backpacking trips. Whether you’re setting up camp, digging a fire pit, or burying your waste, having a trowel on hand can make your outdoor experience much more enjoyable. In addition to being useful for outdoor activities, having a trowel with you can also be an important part of Leave No Trace principles.

Advantages of Having a Trowel

Having a lightweight and compact trowel with you on your backpacking trip can provide several advantages. The most obvious is that it helps you dig in the ground for any purpose.

This could be for setting up tent stakes, digging a fire pit, burying human waste and garbage, or making holes for water drainage. A trowel also makes it easier to create durable and level surfaces for camping activities such as cooking or sitting around the campfire.

It’s also important to keep in mind that not all trowels are created equal. Some are designed specifically for backpacking trips and have features such as collapsible handles and lightweight materials that make them easier to pack along on your journey. There are also specialized trowels designed specifically for the purpose of burying human waste to help reduce the impact on the landscape.

Leave No Trace Principles

In addition to being useful tools, having a trowel is also part of following Leave No Trace principles when spending time outdoors. This set of principles encourages responsible behavior when outdoors by minimizing impacts on natural resources and wildlife habitats. By bringing along a lightweight and compact trowel with you on your backpacking trips, you can help reduce the impact by burying human waste and other trash properly.

Conclusion:


In summary, having a trowel with you when backpacking is essential if you want to practice Leave No Trace principles properly. It can also be helpful for setting up camp or digging fire pits as well as creating level surfaces for camping activities like cooking or sitting around the campfire. Investing in a lightweight and compact trowel designed specifically for backpacking will ensure that it’s easy to pack along without taking up too much space in your bag.