About this product
Space in a loaded vehicle is finite, so a tool that does two jobs is worth more than two tools that each do one. This spade has an ordinary digging blade with one edge sharpened into an axe, which means you dig the fire pit and then chop through the root you hit halfway down without going back to the vehicle for something else.
The practical uses stack up quickly on a Tanzanian trip. Clearing sand or mud from around a bogged wheel is the classic recovery job, and a proper spade beats hands and a recovery board’s edge every time. Digging a fire pit, levelling a patch of ground for a tent, clearing brush off a two-track, cutting through roots – all one tool.
It is forged in high-carbon steel and measures 760 x 210 x 60 mm at 1.5 kg. That is compact for a spade, which is deliberate: it is sized to fit Front Runner’s ratcheting spade mount so it can ride on a roof rack rather than rolling around a load bed.
Keep the axe edge covered or facing inward when it is stowed, and keep it sharp – a blunt chopping edge is more dangerous than a sharp one, because it bounces. Rinse the blade of mud and salt after use and store it dry.
Front Runner Spade/Shovel with Axe Edge (REQU049)