Mini Shovel

I carry a similar mini shovel in my prospecting rig at all times. They're small enough and light enough to pack in (28" long and only 1.7 lbs), yet plenty big enough for panning, sluicing, running a small highbanker or rocker box and other smaller scale prospecting.

If you're going to dig all day, a bigger shovel will serve you better, but these are the ultimate sampling shovel, and it ain't mining without sampling. You can easily clamber along a rugged stream bank, up a steep feeder creek and over a falls, sampling as you go, then set up a small sluice for the day's production.

I also have a folding shovel, and frankly it just doesn't cut it. I carry a shorty shovel very similar to this one for most of my prospecting.