Appalachian Trail Gear: The Little Deuce Scoop

I mentioned in my last post that I was rethinking what I packed and what I left home.  Another thing I did was to look for lighter alternatives for things I have to carry.  One of these alternatives made me chuckle.

The thing being replaced was the plastic trowel I used to dig cat holes (i.e. places to take a dump).  The one I had, a very standard orange plastic Coghlan's Backpacker's Trowel, weighed in at just under 2 oz (58 gm).

I did a little searching and found a much lighter, and very appropriately named, replacement.

My replacement cat hole trowel.

Yes ... it is called the Deuce #2.  I couldn't help chuckling as I ordered it on Amazon.

My new trowel, including a tiny carabiner to hang in from my pack, weighs in at 0.67 oz (19 gm), less than a third of my old one.  Over two thousand miles, little savings like this mean a lot.

I'm not so sure how much it will get used as most shelters have privies but if you find yourself miles from the nearest privy and just have to drop a deuce, The Deuce #2 will git-r-done.