Shovels & Entrenching Tools
USGI E-Tool • German NATO • Cold Steel SF • Glock • Gerber • Rothco
The complete folding-shovel and entrenching- tool catalog spanning the modern military tri-fold pattern through specialty bushcraft and tactical designs — the USGI M1967 Entrenching Tool (NATO standard tri-fold), German Bundeswehr NATO tri-fold, the iconic Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel (John Plaster designed, Spetsnaz-pattern combat shovel), the surprisingly well-regarded Glock Entrenching Tool (yes, the firearms maker also produces a lifetime-warranty E-tool), Gerber tactical entrenching tools, Rothco tri-folds, and authentic Estonian and Romanian Army surplus folding shovels — plus protective pouches, canvas covers, and Multicam-pattern E-tool carriers.
About Shovels & Entrenching Tools at Keep Shooting
Keep Shooting carries the complete folding- shovel and entrenching-tool catalog spanning the NATO-standard tri-fold pattern, authentic Cold War-era Eastern European surplus, and modern American tactical designs — the USGI M1967 Entrenching Tool (the current US military issue tri-fold), German Bundeswehr NATO tri-fold, Estonian and Romanian Army folding shovels, the Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel (a sharpened-edge Spetsnaz-pattern combat shovel designed by former MACV-SOG operator John Plaster), the Glock Entrenching Tool (the Austrian firearms manufacturer's lifetime-warranty E-tool), the Gerber Entrenching Tool tactical option, Rothco tri-folds, and the Orange Mini Shovel with Pick for vehicle emergency kits — plus authentic military surplus entrenching tool pouches, canvas covers, and Multicam-pattern carriers.
The entrenching tool — a 2,000-year military tradition. Military entrenching tools predate firearms by centuries. Roman legions of the 1st century BC carried the dolabra — a combination pickaxe and digging tool — as standard issue, used to construct the daily marching-camp fortifications (castra) that allowed Roman armies to advance and defend at sustained pace through hostile territory. The dolabra principle — that infantry capability begins with the ability to dig in — has remained a core military doctrine through every subsequent era. World War I's trench warfare made the entrenching tool genuinely existential for infantry survival, and every major 20th-century military issued soldiers a personal-issue digging tool that doubled as an edged-weapon close-quarters option when fighting reached the trench- line. Modern infantry doctrine retains the entrenching tool as standard issue across every NATO and former Warsaw Pact military.
USGI Entrenching Tool — the M1967 tri-fold pattern. The current US military M1967 Entrenching Tool is a three-position folding shovel — blade locked straight (shovel mode), blade locked at 90 degrees (pick / hoe mode for chopping or trenching), and folded flat for storage. The M1967 replaced the earlier M1943 Folding Spade (round-blade single-fold pattern that served US troops through WWII, Korea, and early Vietnam) and the M1910 T-handle shovel before that. The modern tri-fold pattern became the NATO standard following its 1962 US adoption, and equivalent tri-folds are issued by virtually every NATO military today (Bundeswehr German, French Army, British Army, Italian Army, etc.). Our USGI Entrenching Tool is the authentic US-issue article — the same M1967 pattern shovel that has equipped American infantry from late Vietnam through every subsequent operation. We also carry the USGI Entrenching Tool Pouch in standard pattern and the USGI Multicam Entrenching Tool Pouch for OCP / OEF- Multicam-era kit configurations, plus the US Military Folding Shovel Case.
German Bundeswehr NATO tri-fold. The German Tri-Fold Shovel (NATO) is the Bundeswehr's standard issue entrenching tool — the same NATO-standard tri-fold pattern as the USGI M1967, in German factory production with Bundeswehr-spec construction. Like most German military issue, the Bundeswehr tri-fold is built to higher per-unit standards than the equivalent US-issue tool — heavier construction, more robust folding- joint hardware, and the kind of German engineering tolerance that makes Bundeswehr surplus consistently popular in the US market. For more Bundeswehr surplus see our German Army Surplus category.
The Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel — Plaster's Spetsnaz-pattern design. The Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel is one of the more distinctive entries in our shovel catalog — a sharpened-edge spade-pattern shovel designed by John Plaster, former US Army MACV-SOG operator and author of SOG: A Photo History of the Secret Wars and The Ultimate Sniper. The Plaster design is built around the Russian / Soviet Spetsnaz combat-shovel tradition: in Soviet military doctrine, the saperka (the Russian infantry shovel — the MPL-50 pattern designed in 1869 by Danish artillery officer Mads Linnemann and adopted by the Russian Imperial Army) was issued with sharpened edges so the soldier could use it as either a digging tool or a close-quarters edged weapon. The sharpened entrenching tool became a Spetsnaz cultural signature, and Plaster's Cold Steel design brings that tradition into a US-market commercial product: 8-inch sharpened steel head, hardwood handle, paired with the Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel Sheath for belt-carry. For more Cold Steel production see the brand page.
The Glock Entrenching Tool — yes, that Glock. The Austrian firearms manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. — best known for the polymer-frame Glock pistols that have equipped American law enforcement and military since the 1980s — also produces a folding entrenching tool. This is not a novelty: the Glock Entrenching Tool is a serious piece of equipment with the same Austrian engineering quality that defines the firearm line. Polymer construction throughout (the same Glock Polymer 2 used on pistol frames), integrated saw blade in the handle, root-cutting saw, Glock-OEM-pattern lifetime warranty. At $49.95 the Glock E-tool is approximately 50% above the USGI price point, and for many shooters the upgrade is worth it for the durability and the integrated saw feature alone — the saw inside the handle is genuinely useful for trail-clearing and bushcraft tasks that an unaccompanied entrenching tool cannot perform.
Gerber Entrenching Tool. The Gerber Entrenching Tool is the American tactical-market equivalent to the Glock E-tool — Gerber's Portland-Oregon-engineered entrenching tool with reinforced joint hardware, anodized blade finish, and the same general function package. At $65.34 it is the highest-priced entrenching tool in our catalog and represents the US-tactical premium-tier option for shooters who want American- engineered tactical gear over either USGI surplus or Austrian Glock production.
Estonian and Romanian Army surplus folding shovels. Beyond the dominant German and US tri-folds, our catalog covers authentic Cold War-era Eastern European entrenching tool surplus. The Estonian Army Tri-Fold Shovel dates to Estonia's post-1991-independence military equipment, and the Estonian Defence Forces have adopted NATO- standard equipment patterns since joining the alliance in 2004. The Romanian Army Folding Shovel spans Cold War-era Warsaw Pact production through Romania's post-1989 transition, offering authentic Eastern European military surplus at a typically lower price point than the equivalent NATO production.
Rothco tri-fold and canvas cover. The Rothco Tri-Fold Shovel is an American-distributed commercial equivalent of the NATO tri-fold pattern — built by Rothco to military-specification dimensions, sold at a value-tier price point appropriate for casual outdoor use, vehicle emergency kits, and recreational camping. The matching Rothco Canvas Tri-Fold Shovel Cover is the budget-friendly carry option for either the Rothco or any other NATO-standard tri-fold.
Orange Mini Shovel with Pick — the vehicle-kit option. The Orange Mini Shovel with Pick is the smallest entrenching tool in our catalog — a folding-handle shovel with integrated pick for vehicle emergency kits, snow-and-mud recovery, off-road excursions, and the kind of compact-emergency-tool application where a full-size tri-fold is more shovel than the situation requires. The bright orange handle is a deliberate safety / visibility choice — a shovel sticking out of a snow drift or a swamp track is easy to find in orange that would be invisible in standard military OD.
Why a real entrenching tool matters. Folding shovels are one of those equipment categories where the difference between a $20 big-box-store generic and a $35 military-issue authentic tri-fold is dramatic and immediately apparent. Generic folding shovels almost universally fail at the joint — the folding hinge bends, the locking mechanism strips, the head separates from the handle — because consumer-grade folding shovels are built to a price point that assumes occasional light camping use rather than sustained digging through frozen, rocky, or rooted terrain. Military-spec entrenching tools are built to a completely different reliability standard: a soldier using an E-tool in combat conditions cannot have the tool fail, and military procurement specifications drive per-unit costs and per-unit testing that consumer-market production does not match. For any vehicle emergency kit, range bag, hunting camp setup, or backcountry bushcraft kit, an authentic military-issue or military-spec commercial entrenching tool will outlast generic alternatives by an order of magnitude.
Selection guide. For a balanced everyday-use option at a moderate price point, the USGI M1967 Entrenching Tool is the category-defining choice — proven across decades of US military use, readily available, repair-parts- supportable. For shooters who want the higher-quality European engineering, the German Bundeswehr NATO tri-fold is the upgrade from the USGI standard. For bushcraft / outdoor / overlanding use where the integrated saw feature matters, the Glock Entrenching Tool is the right pick. For collectors of Russian / Spetsnaz blade tradition or for users specifically wanting an edged-weapon-capable shovel, the Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel is the John Plaster Spetsnaz-pattern choice. For vehicle emergency kits and backcountry travel, the Orange Mini Shovel with Pick is the compact secondary option. For the bargain budget tier, the Rothco Tri-Fold delivers the NATO pattern at the lowest price point in the catalog.
Keep Shooting ships all shovels and entrenching tools from our Pennsylvania warehouse with free shipping on orders over $49.95 and hassle-free returns. Whether you are equipping a vehicle emergency kit, a hunting camp, backcountry-overland or bushcraft loadout, prepper or emergency-preparedness inventory, military-surplus collector display, or a working ranch / homestead kit, every entrenching tool in our catalog is built to military or military-spec commercial standards — the kind of digging tool that outlasts the vehicle, the camp, and several owners.
Frequently Asked Questions — Shovels
Keep Shooting carries a wide selection of Shovels products from trusted brands. Browse our catalog to see the full range, and use the filters on the left to narrow by brand, price, or product type.
Yes! All orders over $49.95 qualify for free shipping, including Shovels products. Orders typically ship within 1–2 business days.
Keep Shooting offers hassle-free returns on Shovels products. If you're not completely satisfied, contact our customer service team for a return authorization. All products must be in original, unused condition.
If you need help choosing the right Shovels product, our team is available to assist. Check individual product descriptions for detailed specifications, or contact us directly and we'll help you find the best fit for your needs.