Away from toilets, the right thing to do is dig a hole, and a stick or the heel of your boot doesn’t get you far. The Sea to Summit Nylon 66 Pocket Trowel is made for exactly that job: a small, light trowel with a hollow handle that slides out for digging and back in for packing.
We tried it on the grass flats at Coorongooba Campground, below the cliffs of the Capertee Valley, and it lives in our hiking kit.
What’s in the box
A two-part trowel: a grey scoop-shaped blade and a bright orange handle that slides into it and locks with a push button. The handle is hollow, with a grey cap on the end, so it doubles as a little storage tube. It’s made from glass-reinforced Nylon 66 and weighs 87 g.
What we like
- Only 87 g
- Packs to 14 cm, extends to 24 cm
- Hollow handle for a lighter or paper
- Bright orange, hard to lose
- Stiff glass-reinforced nylon
What we don’t
- Struggles in hard, rocky soil
- Handle can get a little play
- Nylon, not steel
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Sea to Summit |
| Material | Glass-reinforced Nylon 66 |
| Colour | Orange |
| Weight | 87 g |
| Length | 14 cm packed24 cm extended |
Sliding it out and locking itSliding it out and locking…
Packed, the handle sits inside the blade and the trowel is 14 cm long, small enough for a hip-belt pocket or inside a cook pot. To use it, you slide the handle out until the push button clicks into place, and it’s 24 cm long. Press the button to slide it back in.
The orange is easy to spot when you put it down in the grass or leaf litter, which matters with something this small. The lock feels solid, though after a lot of use the handle can get a little play in it.
Digging a hole
The blade is a deep scoop with a pointed tip, and the 24 cm length gives enough leverage to dig a proper toilet hole, 15 to 20 cm deep. In the soft, grassy ground at Coorongooba it went in easily and lifted the soil out cleanly.
It’s nylon, though, not steel. In hard-packed clay, or ground full of rocks and roots, it struggles, and you have to chip away rather than dig. For most bush campsites and walking tracks it’s enough; for rocky outback ground, a metal trowel or a camping shovel is better.
Storage in the handle
Pull the grey cap off the end and the handle is a hollow tube. There’s room for a small lighter or a few sheets of toilet paper, so everything you need for a toilet trip is in one hand. The cap pushes back on firmly.
Conclusion: Sea to Summit Nylon 66 Pocket TrowelConclusion
The Sea to Summit Nylon 66 Pocket Trowel does one job well. It weighs 87 g, packs down to 14 cm, digs a proper hole in soft to medium ground and carries a lighter or toilet paper in its handle. It struggles in hard, rocky soil, and the handle can get a little play after a lot of use. For hikers and anyone camping away from toilets, it’s worth the space.
A small, light trowel that does its one job well.
It weighs 87 g, packs to 14 cm, digs a proper hole in soft to medium ground and carries a lighter or toilet paper in its handle. It struggles in hard, rocky soil, and the handle can get a little play after a lot of use.
- Backpackers
- Hikers
- Ultralight
Yes, for hikers. For about $15 you get an 87 g trowel that digs a proper hole in soft ground and carries a lighter or paper inside. In rocky ground, take steel.
