I got a Black Diamond Evac 7 shovel last season. It’s a D handle, and a good size. Not small, not the biggest. Has a very simple and intuitive switch over to hoe mode. I keep it in the car most of the winter. I wanted a D handle.
Fits in the Mystery Ranch Saddle Peak 25l pack. It’s good advice on the pack- make sure it can fit a decent shovel.
Ortovox has some nice good size shovels. Mammut has nice small ones
Honestly, unless there’s a big need for a very small shovel, get a useful size one. One that could be used say for… building small jumps, shoveling out the car. Getting a tiny shovel means it’ll never get used unless disaster strikes, then it’s frustratingly small. I don’t see teenagers as needing a “child size” avy shovel. Whatever that is. Do they shovel the walk at home with a child size shovel?
I got the BCA Stealth Probe. Because of the markings and the deployment method. No dangling cord to whip you in the face. For the reasons mentioned I rejected the carbon. It’s propensity for catastrophic failure is tolerable for resort ski poles, but back country poles and probes would be bad.
For BC you’d prob want their 330cm, 13 mm diam., or the 300, 20 grams less and 12mm. 270cm minimum. For the East, I may end up getting a 240cm.
Our Stealth 330 avalanche probe features the easiest and fastest assembly on the market, with no loose cable to cause hangups. The top segment stealthfully nests inside the next probe section,undefined
backcountryaccess.com
Beacon I got my Barryvox S for less than the regular version by ordering from snowcountry.eu in the Netherlands. Don’t know about western Canada, but standard shipping to Eastern US was very quick.
It does have the EU software, not N America, which is what I wanted. If I want to change software, Mammut is in VT, so shouldn’t be a problem.