TheTentLab Deuce #2 Review
The TheTentLab Deuce #2 is a 17g ultralight cathole trowel made from aerospace-grade 7075-T6 aluminum — a cleverly designed LNT tool with a real learning curve.
Overview
The Deuce #2 is TheTentLab’s most popular cathole trowel — the middle child between the featherweight #1 (13g) and the burly #3 (27g). At 0.60 oz, it’s described by TheTentLab as their most popular trowel, striking “a nice balance between crazy-lightweight and overall toughness.” It’s aimed squarely at weight-conscious backpackers and thru-hikers who want a proper LNT tool without sacrificing meaningful pack weight. The catch: if you don’t take the time to read the instructions, odds are you’ll like the Deuce but not love it — it rewards those who learn its ins and outs.
Key Specs
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Weight | 17g / 0.6 oz |
| Dimensions | 2.5” wide × 6.8” long |
| Material | 7075-T6 aerospace-grade aluminum |
| Price | $21.95 (DirtSaw version) |
| Warranty | Lifetime (replacement for cost of postage) |
| Finish | Anodized, tumbled & deburred |
| Colors | Multiple options |
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The Dual-Sided Design — The Real Differentiator
Most people pick up the Deuce, hold it like a regular trowel, and are underwhelmed. That’s a user error, not a product flaw. TheTentLab emphasizes two techniques: using it handle-down to break up hard soil, then scooping and prying with the scoop end — a method that also creates a clean LNT “top plug” to replace over the hole when you’re done. When digging seems nearly impossible, flipping the Deuce upside down increases applied pressure and uses the handle to punch through solid soil; outlining the circumference of a cathole this way breaks up inflexible ground.
The DirtSaw Teeth
The DirtSaw teeth are wide and smooth, designed to agitate and cut dirt like a serrated knife without snagging on roots or threatening your hand — and they actually work best when rounded with use.
The four sharp grooves on the leading edge boost the trowel’s ability to cut through small roots, and they’re large enough to sharpen in the field — a fine-grained river rock broken in half works well.
Reviewers on Trailspace note that the notches on the leading edge do help catch and break small roots when cutting through duff.
Digging in Tough Ground
Real-world performance is mixed, and it depends almost entirely on technique and terrain. The Deuce is thin but surprisingly strong — applying force in all directions to maneuver around and dislodge rocks doesn’t bend it or affect its form. One reviewer noted it did an excellent job in the rocky soil of Olympic NP where a plastic trowel would have broken.
That said, it’s not a miracle worker. Some users report that it doesn’t dig well unless you’re in sand, struggling with even modest resistance. Those reviews almost certainly reflect users who haven’t internalized the dual-sided technique. Experienced reviewers at Trailspace note that all the Deuces are reasonably effective at digging catholes, but not as user-friendly as longer, heavier options like the U-Dig-It Pro. That’s a fair and honest trade-off.
Hand Comfort
This is a consistent gripe worth taking seriously. The trowel digs into the hand when digging or chopping in rocky or rooty soil. Some users have found a glove helpful when working in harder ground. TheTentLab intentionally skipped handle bumpers — bumpers and a longer handle would interfere with the many digging modes the design is built around. That’s a reasonable engineering decision, but it’s worth knowing before you head into granite country.
Depth Gauge
A practical bonus: at 6.5–6.8 inches long, the Deuce doubles as a depth gauge — you’ll know when your hole is deep enough to comply with Leave No Trace standards. No measuring tape required.
Durability & Build
All Deuces are made from high-strength 7075-T6 aluminum meeting AMS4045 standards, which gives them excellent spring-back when used hard.
Handle ripples add friction and surface area for greater comfort; all edges are tumbled and fully deburred; and the colorful anodized finish prevents corrosion and aluminum smudge on your hands.
One important technique note:
the Deuce’s strength comes from its curved ‘U’ shape — levering against the bottom of the ‘U’ makes it amazingly strong, but prying against the open side of the ‘U’ is significantly weaker.
Work with the geometry, not against it.
There is a real-world durability caveat from a reviewer referencing the older Deuce of Spades version: during heavy use digging for a group of five in moderately rocky northeast Yellowstone soil, the tip broke on a rock. The DirtSaw #2 iteration appears to have addressed this with the Ray-bend reinforcements — these make the Deuce 65% stronger against bending in the middle and almost 3x stronger at the hole. And if it does break, the lifetime warranty has you covered: bend or break one, and TheTentLab will replace it for just the cost of postage.
Packability
The Deuce stows away nearly perfectly alongside a standard Smartwater bottle in a pack’s side pocket.
A small hole in the handle also lets you hang it from your pack externally if you prefer.
And at under 7 inches, it’s TSA carry-on compliant.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 17g is genuinely negligible — you have no excuse not to carry a trowel
- 7075-T6 aluminum is legitimately bomber material, not marketing fluff
- Dual-sided design meaningfully expands what a trowel this size can do
- Built-in depth gauge encourages proper LNT cathole depth every time
- DirtSaw teeth are field-sharpenable with a river rock
- Anodized, tumbled, and deburred — no sharp edges, no aluminum smudge
- Lifetime warranty with low-cost replacement
- Fits neatly in a side pocket alongside a water bottle; carry-on safe
Cons
- Real learning curve — technique-dependent performance more than any other trowel I’ve encountered
- No handle bumpers means the edge bites into the hand in rocky/rooty soil; gloves help
- Thinner and more flexible than the #3 — heavy prying in angular rock requires care
- Struggles significantly in extremely hard or root-choked ground without correct technique
- Some users frustrated who expected it to work like a standard shovel out of the box
Who Should Buy This
The Deuce #2 is the right call for most thru-hikers, weekend backpackers, and anyone already thinking carefully about LNT ethics. It’s the sweet spot in the lineup — light enough to be a no-brainer inclusion, strong enough to handle typical backcountry soils when used correctly. If you regularly hike in particularly brutal ground (dense Sierra granite, heavily rooted eastern forest duff), consider spending the extra 10g on the #3 for the added leverage and hand comfort. Skip the #1 unless you’ve already mastered the technique and are racing grams at every turn.
Verdict
The Deuce #2 is the most thoughtfully engineered cathole trowel in its weight class — but it asks something of you in return. Learn the dual-sided technique, work with the U-shaped geometry, and it’ll handle far more terrain than its 17g frame suggests. Go in blind expecting to just stab dirt with it, and you’ll be disappointed. For anyone willing to spend five minutes with the instructions, this is the last trowel you’ll ever buy. 8/10.