PACKABLE TRAIL TOOLS

There are many tools that can be used for or are built specifically for trail building; rakes, pruning saws, McCleod’s - the list goes on. Volunteer trail gurus the Kowalski Brothers once gifted us a list containing their favourite and most treasured trail tools of all time, which when loaded into a wheel barrow or carried by the brothers themselves could be ferried to the trail with relative ease. As brilliant as all these tools are, they have long handles.

Let’s say you need to take the tools further, need to take two or three tools, navigate steep terrain or you just need to quickly make some adjustments to an alignment or dig out some drainage? A trail tool that has a segmented handle allows for a trail tool system to be packed into your pack and ride or walk with ease to where the work is required.

I have had plenty of altercations with trees and broken spokes over the years with a McCleod’s rake across my bars or lashed to my pack and that was only carrying one or two tools at most. Anything more portable has always piqued my interest.

The Trail Boss trail tool was designed by Bill Hasenjager who has been building trails since his teens in the 1960s, though then for motorbikes, in areas such as Southern California and the Sierra Mountains. He switched to riding mountain bikes in 2001 and rode his bike to trail building projects, “Have you ever ridden with a weed whacker across your handle bars”? Bill doesn’t recommend it...

As a Manufacturing Engineer with decades of experience at companies like Boeing, Toyota and GE, Bill turned his attention to a packable trail tool that would offer trail builders a tool with the same durability and functionality as its long handled counterpart with the option to switch out heads in the field. Currently Trail Boss offers 16 heads, multiple packages all utilising either a three or four segment handle which can be packed away in moments allowing for hassle free movement and changes along the trail.

When working at Boeing, Bill was leading a software team responsible for some of the largest composite wings ever built using Automated Fibre Placement, understanding the stresses, fibre orientations and resins used could explain why Trail Boss’s construction is made up of structural fibreglass or steel tube handles epoxy bonded into patented anodised aluminium couplings.

ON THE TRAIL

I have been using the 3 piece steel segmented handle ($360), which is made up of 1 x steel tube (closest to the tool head) and 2 x structural fibreglass tubes all 400mm in length for a total handle length of 1200mm and a scant 1.198kgs. My local terrain is rocky and mostly dry, the steel tube is far more impact resistant than a fibreglass tube and makes a great option for

rough builds and arid regions. The precision machined couplings fit together perfectly and when the collars are done up firmly by hand, the handle feels reassuringly solid.

The 3 piece ensemble fits easily into my EVOC pack and leaves plenty of room for multiple heads, lunch, water and everything you would need for a full day on the tools or just a quick blast to repair a section of trail.

I chose the following five tool heads for these reasons.

THE ROGUE 55A HEAD 0.99KGS $160

Made by “Rogue Hoe” out of Recycled agricultural disc blades, this is my personal go to for chopping through hard and baked dirt. It’s sharp on 3 sides, has a pick on the opposing end and has enough weight to cut easily through roots and hard ground but light enough to be used for hours with ease. It’s great for clearing or cutting drainage and makes short work of benching in a traverse due to its sharp edge!

THE MCLEOD HEAD 0.95KGS $140

The firefighter/trail builders go to, the McLeod head or Rake hoe as many call it offers the user two distinct edges of which to cut, rake or tamp terrain. A width of 18.5cm and tines of 10cm long make the TrailBoss McLeod head smaller than its firefighting relative but easier to use for finer work.

FLAT RAKE HEAD 0.89KGS $140

Flat and wide landscaping style rake with a width of 355mm, it is strong enough for raking earth and rocks alike, fine enough for finishing and made out of a black oxide coated 4130 chromoly steel plate.

BRACED ROUND HEAD SHOVEL 1.34KGS $280

With an overall length of 400mm (like the 3 piece handle sections) the braced size 0 round shovel fits in a backpack. The Braced shovel is designed for high load applications and is far stronger than its unbraced option.

SAW HEAD 0.21KGS $110

A replaceable blade fixed to a TrailBoss coupled adaptor and with a length of 30cms, a short or extended handle can be used to cut overhead branches with ease.

The real question is, does the Trail Boss system work as well as your current favourite trail tool purchased from a hardware store?

I reached out to Bill and Tim of Trail Boss on a Friday afternoon, beers in hand and clearly ready to hit the trails over the weekend for some trail fairy activities to find out.

The guys clearly know what they have created is an expensive niche product that does exactly what a cheaper tool can do, but to create a complete interchangeable system that preforms as well as, or better which can be packed into a backpack and ridden or hiked into remote areas is a feat in itself. With lone rangers, volunteer groups and professional trail building outfits using Trail Boss products across the globe, it is easy to see how what could normally be a pretty frustrating task of getting tools into the furthest section of trail can be an easy and pretty enjoyable one. With the ability to ride with a range of tools safely stowed in your pack, preventative maintenance can be carried out quickly and just in time rather than issues such as drainage develop into large problems requiring machines or larger groups to sort out.

Trail Boss is imported into Australia by Forestry Tools, with many Trail Boss systems finding their way to firefighters whom can mobilise quickly around fires with all the tools they need in a backpack.

There are other industries taking notice of the Trail Boss system and its incredible durability and packability but Bill and Tim sound flattered but humble, really wanting to stick to what matters most to them and the company. A real sense of community, sustainability and love of the outdoors resonates from within Trail Boss, some heads made by another American based company out of recycled agricultural disc blades, scabbards and holsters made by a local mum who makes bike packing bags and making everything else in house, they are the real deal.

The Trail Boss tool allows hand cut trail to go further, the inaccessible or most beautiful trail to get some attention and the ability to get there with everything you need right there in your pack.