Survived my first Stavr scoop...

[18kRonin]

3 years ago almost to the day when my first HEAVY stainless steel scoop failed after 6 months of hard feverish digging (the stainless steel handle snapped off at the base) I went looking for a scoop better suited to my hunting style and conditions.
Which is mainly hunting till I drop digging around 80-90% of my total hunting time on trashy sometimes rocky beaches mostly on the wet and in the water for an average of around 6-8 hours each hunt.

I wanted a scoop with a BIG bite for water hunting so had my eye on the Stealth but being one of the better known scoops out there it was sold out at the time so took a chance on an unknown scoop maker in the Ukraine that I discovered in findmall, he seemed to have the exact scoop I was looking for,
angled handle, lots of holes for fast sifting, a big bite, clean unobstructed view of the inside of the scoop, super light weight plus the clean design had that cool look about it with the hexagonal holes. But couldn't find any more than that about it, no reviews, no idea of the quality of welds or how well it lasted nothing.
Took a gamble and ordered the Euroexcavator2 V.22 thinking if it only lasts a year it would still have paid for itself many times over so nothing to lose.

When I did get my hands on it I realized that this guy really knew what he was doing perfect welds with a lot of time put into the design to produce a very light weight but strong scoop.
The difference between my old scoop and the Stavr was like night and day, still remember the first bite I took with the Stavr man that thing eats up the sand.

Was kind of worried which would give out first my body or the scoop it had me on the ropes a few times especially when using it with the DF and I broke a few wooden handles till I got a decent waxed ash handle.


Good scoops don't catastrophically break just wear out and that's what happened to my first Stavr scoop, still a lot of use left in it but decided to get another scoop for water hunting and fit a short bamboo handle to the old one for the dry sand hunting. Ruslan even sent me a free replacement lip that I can get welded on at a local engineering shop for a lot cheaper than posting it in.

So how well did my first Starv scoop perform?

VERY well considering the abuse I've given it over the past 3 years.
The lip is worn right down and the metal is so thin that the edge of the lip is not holding it's shape it's getting easy to bend out of shape when digging amongst rocks. It did develop hair line cracks in the two top corners around 8 months ago (no big deal got them welded for free at an engineering shop) and on the back of the scoop which also serves as a kick plate the thinner sections where I put most of my weight when digging started to break around 4 months ago, again nothing to worry about if it's fixed in time.

So what scoop did I get to replace my old Euroexcavator2 V.22 another Euroexcavator2 V.22 of course just for the simple fact that nothing bugged me when using the old one just couldn't think of anything to improve on it without adding more weight.

For me it's perfect for water hunting and a great all rounder for putting in long days on the wet and dry.

Thanks for viewing,

HH&GL
18

These are my scoops, there are many like them but these are mine


The old



Hairline cracks







A stitch in time as they say, should have fixed the broken areas before this happened on the last hunt. Just noticed it now. Still easy enough to fix.



The new before some sand polishing

 

[Aquaman]

EVROEXCAVATOR-2 v.22...took me 3 years to come to the same conclusion

 

[dewcon]

I use his M9 and ive been impressed.... does exactly what i wanted it to do at a fair price. BUT id sure like to see that hole style on your scoop used on the M9..... i doubt very little would get thru. While im wishing... id like to see those small holes again in the back and on the bottom. With the round holes i do find myself chasing smaller targets. Why.... because im a pirate and want to get it all even if it aint worth chasing.

Dew

 

[18kRonin]

I use his M9 and ive been impressed.... does exactly what i wanted it to do at a fair price. BUT id sure like to see that hole style on your scoop used on the M9..... i doubt very little would get thru. With the round holes i do find myself chasing smaller targets. Why.... because im a pirate and want to get it all even if it aint worth chasing.

Dew

Me too the Skullies had me down on my hands and knees one day I'll find that half carat diamond earring
Those holes in my scoop are the biggest in the hex shape, in the water I don't waist time with small stuff falling through but it's a pain when you can't even get the small stuff out of the hole. Think I read in one of Max's posts he said he went with the smaller size hex holes but found they slowed the sifting down too much and he went back to the larger hex holed scoop.

 

[imalookin2]

Great post 18K. I remember what Max said in one of his videos. "Those of you that have this scoop know what I mean, those who don't.......I don't know what to tell you." I use the M-10 but my next scoop is going to be the V 2.2. The M-10 is awesome but the smaller holes drain a bit slower than I want in the water hunting on the gulf where the shells are numerous and clog up the small holes.

Something that disturbs me is another scoop maker who is well known is in the process of stealing this design for his new scoop. Now that is really low. Now made in USA means stolen from another. Sad.

 

[imalookin2]

Think I read in one of Max's posts he said he went with the smaller size hex holes but found they slowed the sifting down too much and he went back to the larger hex holed scoop.

The smaller holes are round and not 6 sided. The M-10 and M-9 are the smaller round holes. The M-9 is newest and has a sharper lip with a bit of a point. Both are made with more solid metal near the lip to handle rocks and heavy shells. They last longer than the v 2.2 in those conditions.

 

[fsa46]

Made a post awhile back about the same thing. I added a lip BEFORE it was so close to the holes that it wouldn't be able to be repaired.

Great scoop anyway and I am considering getting another one but one of the new models.

 

[zeemang]

Good long term review, has for taking the time out it out there.
I've got the same one, over two years now and it's holding up great also... The big thing i learned with it was to use a quality handle and not rip back on the handle when it's dug i deep, take it easier and haven't broken anther handle since...

 

[OBN]

I remember the first time I seen Stavr's, they were beautiful, and still works of art...

 

[aussiedigger]

The EVROEXCAVATOR-2 v.22...is my go to Scoop more and more so.



aussie

 

[Cupajo]

A piece of perhaps 3/4"-1"stainless angle needs to be fitted along the back edge where the inverted "v" brace contacts the top rear of the scoop bucket! A medium heavy 10-12 Gage piece for the "V" to bear against would better handle the stresses generated by the handle and help prevent the malforming of the front top lip by better distributing the handle torque that has caused the rear lip to sag and allowed the front lip to pull upward...........

Frank's add on lip has an excellent contour and is a bit heavier too if I'm not mistaken. These two simple "fixes" would add many hunts to the scoops life expectancy.

GL&HH Friends,

CJ

 

[fsa46]

Frank's add on lip has an excellent contour and is a bit heavier too if I'm not mistaken. These two simple "fixes" would add many hunts to the scoops life expectancy.

GL&HH Friends,

CJ

You're right on that CJ, I'm a big believer of using a minimum of 14 gauge on anything I do on my scoops.

 

[18kRonin]

Great post 18K. I remember what Max said in one of his videos. "Those of you that have this scoop know what I mean, those who don't.......I don't know what to tell you."

Thanks IMA, yeah I remember that you can lead a horse to water...

The smaller holes are round and not 6 sided. The M-10 and M-9 are the smaller round holes. The M-9 is newest and has a sharper lip with a bit of a point. Both are made with more solid metal near the lip to handle rocks and heavy shells. They last longer than the v 2.2 in those conditions.

I stand corrected
The way I look at it with hole size is go big and if needed I use mesh if I'm getting too many smaller targets falling through but the only good finds I've got from using mesh is an 18K stud and a few silver earrings with heart stopping fake bling from the water. Night hunting in water if it's small and keeps falling through I leave it

 

[gin&kin]

Glad to see that you survived it and it didn't survive you

The best recommendation is that you went back and bought the exact same scoop. Actions speak louder than words.

I'm very happy with mine too. It is starting to wear but the bigger problem with mine may be bends from digging in boulder fields at my local beach....I know that no scoop is designed to last under those conditions.

 

[MexGT]

I'm in love with my Evroex 2.22 too, best money spent on a sand scoop for sure.



And if yours survived 3 years in harsh conditions ... I can expect way more since I only have sand all around, no rocks

 

[18kRonin]

Made a post awhile back about the same thing. I added a lip BEFORE it was so close to the holes that it wouldn't be able to be repaired.

Great scoop anyway and I am considering getting another one but one of the new models.

Nice!!! Job Frank, yeah think I left it a wee bit late for a replacement lip but will see if the remaining thin metal will take the new lip.

Good long term review, has for taking the time out it out there.
I've got the same one, over two years now and it's holding up great also... The big thing i learned with it was to use a quality handle and not rip back on the handle when it's dug i deep, take it easier and haven't broken anther handle since...

Thanks Zee, well I think so I don't understand the last part of the first sentence
Agree with you Zee on the handle just clocked up a year on the ash handle Ruslan sent me, going to fit it to the new scoop just to see how long it will last. No signs of stress just a gentle curve.
The last hunt was a killer digging deep in boggy sand and had to dig fast so was really pulling back hard and fast on the handle hence the collapse of the already weakened back section of the scoop.
My own fault should have fixed it months ago when they were only cracks

 

[18kRonin]

The EVROEXCAVATOR-2 v.22...is my go to Scoop more and more so.



aussie

Yeah love mine too

P.S what!!! no OZ scoop I tried to buy an OZ scoop when first starting out but he wouldn't ship overseas.

 

[18kRonin]

A piece of perhaps 3/4"-1"stainless angle needs to be fitted along the back edge where the inverted "v" brace contacts the top rear of the scoop bucket! A medium heavy 10-12 Gage piece for the "V" to bear against would better handle the stresses generated by the handle and help prevent the malforming of the front top lip by better distributing the handle torque that has caused the rear lip to sag and allowed the front lip to pull upward...........

Frank's add on lip has an excellent contour and is a bit heavier too if I'm not mistaken. These two simple "fixes" would add many hunts to the scoops life expectancy.

GL&HH Friends,

CJ

Thanks CJ, good idea with the SS angle thinking of running that SS angle right along the back welding it to the sides and wherever it hits the back that should do the trick. Definitely more life in the old girl. Interested in seeing how long a bamboo handle will last but no big deal we have bamboo growing wild all over the place, it's going to be one light scoop for the dry

 

[Cupajo]

The main idea is to have the V brace resting on/attached to the angle brace for stress relief and securing the angle brace along the contact points.

If you like the results you can mod your new scoop and extend its life expectancy without adding a lot of weight.

Good luck!

CJ

 

[18kRonin]

Glad to see that you survived it and it didn't survive you

The best recommendation is that you went back and bought the exact same scoop. Actions speak louder than words.

I'm very happy with mine too. It is starting to wear but the bigger problem with mine may be bends from digging in boulder fields at my local beach....I know that no scoop is designed to last under those conditions.

You need an Aussie "crow bar" mate

I'm in love with my Evroex 2.22 too, best money spent on a sand scoop for sure.



And if yours survived 3 years in harsh conditions ... I can expect way more since I only have sand all around, no rocks

I agree MexGT, Just to put things into perspective I've done around 1,800 hours of beach hunting over the past 3 years with that scoop which is pretty good considering the average working hours for a 40 hour week job in one year is around 2,000 hours.

A quite a few of those hours were adrenalin pumped, in the zone, out there type hunts digging like mad to get as much of the good stuff before the tide came in, when the last thing I was worried about was shortening the life of my scoop, after all one good sized ring is all it takes to buy another one.

The number of hunts I've been going on has decreased a bit over the past year so think my new scoop will last longer than 3 years if I don't go overboard in those rocky areas which I hope I find more of

HH&GL
18