Council USFS Spec McLeod Rake

I have used these tools for several years now doing trail maintenance. They have worked well. I recently had a use for this that I never expected. Our gravel road, on a hill, had heavy packed snow that turned to slick ice when the weather warmed up. I used two of these, with my son, to chop through the ice to get down to gravel. We tried shovels, axes and other tools. This by far worked the best, because once the surface was broken, these could easily be swung under the ice to pop it up.

As another Sam above, I am a college student and trail builder. My club builds trails in Central NY in mixed hardwood and softwood forests. As mentioned above, a McLeod is great for pulling back soft loam but is hindered greatly by roots. The McLeod works best (at least in the Northeast) when working soil that has already been broken up by a mattock or pulaski. It more of a shaping tool than a cutting tool. When I go out by myself I take a McLeod and either a cutter mattock or pick mattock. PERFECT for building berms, whoops, rollers, jumps, and landings to features.

This is the workhorse of my mountain bike club's trail building efforts. It doesn't do well in soil full of big roots, but for pulling back loam or working in evergreen forests this tool is awesome. If I go out by myself and can only carry one tool on my bike, I take a McCleod.