Eldorado,
I have a big family - 4 kids, so we have space for the long handles in the 4WD.
The red fibreglass handles are about 5' long with spade - up to my nose, it's nothing to shorten one to be chest height,
bear it in mind the long handle is so that you dont need to bend over to cut a plug.
I find square plugs are easier and key back into the hole better for less mess.
Also you can control the depth of the cut - we dig shallow at first about 4", then pinpoint and use the hand tool,
if the target is deep and we are nowhere near sprinklers, we will dig full depth.
The long handle can provide great leverage, enough to bend or break the blade in hard ground, if so, make another spade LOL
Also it is good for getting under bushes to scrape or clean weeds.
Originally all spades ($12) were short handle, but the first rotted and cracked, it seemed to be made almost of craftwood(?)
so I bought the long handled trenching tool for $10 on special, to find they were fibreglass with a steel sleeve at the spade head.
You beauty, dismantled and installed, they lost a little length in dismantling, and a little more in the fitting, so now total about 5'.
I would probably use timber next time, easily cut to length and shaped, just find a descent timber as the local hardware
was expensive for rubbish timber handles.
Kato with 'plug digga' we made on Sunday, she is 12, the handle is at the top of her head.
