Very well done!

Nice. Blue collar from 2002-2006 and RDI, Osprey on the coast for a couple years after that. Great times!

Great video, I planted 24 seasons on the coast, it’s been ten years since. On a nostalgia trip here. I never understood why people used D-handles vs. a staff shovel. I planted much as anyone, usually the most, at a really good company. And always shook my head at too short, too light, wrong grip D handles. I’m half opening my next hole from upright position, a half step still away from the spot , with the weight of the shovel doing a lot of the work, which I kind of begin loading up for, right after back cutting the last tree, by raising and aiming the shovel. Holding the shovel part way down the staff, I half throw and release the shovel, re-grabbing it near the top of as it sinks in. Cranking it open with ease, more leverage, again often near upright as bending down to plant, sliding my shovel hand down to the optimum height for the spot, could be a spot at up to waist height, could be a spot below my feet as I would bend down over slash in to spots that little D-handles don’t reach. As for the impact of hitting rocks and root, I kept that to a minimum which the throw and re- grab, if it was a tough spot, I would kick it home, so much more power in the leg, than the arm. My technic was always described as fluid and efficient, when I tried with a D-handle that barely reached the ground when standing. It felt frantic, wasteful in movement and hard on the wrist, and at times hard on the shoulder being locked into one height only, despite the varying height of the spot.

Keep doing the thing

Long live the planter gang. Amazing video, guys. Jordan Firstman vibes at the beginning. Love the tips on the shovel. Picked mine up, never realized how heavy and long the thing is! Subbed :)

broooo I watched all your videos years and years ago, lost that yt account. I'm so glad I've found it again!!!!!!!

Cool video and looking funner then i expected

Great video

i met a planter who taped rocks to the shovel to make the shovel heavier. Also I bought a full metal welded shovel from a guy on kijiji a few years ago. bike tape works good for the grips too. love the foam padding idea tho.

Did 4 years in BC 96-99 with Silvaram & Quastuco

I like the flag Tupperware and the foam thing for the bags. I always liked the shoulder straps to distribute the weight better. In cycling you never want your leg fully extended, so I’m not so sure about the shovel length-arm extension thing...

If you have an extra flagger pouch (the old Velcro ones) they make good dividers for your back bag. I often have my phone + portable battery in my back bag charging my speaker/phone.

I finished the season last year planting in shorts :D This year I'm gonna rock 8" boots with slightly oversized pants... No duct tape.

Here in the uk we have to wear super clunky and stuffy rubber waterproof overalls and gloves (think marigolds). I wish we could just plant in shorts and leggings though, looks much comfier 😅 the handle cushioning seems like a great idea though. Deffo stealing that next season.

Good job

Wow man! You are incredibly awesome!! Thank you for the video Also I would by your stuff if it's possible, so think about own products for tree planting ;)

Hey Thub, thank you for the tips, and let me say, thank you for planting all those trees, that means so much for our already so much worn out World. Warm Greetings from Luxembourg.

did 3 seasons in BC, late 1980's. All spades had a heavy head with the footplates at the top. The heads were also much more heavy duty, the one in this vid was more like for flower beds by comparison, and that weight really helped throw the head deep into the soil. The handle was what I believe is known as a D type handle. There's a flow to using it. Whilst you're planting a tree you make your next spot, screef it to reveal a square foot of soil, then throw the spade into. The spade was at least 6 inches longer than the one in the vid, and the D-handle makes it easy to raise the spade before you throw it into the ground. As you position your feet you're lifting the spade to throw it into the ground, follow through to kick the spade deeper whilst reaching back to the bags to get a tree. kick the hole shut whilst making the next spot then go and screef it. Do people still screef these days? When I did it I'd do about 1000 a day, and that was considered the line at which you'd be considered a highballer.

Pool noodle for the foam might work better?

This is my second year and I intend on hitting 4K 😂 first year pb was 2.5k,,, pretty proud of myself but had my periods the next day so I’m guessing hormones got me balling lol… aside from that I like the tips especially the padding! I lost so much weight my hip bones were bruised black for about three months after

Put a hose clamp over the weights after you tape them that should help hold them better

If you learn to use your kinetic energy you dont need the weights. I believe in bagging big, so if youve got 50-75 lbs on top of your mass and your moving it you have a lot of kinetic energy you can put into the tip of that shovel, instead of a few grams, 250lbs. All it takes is a flick of your wrist to lift the head of the shovel and then the weight does all the hard work for you. Be sure to come in to the strike with a flexible wrist and soft grip to prevent tendo.It is best to leave your shovel as long as your leg at the hip, it makes it ergonomically natural and helps make your spacing naturally perfect too.

Have you thought about a garbage bag around the foam incase starts to rain and ruin the foam? Nice tips

Thanks you planting trees for our planet earth 🌱🌎🌱🍃🌿🌲🌲🌲🌲🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🕊

Try leukotape for keeping those bits onto your shovel. If that tape doesn't wanna come off my arm after a couple shifts, I'm sure it wont wanna leave the shovel

Reminds me so much of the beer sales pros at Nascar. I sold beer one time and no one clued me in to anything. I had a miserable day, lost money and time...... guess it just makes a good story lol

What's with the Jeep behind you?

How do you cut your shovel?

How do I get the foam pad to stick?

Ahah! some good tips in there. I wonder if the litttle pounds make the shovel a lot heavier to carry around ?

Great video, I'll try to upgrade my bags for next season, this looks x1000 comfier. I can't find the sealed foam you're talking about, does it have a name/where do we usually find this thing? And for the velcro did you use a special glue or the velcro itself already had a sticky side on it when you bought it? Thanks for the advices!

I was wondering if highballers hid bundles of trees as a way to hit the highballer numbers and this video has given me closure lol

Put the weights in the handle when you cut it down

I’m gonna be new this year but I’m wondering if a really high snake boot would be good for tree planting???

I did 15 Seasons as a tree planter mostly in the South some in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We used a tool called a hodad

If you found a really big sinkhole, you could stash a few thousand trees a day and become a Canadian Woods Legend... 🤣

need more tips on stashing

👍🙂👍

Ahaha so you wanna go again omg yes

Heat shrink the weights

here's an idea. use the duc tape, while wearing gloves and put some of it on the parts you fingers you flex with. should need 3 different separate parts per finger. mayve it'l save you money on gloves?

I liked all this, except the stashing part...

nobody ever plant 4 k trees in a day anyway lol, that maded me laught hard, if you haven't pounded a single 4 k then you can't call yourself a highballer, did it twice on my second season without staching any tree and 4500 on my third one, I wish I could reach 5 k at one point but I got retired after my third unfortunatly :( these tricks are quite good thought, the key to make money is working with your head and never stop until the truck bell ring with angriness of the foreman

Shine guards just saying like for soccer that with gators you plow through any under growth. J.s

Captain Duffshot merch when.....

Legend has it that he's still a rookie...still not a person

The shovel length, and blade thing, you guys must screef a lot less than we did early 90s, you want the weight, and the place to step on it to get it in, a 35 cent tree cannot be planted with a thrust of the shovel.

Making fun of the new rookie is one thing i miss of team work

Mhh I agree and disagree. Fun to watch tho!

Don't you feel like you've been beaten with a stick and chewed by 100 puppies by the end of a day? I have done some brush clearance in the forest, but this looks brutal.

weld the weight

Yeah bro your not from the UK. It's a kicker or your wrist will last one measly day. Even the pros stamp the shovel down.

About the gloves--who wears gloves ? just duct tape your fingers !!

Gotta take off my bags to pee 😐

Gloves? Tried them once. Nope.

Stashing and cheating not cool, not funny. Impressed with the bag pads but ...

I’m gonna be new this year but I’m wondering if a really high snake boot would be good for tree planting???