I don't get down to the beach very often but I'm headed down to the Jersey shore tomorrow and needed a relatively lightweight but strong beach scoop. I ordered Nokta's 3 in 1 scoop since I didn't want to blow a lot of money on this. I immediately realized the breakdown travel rod was way too flimsy and sloppy with a lot of play so I swapped that out for a 36" oak dowel I had laying around and cannibalized one of the rubber handles from the kit for it. It weighs in at about 3.5 lbs. I'm pleased with the way it turned out. The scoop actually looks surprisingly well built and if its anywhere near as tough as their detectors or hand digger, it should be good for an occasional beach hunt. We'll see.... HH all, George Fatizzi