Shovel Handles: Straight or D-Grip?

Do you prefer a shovel with a straight handle or a D-grip?

For me, it's complicated. Most of my shovels, long and short, have a straight handle. It's more versatile because I can change my grips and angles, which is easier on my tendons (which are showing a bit of wear and tear). D-handles force me into specific positions and I notice it.

That said, D-handles can be used in a two-handed grip when doing a deep dig in the garden in fall, for example. This works for garden forks as well. Stomp it in and use both hands to pull the handle toward you.

Short shovels are a mix. If it's a full size shovel head I like a straight shorty handle. If it's a small shovel head I like the versatility of different grips and angles that come with a D-grip.

How about you? What do you prefer, and why?

D handles. I'm small, a long handle just tangles me up and the leverage is wrong. I can't balance a load at the end of a long handled shovel. I have to have my hands closer to the scooping part, and the D puts my hands in the right place.

I like a D-handle with a square head and a long handle with a pointed shovel.

Like Pearl, I'm short, and *most* of the time, I get better leverage with a D. If I need to choke up, it kinda doesn't matter which, except that... with my hypermobility,I can get wobbly, and have occasionally been attacked by a long handle. Ahem...

I'm short too, or three? Laughing. I'm also hypermobile, but I find a long handle good for when shoveling loose things with a pointy shovel. I've worked hard on stabilizing my joints (it's an ongoing thing), so I need to be mindful of my shoulders when I shovel however I do it. I can kind of hold the shovel steady in relation to my body and lunge into the loose stuff with my bodyweight and momentum.  This is a sort of horizontalish/diagonal movement. If I'm shoveling clay or hard to get through things so need to hop on it to dig vertically-ish then D handle works best for me. Either way I am pretty ambidextrous so switch sides, hands, grips, etc. If I try to jump on a long handled one it attacks me, lol.

We have both so it just depends on which one I decide to pick up.

Probably the straight because that one is handy ...