Other hiking equipment

A spade is a tool designed primarily for the purposecloth tape) is a strong cotton cloth pressure-sensitive
of digging or removing earth.adhesive tape used in the motion picture, television,
Etymologystage (music and theater) and audio visual production.
The word in Old English is spaedu, cognate formsThe tape is manufactured in many colors, including
being Dutch, Swedish and Danish spade, Germanfluorescent and custom colours, but the most
Spaten; also related is spoon. It is derived from thecommon variety is matte black. This matte finish
Greek spathe, a broad blade of wood or metal, andkeeps the tape from reflecting light so the tape
so used of the blade of an oar or sword,which wasblends in with the typical stage floor of a theatre.
latinized as spatha, and used of a broad paddle forThe tape is most likely named for the gaffer, the
stirring liquid, of a piece of wood used by weavershead of the lighting department on a film crew.
for driving home the woof, and particularly of aGaffer tape is easily torn by hand so no cutting tools
broad two-edged sword military without a point, as inare necessary. The adhesive used is a high quality
the title spatharius.synthetic rubber[citation needed] which leaves little or
The Spanish playing cards had swords for the suitno residue when removed, in contrast to duct tape.
which we know as spades, and the suit was calledWhen cables are taped down on a stage or other
espada, hence spade in English; in Dutch schoppen,surface, either for safety or to keep them out of
which also means 'spades', not swords.view of the audience or camera, they are said to be
Designs of spadesgaffed or gaffered.
Spades are made in many shapes and sizes, for aA narrow version of gaffers tape, called spike tape,
variety of different functions and jobs. There areis used in many colors for stage and theatre floor
many different designs used in spade manufacturing.layout.
The most common spade is a garden spade, whichWhite gaffers tape is also used extensively by live
typically has a long handle, is wide, and is treadedsound engineers who place a strip along the bottom
(has rests for the feet to drive the spade into theof the mixing board allowing them to label the
ground). An Irish spade is similar to a common gardenchannels used for a particular show.
spade, with the same general design, although it hasA mosquito net offers protection against mosquitos,
a much thinner head. A turfing iron has a short, roundflies, and other insects, and thus against diseases
head, and it used for cutting and parring off turf. Asuch as malaria. Its fine, see-through, mesh
digging fork, or grape, is forked, much like a pitchforkconstruction stops many insects from biting and
and is useful for loosening ground, and gardening.disturbing the person using the net. The mesh is fine
Digging toolenough to exclude these insects, but it does not
In gardening, a spade is a hand tool used to dig orcompletely impede the flow of air.
loosen ground, or to break up clumps in the soil.Mosquito nets are often used where malaria or other
Together with the fork it forms one of the chiefinsect-borne diseases are common, especially as a
implements wielded by the hand in agriculture andtent-like covering over a bed. For effectivenesss, it is
horticulture. It is sometimes considered a type ofimportant that the netting not have holes or gaps
shovel. Its typical shape is a broad flat blade with alarge enough to allow insects to enter. Because
sharp lower edge, straight or curved. The upper edgeinsects can bite through the net, the net must not
on either side of the handle affords space for therest directly on the skin.
used's foot, which drives it into the ground. TheMosquito nets treated with insecticides -- known as
wooden handle ends in a cross-piece, sometimesinsecticide treated nets (ITNs) -- were developed in
T-shaped and sometimes forming a kind of loop forthe 1980s for malaria prevention. These nets,
the hand.impregnated with a pyrethroid insecticide like
Small and/or plastic toy versions of the same tool aredeltamethrin or permethrin, kill and repel mosquitos.
used to dig sand castles on a beach or in a sand-box.Unfortunately, standard ITNs must be replaced or
Other usere-treated with insecticide after six washes and,
In the oil and chemical process industries, a spade is atherefore, are not seen as a convenient, effective
round piece of metal with a small tab that is placed inlong-term solution to the malaria problem.
between two pipe flanges to give positive isolationAs a result, the mosquito netting and pesticide
from the central atom; usually to prevent crossindustries teamed up to develop so-called long-lasting
contamination between fluids or to allow work on theinsecticidal mosquito nets (LLINs), which also use
line. The name comes from the shape: a little like apyrethroid insecticides, but are also treated with a
garden spade. The small tab lets one see that thechemical binder that allows the nets to be washed at
spade is in place.least 20 times, allowing use for three or more years.
gaffer's tape, gaff tape, gaffa tape, gaffing tape,