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all i can say is my 5 year old broke one last winter.. no joke. my wife says hey look it says life time warranty she sent it back and they sent out a new one, i put it right back in the hands of my now 6 yr old. if it ever snows ill let you know how it works out.

I'm split on this one. I carry a plastic shovel for my sidecountry/inbounds riding because that pack doesn't have much in it and it's more comfortable to fall on a blade that flexes. I carry a metal shovel in my bigger pack that I use for touring. There is more padding between me and the shovel so I can't feel it if I fall. I've never broken a plastic blade and have used then a lot. I have bent several metal blades. My room mate has a broken Life-link in our gear room but I don't know the story behind it. I've bent plenty of shafts on both types of shovels.

I think the biggest problem with lexan is going to be with temperature and since I'm in the NW I never have to worry about it dropping below 15F or so. I'll stick to the system that I use.

I remember Stevens Pass BC was below 15 around New Year's Eve 2010 - 2011, so it does get cold here too.

I carry a metal shovel. Hope I never need to use it in an emergency, but still.

Cheers
Ivo

Some more info:

http://www.telemarktips.com/TeleNews69.html

Haha, below 15 isn't cold, 15 below is cold. In the NW it usually doesn't drop below the teens but in other places I've been as low as -40 (C or F, take your choice. ) and stuff starts doing weird things when at those temps. That said, I do carry an aluminum bladed shovel in my touring pack.