Nomad Willy
Guru
To me a Spade is a bit like a Rocna without a roll bar and a ballasted tip instead. So if you do'nt like roll bars and support ballast on an anchor perhaps a Spade could be in your future. I've said before the Spade could be the closest thing to an ideal anchor there is but maximum holding power won't be achieved since the weight of the ballast could be used for a larger fluke. Of course this could be said of all other ballasted anchors as well. Additionally every anchor designer knows the sacrifice of a ballasted anchor and feels the loss of fluke area and that last bit of holding power is a good balance. Once an anchor is set ballast is basically of no use and the same can be said for the roll bars too but I think the roll bars play a significant role in resistance that translates to more holding power. But then the resistance also inhibits penetration and that decreases holding power. In any case the Spade has an excellent reputation for setting and holding power. It's made in Tunisia and designed by Alain Poiraud ..a frenchman. One tester said it's tip lacked some tip sharpness and is not excellent on hard bottoms despite it's ballast. If the bottom is'nt too hard all testers I've read say it sets really fast and digs deep. I do'nt know where to buy the Spade in the states.