Picking up on gravel, wet grass or bark chippings is the one job a bag does badly, and it is exactly where a scoop earns its place. This one is built to travel rather than to live in the shed: 34g of moulded plastic, light enough to hang off the lead or sit in a coat pocket without you noticing it, which means it is actually with you when you need it.

Plastic is the right material for something rinsed under an outside tap twice a day. There is nothing to rust and nothing to rot, and it can be scrubbed properly rather than wiped and hoped over. It comes in black, yellow or red, and the bright colours are worth a moment's thought if you walk in the dark, because a red scoop put down on winter grass is a great deal easier to find again than a black one.

• Moulded plastic construction
• Weighs 34g
• Three colours: black, yellow and red
• Sized for walks rather than garden clear-ups
• Supplied as one scooper

Two things worth knowing. And at 34g this is a walking tool, not a long-handled garden scoop for clearing a week's worth in one go.

Who it's for: Dog walkers who want something in the pocket for the awkward pickups bags handle worst — muddy verges, gravel paths, bark chippings and long grass.