Ha, how long is a two-peice shaft going to last. Is he saying he doesn't get 'stiff and sore' after a lot of shovelling with this? I thought the bending lifting and twisting caused the grief.

Missing the obvious ergonomic of adjustability for people's different heights.

this is just plain dumb.

@Sam Sams
I agree.

Looks like they never really used a shovel for any serious work.
Middle handle is not really working. You need to be able to slide up and down tje sjaft to move dirt around.
You do not want to stand on the shovel in the middle because your feet are not in the middle either.
How do you want to replace a broken shaft ... and yes they break!
You don't want a shovel that is welded together. It should be one metal piece or problem are already preprogrammed.
I am sure that is a step back compared to a well forged shovel with well made wood shaft.

They might want to check into scythes, which have been engineered with this sort of idea for hundreds of years

Man. I was a builder's labourer when I was young and consider myself an expert shoveler, (and not an expert at much else!)
The trick is to always swing around your body, ie position yourself so the back of your front shoulder angles towards where you are dumping or throwing. And ideal front hand position will change; if you are scooping from a big pile of sand into a barrow, bring the barrow close, take big scoops with the front hand closer to the blade, and dump it in. If shoveling off the ground and onto a truck, take smaller scoops, with the front hand a bit further back, swing and throw it up. You are using the chest muscles and (with left hand forward with the palm under the handle) keeping your left elbow close to your ribs, and the naturally supinated left hand makes this easier.
ie... IMHO this front grip may not be ideally positioned for all situations and all people.

It's not called back breaking labor for no reason
I want him to dig in hard soil with roots and pebbles in it next to a large tree. And did you notice the mounting of the blade to the shaft. Normally a shaft runs under the blade to support it. I don't want to set force on this one
He, it's not April 4th is it?

Wow, you guys are all haters. There have been improvements to such simple things as shovels. I have one of those snow shovels with the offset shaft (almost S-shaped shaft) where the place you grab is higher up, but the angle of the shovel remains low and it's MUCH easier on my back. This isn't all about the back. It's very possible to believe that with a shorter shovel, by grabbing at a different angle, your hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder will all be put into a better position - which will cascade through each extremity and to the back -- and prevent repetitive motion injuries by setting up the smaller muscles and tendons so they aren't twisting or rubbing against areas they weren't designed to handle. Even while playing golf, it's well known that a correct grip with the 2 middle fingers of the right hand can affect how you bring your arms back in the swing. The tension on those two fingers sets up the smaller muscles under the forearm to work together with other muscles to make the larger backswing move easier and more efficient.

If you use a shovel on soil, you will reveal an amazing thing... a hole. As you continue to use the shovel to deepen the hole, you soon find yourself removing dirt that's further and further below grade. Having fixed hand holds on a shovel would mean that you'll soon be digging with this thing while couching over your hole on your knees. This problem is avoided by having a long, simple wood handle on a shovel.