Crowbar

"I cannot WAIT to find a crate!"

- Nick

The Crowbar is a new close-combat weapon introduced in Left 4 Dead 2.

The crowbar is not really meant to be used against Special Infected, because using it on a Boomer would cover you in bile, and killing a Spitter would leave you right in the middle of the goo. It would also take time to get to a Charger, Jockey, Hunter or Smoker.

Trivia

 * In-game, the crowbar shares the same range as all the other melee weapons (none longer than another), but has less hit-detection rays (than the Axe).
 * The crowbar is a reference to another of Valve's popular game series, Half-Life, where the player character's first weapon is a crowbar.
 * The way that the player holds it is very similar to the way it is held in Half-Life.
 * The HUD icon of the crowbar is similar if not the same to one used in Half-Life 2.
 * The way Nick says "I cannot WAIT to find a crate!" is another reference to the Half-Life series, in which rather generous supplies of them can be found and are typically smashed open with this weapon.
 * The crowbar is one of, if not, the only melee weapon that can partially decapitate an infected. Meaning, you can aim for the jaw and dismember it leaving the rest of the head intact, or remove the top half of the skull, similar to that of shooting a zombie in the upper forehead with a pump shotgun.