Howdy,

trying to pick out a new machete for packing, canoeing and camping. Needs to be light, sturdy and decent quality.

Last one i had didn't make the cut

Thinking about the condor golok or outback. Any experience?

Anyone carry machete on their trips besides me? I know some of yah carry 'hawks but that doesn't quite fit my style or need.

I know there are a lot of people that like machetes, but I can't figure out why.      Maybe I have just never had a good one...or even seen a good one.  I have used a folding saw or loppers working side by side with folks using machetes on countless tasks and ended up getting more done with less effort every time.  

Sorry to rain on your parade or hijack your thread, but that is just my experience.

I LIVE IN A VERY THICK JUNGLE-LIKE AREA OF WESTERN WASHINGTON, AND I CARRY ONE ON MY QUAD, THAT I MADE FROM A PIECE OF OLD CROSS - CUT SAW BLADE.  JUST A STRAIGHT 20" BLADE, NO POINT, WITH AN OSAGE HANDLE RIVITED ON.  IT'S HANDY IN OUR KIND OF BRUSH, CLEARING TRAILS, ETC.

Not quite in the machette league, but I have two large knifes I pack around when erecting ground blinds and clearing shooting lanes.

 

Either will sever a 3/4" sapling pretty easily.  The left one is a replica of a blade found at Ft. Ticonderoga and on the right is a Finnish Leuku (which is big AND scary sharp).

Take a look at these guys:  http://www.machetespecialists.com/

Guy

That is the site i have been frequenting lately.

Not raining on my parade Gregg, machetes are a very handy instrument if you have a quality one and know the proper way to use it. Most people hack and try to use it like a hatchet, that with a flemsy piece of barely sharp metal would sour my view too...

Machete can be used to down trees, clear paths, split logs (baton), self protection, finishing wounded  or trapped game, game processing, shelter construction... list goes on and on...saves my hunting blade lots of trouble when I'm out...

COOL KNIVES,STUMP KILLER,,,

I'm with stumpkiller I use a bowie for most purposes 12" blade horn handle. The thing I like the most is I made a case that I can wear bandleer stlye its fits snuggly under my arm. Out of the way, but there if needed

Personally, I'd be looking at the Martindale golok #2. No actual experience with it, just like the design and size.

Guy

Mine is a Maasai warrior sword that I got my last mission trip to Tanzania . More of a machete with a sinew grip with a goat skin sheath.

nightowl1  

I understand and second , the use of machetes, here in Mexico as well as in Texas we have very thick brush.

I use a cheap one from the home depot, but a friend of mine has an old military surplus machete that is great and heavy. Very nice one !!!!

We use them at Bear Quest in Quebec.  A lot of that terrain is like rain forest where you need to hack a path out hauling a big bear.  I forged this up for a cutting contest at an ABS hammer-in that I'll probably pack for trackin'...Doc

 

The only machete I ever had that was worth a darn is made by Cold Steel. I now take a Woodsmans Pal with me, it's great for a lot of things.

BOLO knife....it's a 100% machete, just heavier and stronger than most machetes I've seen

My vote would be for a Military surplus ontario knife company brand.   They are heavy duty and well made for the price. I have had one for several years and it works great.  My old man still has one that he has had since the early 70's, Uses it every season for clearing shooting lanes.

I have a Tramontina. It's well made and if I expect to be someplace with a lot of grassy/reedy or viney type cover I'd take it along. Here's a link to a series of videos by a guy who knows and uses machetes all the time. He also has a good video on how to sharpen one. He sharpens different area of the blade for different purposes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5vlHt7L4lM&feature=related

This Woodsman Pal is an interesting tool also. It's sort of cross between an axe, machete, and large knife, which means it doesn't do the job of any of those tools perfectly, but is a good compromise if you can't take all those tools. I was surprised how quickly it went thru a 6" diameter tree that fell across my practice shooting lane.


I like these for heavy duty hunting/ bushcraft chores. The top one is a Becker BK-9 and the bottom is an Ontario Spec 10 Tanto.

I am the pastor of a Spanish-speaking church.  Last summer we had a father-son campout and one of the older men in our church brought an old, beat-up machete.  He has used one all his life, and as I watched him, I realized that this is one GREAT tool.  He cleared grass, chopped up fallen wood into firewood, split logs, cleared paths into the woods, etc.  I was amazed.  He said that he has never found a good machete in the U.S., and prefers those that he finds in Mexico.  [In our defense, he has no access the quality stuff that a lot of "connected" people would, such as the traditionalists that frequent this site.]

In the hands of someone who knows how to use it, a machete is clearly a great piece of equipment.

I've always been interested in the machete. I have a piece of junk one I use in the garden, but wouldn't bother taking it to the woods. There's a TV show, Ray Mears Outdoors or some such, an English guy doing outback stuff. He has a machete that looks awesome and makes that "tinging" sound all good steel makes when at work. That would make it to the woods with me.

Skip the machete and get a woodsmans pal, 5 times the tool.

'Acero cryptonite', by Solingen is the Machete everyone was using on my last trip to South America.

Great tool, as has been stated before, you'd be amazed what the guys who use them everyday can do with them.
The steel rings even on a heavy grass stalk.

I got the 20" version and a great sheath.