The ang khola is usually about the thickest blade Himalayan Imports makes, I think--subject to the variation that any line of hand-made tools will have. You may very well find that you get maximum bang for your outdoor-supplies buck with a 15- or 16-inch khukuri with one of the not-so-thick blade designs. The BAS ends up being what I carry most--it's 15 inches overall, with a 10-inch blade; chops wood just fine for my little outdoor uses. If I were going to be chopping wood all day long to build semi-permanent outdoor shelters, chop down lots of trees, etc., I'm sure the bigger knives would do the job better--but in actual practice I'm more likely to build a fire or two, chop a few branches to use as a frame for a poncho-roofed lean-to, and then want to use my blade for finer cutting tasks, where a heavy 12- or 13-inch blade that's half an inch thick at the spine might be a bit too much of a good thing. That's why I like the BAS, sirupati, and Gelbu Special as much as I do. Sure, I love chiruwa ang kholas a lot, and have been getting them for each of my sons, liking the near-indestructibility of them. But for real utility, I have to admit that the BAS is the one I most often actually carry, and it doesn't suffer much in the way of even wood-chopping.
