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- Jun 4, 2010
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Just got back from a short hike at John Pond in the Central Adirondacks. I brought along two machetes to see how they'd do on some fairly ambitious chores. I normally bring a Fiskars 14" hatchet and its proven to do a fantastic job processing logs for the fire. I prefer it to the camp saws I've tried because I feel with good technique it gets more done using less energy, even if the saw gets it done faster (usually). Also, I can tell when my hatchet is getting dull with an inspection, with the saw I have to beat it to death before I know I have to replace it.
Anyway - the two machetes are a Marbles 14 scout and a Cold Steel bolo pattern. The Scout is about 3 ounces lighter and 2" shorter. I put a very nice edge on both prior to the trip - they could push cut industrial catalog paper across the grain and easily do the same to regular newspaper. The Marbles is 1075 steel and the CS is 1055. One of the reasons I brought both was to compare edge retention on similar tasks.
Both performed most camp chores easily and with more convenience than a hatchet - trimming a few poles down for my shelter and chopping down some kindling. Then the real work begins. As I was camping near one of the signature Adirondack lean-tos, suitable wood for the fire was quite scarce. One has to wander a bit to find good smaller downfall, but closer there's usually a fair amount of larger logs that most camper just don't want to tackle. Here's where a good hatchet can excell, processing down logs up to 7 or 8" if necessary. I was doubtful that either machete could do this sort of work with a reasonable amount of effort. In fact, both patterns went through some 4" white birch with no real difficulty. Tackling some downed and seasoned beech about 6" across was a different story. It absolutely repelled the Marbles machete and slightly turned the edge in several places. After fighting halfway through I turned the job over to the other contender. The bolo machete made 7 passes through it (with plenty of breaks and using the recommended pinch-grip) and while the edge was somewhat degraded it seemed to hold up very well overall. I'm estimating about 400-500 hits total on the beech (son of a beech, I checked after returning home and American beech is rated just a touch harder than red oak - been camping the Adks for years and never knew this).
Conclusion, next time I'm camping in an easily accessible area I'm bringing my hatchet. Not as handy for some tasks, but far superior for the tougher ones. With all the rain we've had recently, breaking down some larger logs would have been helpful/necessary even if a bountiful supply of mid-sized downfall were at hand. Everything was damp/wet and I don't believe the fire could have burned a lot of our fuel without being whacked down first, esp under a constant rain that alternated between a drizzle and a downpour. If I'm camping somewhere a little more out of the way and I don't have to choose between a long forage and some big logs, then I'll bring my bolo, and if I'm bushwhacking then the Marbles will get the nod. Considering neither of these machetes is intended for bigger hardwood, both kept a respectable edge. Also the 1055 isn't supposed to have the best edge retention, it actually kept a better edge than the 1075 steel through 4x the work. Didn't expect that. I took a bunch of pics, but my phone got wet (did I mention it rained) and none of the pics I took after 1pm on Sat were saved to memory(?)
I bushwhacked around the pond, climbing the high ground to the West of the lean to. Great views and saw plenty of bear scat, a few spots where something heavy had disturbed the moss recently, and plenty of good deep fissures in the exposed rock formations, some of which I'm confident are occasionally occupied.
Considering the hike in is very easy there are a bunch of interesting day hikes in the area, worth a look and I'll mark this location for a trip when the kids get old enough to backpack.
HH
Anyway - the two machetes are a Marbles 14 scout and a Cold Steel bolo pattern. The Scout is about 3 ounces lighter and 2" shorter. I put a very nice edge on both prior to the trip - they could push cut industrial catalog paper across the grain and easily do the same to regular newspaper. The Marbles is 1075 steel and the CS is 1055. One of the reasons I brought both was to compare edge retention on similar tasks.
Both performed most camp chores easily and with more convenience than a hatchet - trimming a few poles down for my shelter and chopping down some kindling. Then the real work begins. As I was camping near one of the signature Adirondack lean-tos, suitable wood for the fire was quite scarce. One has to wander a bit to find good smaller downfall, but closer there's usually a fair amount of larger logs that most camper just don't want to tackle. Here's where a good hatchet can excell, processing down logs up to 7 or 8" if necessary. I was doubtful that either machete could do this sort of work with a reasonable amount of effort. In fact, both patterns went through some 4" white birch with no real difficulty. Tackling some downed and seasoned beech about 6" across was a different story. It absolutely repelled the Marbles machete and slightly turned the edge in several places. After fighting halfway through I turned the job over to the other contender. The bolo machete made 7 passes through it (with plenty of breaks and using the recommended pinch-grip) and while the edge was somewhat degraded it seemed to hold up very well overall. I'm estimating about 400-500 hits total on the beech (son of a beech, I checked after returning home and American beech is rated just a touch harder than red oak - been camping the Adks for years and never knew this).
Conclusion, next time I'm camping in an easily accessible area I'm bringing my hatchet. Not as handy for some tasks, but far superior for the tougher ones. With all the rain we've had recently, breaking down some larger logs would have been helpful/necessary even if a bountiful supply of mid-sized downfall were at hand. Everything was damp/wet and I don't believe the fire could have burned a lot of our fuel without being whacked down first, esp under a constant rain that alternated between a drizzle and a downpour. If I'm camping somewhere a little more out of the way and I don't have to choose between a long forage and some big logs, then I'll bring my bolo, and if I'm bushwhacking then the Marbles will get the nod. Considering neither of these machetes is intended for bigger hardwood, both kept a respectable edge. Also the 1055 isn't supposed to have the best edge retention, it actually kept a better edge than the 1075 steel through 4x the work. Didn't expect that. I took a bunch of pics, but my phone got wet (did I mention it rained) and none of the pics I took after 1pm on Sat were saved to memory(?)
I bushwhacked around the pond, climbing the high ground to the West of the lean to. Great views and saw plenty of bear scat, a few spots where something heavy had disturbed the moss recently, and plenty of good deep fissures in the exposed rock formations, some of which I'm confident are occasionally occupied.
Considering the hike in is very easy there are a bunch of interesting day hikes in the area, worth a look and I'll mark this location for a trip when the kids get old enough to backpack.
HH
