Need help choosing a quality machete

Surfingringo

Surfingringo

Joined
May 25, 2013
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Hi all, I have a friend here in Costa Rica who asked me to do some research for him. He is looking for a decent quality machete for camping, hiking, brush clearing, shelter building, etc. He said he would like a 15-18" blade. His main concerns are something with a decent steel and good ergos and balance. He knows I'm a bit of a knife fanatic so he asked me, but honestly, I know almost nothing about machetes so hopefully some of you can recommend some good options. His budget is around $50.

Thanks,

Lance

Edit: I forgot to mention...he also want something with a nice sheath. Maybe he has to buy that seperately? I dunno.
 
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Reach out to 42blades here on the forum. I would consider him a SME on machetes
 
I would also get in touch with 42B, he has a lot of info and talks from experience with actual use. He'll steer ya right.
 
I would recommend Cold Steel's machetes. The Panga is a favorite of mine. However, I cannot recommend them to someone who doesn't know how to sharpen them. 42blades offers a sharpening as part of an upgrade. As bought, Cold Steel's machetes are like the pizza shops that sell pre-made pizzas you have to take home and cook yourself. However, once sharpened/reground, I find them more than satisfactory. I wish the Panga was a little thicker, but it has good heft and cuts well once you thin the edge down and remove the burnt steel from sharpening with a 24 grit fast moving wheel. Mine goes through a couple of 4x4's w/o noticeable dulling.
 
Man, you are on the pacific coast of CostaRica...they don't have imacasa 'chetes in the supermarket between the toilet paper and aguacates?! ;) :D

Seriously though, that's a good brand and tramontinas too...
 
Here is a video I made on some mods I did to a cold steel 'chete... It really hasn't seen much use tho...

[video=youtube_share;a5hkDjzi2tE]http://youtu.be/a5hkDjzi2tE[/video]
 
rpn said:
Man, you are on the pacific coast of CostaRica...they don't have imacasa 'chetes in the supermarket between the toilet paper and aguacates?! ;) :D

Seriously though, that's a good brand and tramontinas too...
Click to expand...

The funny thing is, it's pretty much just like you said. You can buy machetes pretty much anywhere! What makes it even better is my buddy is a local who grew up here using those very tools. But...he's a frickin gear-head just like us and he wants himself a fancy machete! So here we are. :)
 
The ESEE Lite Machete is pretty spiffy for around $50
Its super thin, has a nice Micarta handle and a good sheath.
Also, the blade has some nice curves to it.
 
FTR-14c said:
The ESEE Lite Machete is pretty spiffy for around $50
Its super thin, has a nice Micarta handle and a good sheath.
Also, the blade has some nice curves to it.
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the blades supplied to them by Imacasa?
 
If your buddy wants to throw away some money on a custom machete, have him check out Dawson Knives.
 
Btw, rpn is correct. Imacasas are a dime a dozen down here...which of course make them less appealing to someone looking for a nice exotic machete. :D.

I checked out 42blades site and showed my buddy the Condor bushcraft parang and he really liked that. Anyone have any experience with that one?
 
Imcasas, tramotinas. However something you don't normally here, the ontario 18 in milspec machete is pretty dark tough. Ive beat the hell out of it, only way I managed to break was shooting it with a ar 15 trying to create a hole to hang it with :D. For future reference I know that while soft steel tends to deform hardened steel shatters...
 
9blades said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the blades supplied to them by Imacasa?
Click to expand...

Yup! They are. It's the same blade as the 18" Eco Survivor, without the Condor hole. :)

My biggest question are what are his prioritized expected tasks? Realistically what will he be doing the most with it, what will he be doing the least with it (but still need the tool to be able to accomplish) and where do the other tasks fall in between? So much of picking the right machete is in identifying the tasks you want to place the most emphasis on, and at the same time what features you don't want to totally lose. A plain-jane Latin pattern of good quality is the most general design, which is why it's the most common style, but the better you dial in on your unique uses and priorities the more you can deviate from the generic "jack of all trades, master of none" pattern and find a model that strips away capabilities you really don't have much use for in order to increase performance in the range of tasks you DO commonly tackle. :)
 
The Bushcraft Parang would likely be a good choice. It's stout enough to do pretty robust batoning with it, it's thin enough to take out lush vegetation (and the edge presentation helps prevent the slipping of flexible light targets) and the tip, while not exactly fine, is very usable for most tasks you might need it for. Light build thanks to the injection molded handle (which is very comfortable) and the synthetic materials of the grip and sheath make it weather resistant. It's a nice unit. Geared a little more towards branches and scrub brush and "camp knife" tasks than dealing with lush vegetation, but it's still quite usable for those tasks.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Yup! They are. It's the same blade as the 18" Eco Survivor, without the Condor hole. :)

My biggest question are what are his prioritized expected tasks? Realistically what will he be doing the most with it, what will he be doing the least with it (but still need the tool to be able to accomplish) and where do the other tasks fall in between? So much of picking the right machete is in identifying the tasks you want to place the most emphasis on, and at the same time what features you don't want to totally lose. A plain-jane Latin pattern of good quality is the most general design, which is why it's the most common style, but the better you dial in on your unique uses and priorities the more you can deviate from the generic "jack of all trades, master of none" pattern and find a model that strips away capabilities you really don't have much use for in order to increase performance in the range of tasks you DO commonly tackle. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response. I just copied your questions and mailed them to my friend. I figured it would be best to let him answer those directly. I will post here when I get a response.

Lance
 
That was quick. I sent your message and here's the response I got. Very high on his list is size/portability. Tasks would be clearing vegetation from path, clearing campsite, and campsite duties like fire wood processing and shelter, and other "camp duties". And of course dispatching zombies! ;).

P.S. He just texted me and said to add durable and comfortable sheath as a requirement.

P.P.S. Judging from your previous post, I still think the parang might work well for him. Anything in his answer to change your opinion on that? Does the parang come with sheath?
 
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