For chopping, control is everything. People swear by 18-24 inch blades due to chopping performance but I can guarantee you a well placed light swing with a 12 inch machete will vastly outperform a wild bludgeoning from a 18-24 inch. You need to decide how long of a blade you want to be packing, how long and heavy of a blade you can control with precise placement, and the balance between the two.
I started with a 12 inch Ontario US issue Camp Machete. It saw lots of use and abuse both in Florida and in Idaho. Good 1095 steel though the factory edge needs to be reprofiled-I highly recommend a flat grind. I find it holds the best balance between edge retention and performance on this machete. The plastic grip is comfortable and secure, blade design is good for multi use. Blade is about .125 inches thick, which is thick enough-though there's not much heft for chopping performance. Allaround a good multitask lightweight machete that offers really good control.
Tramontina 12 and 14 inchers are very similar in design, size, steel performance and factory finish to the Ontarios. The blade is naked and the handle is made of wood, but the steel is of the same thickness. Again expect to put your own edge on and I recommend a flat grind. Very lightweight, good balance of strength and weight for packing long distances, bushwacking and camp tasks. There's a slight upsweep to the blade, which takes away from the weight-forward chopping efficiency, but adds belly for slicing efficiently through green stuff. It's pretty easy to tell the 12 and 14 inch machetes were designed with slicing through jungle vegetation, though it is a capable multi purpose design. The wood handles are secure and very comfortable. No lanyard hole, though... They cost 6 bucks.
As far as Condor goes, well... they simply rock. Very reasonable price, much thicker blades than the other two brands, and a shaving sharp finish from the factory. They come with convex grinds and perform well that way. I like the walnut handles better than the overmolded plastic (Joe we need a wood handled El Salvador!), though the plastic ones are also comfy, grippy and secure. Condor offers many great designs and you have to evaluate what your needs are. Some designs have solid working points, some don't. Some designs have good long flat blade portions for drawknifing and battoning, some don't. Some designs have a strong weight forward balance for chopping performance, some don't. No matter what you're sacrificing performance somewhere, though... the beauty to machetes is they run between 15 and 30 bucks. The Bolo is a GREAT place to start. 15 inches long, good weight-forward feel, good belly, long flat portion for drawknifing though the tip leaves a bit to be desired. Great multiuse machete and not difficult to pack. The Condor Khukri is really becoming a favorite. It is so well designed for chopping, bushwacking etc and it's only got a 13 inch blade. Very easy to pack, exceptional control and extreme biting performance for chopping. The recurve blade gives it a long slicing edge for clearing vegetation, too. This machete is a true high performance blade in a small package, though you sacrifice drawknifing capability with the recurve blade. The golok is similar in that it places weight forward for chopping performance, though it offers no real point and some drawknifing and battoning capability that the khukri doesn't have. The El Salvador has some point, some belly, and good drawknifing capability. It's a real allarounder but not as efficient in any given task. Similar design to the Ontario and Tram, so you have to decide if you need the Condor fit and finish and convex profile over cost effectiveness.
I would kill for a Svord bush machete. Convex edge, 15N20 steel and a real comfy lookin' handle. It's got a bulbous cutlass design that looks like a great balance between chopping performance, tipwork, and drawknifing/batonning capability. The cheapest I can find one though is 120 bucks... I'm sure they go for 10 or so in New Zealand.
All of these brands offer a quality product that will last as a good recreational trail and survival tool. Again, the beauty of a machete is it's cheap and begs to be used. If it were me, I'd get a Condor Bolo/tram combo or Condor Khukri/tram combo for your less-than-30-dollars mark. I've got lots of good pictures but just got back from a 3 day backpacking trip in the heart of the Payette wilderness so once I get settled I'll post some.
Here are two by Mastersmith P.J. Tomes.
