Comparison of Machetes?

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Wolfeye

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Apr 26, 2015
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Hey, everyone. Was looking for a comparison of different machetes performance-wise. I'm not real worried about the price, since Cold Steel seems to have a lot of good ones cheap & so does Condor, but I'm looking to make a good buy right away. Specifically, I'm more & more curious about the panga. Anybody ever use that?

Still interested in the khukuri, of course- but I think I've narrowed down what I'm looking for with that.
 
I don't have a panga, but I have the CS Bolo machete. I've done a lot of good yard work with it. :thumbup:
 
I have an Imasaca 20" Rozador panga and a Cold Steel panga. The Cold steel is a good buy and good quality, but has one of the most uncomfortable handles I've ever used, very wide and blocky for my taste. The Imasca is a true beast, tons of weight forward in the tip for heavy chopping. I have a 14" Bolo coming from Baronyx this week that I'm looking forward to trying out as well!
 
The Imacasa Rozador 20" is one I also use quite a bit, a beast for sure. Maybe feeling a bit heavy sometimes for lighter stuff, but blasts right through 1-2" diameter. I also use a 16" Tramontina for quick walk-through clearing, as it's easier on the hands/arms. Sometimes I think an 18" bolo might be the best between the two.
 
Been curious about the panga design lately, but have not purchased or used one. So, based on my experience with the brand, I lean toward Condor stuff (Imascasa) if I were going to try one out.

Maybe someone could give a bit of history on the panga design and what it was originally used for. I'm talking about the squared off design.

I have the Condor Viking and a number of their other machetes, but no panga. One U-tube video references the Viking as a Panga..... so a history lesson may be in order.
 
What kind of environment are you using it in? What kind of targets/tasks being performed with it?

As far as the blocky handle comment RE: the Cold Steel panga, they revamped that model a while back and it now has the same handle as their Latin and Bowie models, as well as a longer and more flared blade.

Condor in general has more premium materials and harder heat treatment and their sheaths are hard to beat, but CS makes a lot of quite nice stuff, too.
 
All my Cold Steel machetes came from the factory almost sharp enough to cut warm butter.

Uneven grinds, and lots of burrs. Once a good edge is put on, they work quite well.
 
It really depends on what you're going to be doing with it.
For "typical" machete work, my favorite is an 18" Tramontina.
If the focus is primarily heavy (for a machete) chopping, I use either an Ontario HD 22" or Cold Steel Magnum Kukri Machete.

I'm jealous of the above poster. I have 2 Cold Steel machetes; and neither one of them came nearly that sharp.
 
22-rimfire said:
I have the Condor Viking and a number of their other machetes, but no panga. One U-tube video references the Viking as a Panga..... so a history lesson may be in order.
Click to expand...

Viking machete is a panga. It's called the "viking" because it's the largest of the 3 panga models Condor sells(the others are the 14'' Puerto Rican and the 16'' Swamp Master).
 
^What he said. :)

The Condor Viking is a panga pattern machete.
 
I've been using a CS Panga for 10 years now. The only issue I've had is the blade could be a little longer for some uses.
 
I've found that I prefer the CS machetes for grassy type growth and the condor line for anything with a woody type base to it... I own several styles from both companies and I find that CS machetes of any pattern are ill suited for woody growth as the stock is too thin and speed alone is often not enough to accomplish the task, while on the other hand, the Condor stuff tends to be overbuilt enough that its tiring to use on purely grassy growth but tends to come into its own when a thin bladed machete just doesn't have enough ass to get the job done...

you have to understand however those are very broad statements and each line has SOMETHING that can function as needed vrs the growth you specifically have in your area...the trick is just figuring out your true intended use for it and buying the right style blade for that type of growth.
 
Condor makes a lot of tools that are more like ethnic-inspired chopping knives rather than actual machetes in addition to their actual "pure-bred" machete models. The Speed Machete, Eco Survivor, etc. are all in thinner stock.
 
DShiflet said:
Viking machete is a panga. It's called the "viking" because it's the largest of the 3 panga models Condor sells(the others are the 14'' Puerto Rican and the 16'' Swamp Master).
Click to expand...

Guess I own two Panga machetes then; The Condor Viking and the Condor Puerto Rican. I use the discontinued Puerto Rican (14") a lot and have wanted to get the Swamp Master (16") which gives me a couple more inches of length without the some what cumbersome length of the Viking for general cutting of woody materials.
 
All you have to do is buy one, most are all the same and put a good edge on it. Most machetes comes with 1050-1060 steel Rc'd to the low to mid 50 range, so they will all behave similarly. I myself like Cold Steel and Tramontina.
 
I'd argue that there are plenty of differences between even seemingly similar machetes to the point where it makes a tangible impact on performance in different contexts of use, but then I'm also a huge nerd that pays attention to that sort of stuff. :p
 
Ka-Bar also makes a nice Cutlass style machete. It's even a little lighter than their Kukri. Their machetes are made in Taiwan I believe, but my Ka-Bar Kukri gives me that same rugged feeling as their USA made Beckers. Definitely several steps up from even the good Chinese made ones. The downside to the better made ones is that a heavy machete only feels heavier as the day goes on.
 
Wolfeye said:
Hey, everyone. Was looking for a comparison of different machetes performance-wise. I'm not real worried about the price, since Cold Steel seems to have a lot of good ones cheap & so does Condor, but I'm looking to make a good buy right away. Specifically, I'm more & more curious about the panga. Anybody ever use that?

Still interested in the khukuri, of course- but I think I've narrowed down what I'm looking for with that.
Click to expand...

Tossing my two cents in...
Lots of machete patterns out there. They all function a bit differently (and some quite a bit), so I'd recommend you go after one that suits your general needs.
I live surrounded by forest, so I tend to gravitate toward shorter, stockier and/or wider bladed ones, since tight-quarters chopping is a typical chore. But I get by just fine around the house with a generic 14" Tramontina, and a 12" one would do just as well.
That being said, Condor, Cold Steel, Ontario, Incolma, Marbles, and Tramontina are all manufacturers I'm familiar with, machete-wise, and they're good.
 
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