Using a Machete
 

Have been doing a fair bit of bushwhacking the last few years and looking at buying a machete. Not sure if it would be beneficial or a waste of energy swinging and slashing as trying to navigate through the thick cover.
Anyone using a machete and are they beneficial to have while bushwhacking?

Not for me. I tried it a few times when I was young and didn't get too far before getting tired out. I also had a few close calls from it glancing off of tree's and untargeted branches.

I have one it’s ok for some small stuff but our trees in Alberta are pretty tough if you don’t hit them right at the joint they just swing down and back up and smack your face.

Try a bill hook. It well bite into the wellies better than a machete. I prefer an axe generally our just go around the tree

My thoughts have been confirmed, I will continue to walk around and if possible through. Thanks!

I picked up a machete many years ago and although it sees limited use it still has a place in my hunting truck. There are a variety of uses beyond clearing branches and some decent ones are reasonably priced.

I take a machete on every hunting and camping trip. Like all cutting and chopping tools machetes need to be sharp to be effective. Several uses for a machete.

We carry them on the Quads.

Nothing beats filling a hole with willows to cross a soft spot like a Machete to lay down a pile of 6 foot willows.

Just keep the angle right and it will sail through 1 inch willows.

Also very handy for duck hunting for willow blinds.

Drewski

I used them in tall grass and areas with lots ofvines, work good there. Like others have said, would not try to take down anything bigger than small willow with one, wood is not what they were really designed for.

I tried it last weekend on a bunch of chokecherry and dogwood and they were too springy! They didn’t cut well at all. Maybe right at the base of the plant. Loppers would have been better!

I have a Gerber and a couple of Condor machetes. They feel equally sharp, but the Condors will easily slice through a willow that the Gerber glances off of.

Buy a good machete, keep it sharp, and you’ll be surprised how useful it is for clearing trails.

heavy blades vs thin blades
 

^^QFT^^
The thin bladed machetes are designed for grasses, vines, and thin flexible branches. Light weight and easy to swing all day long.
Heavy bladed machetes like the Condor Golok or Parang are designed for clearing heavier brush and small trees. They have the mass to cut through a 1.5" sapling with ease.

I used to use a machete, now use a brushing or clearing axe like this, I like it much better.


https://www.amazon.com/Bahco-3022-Cl.../dp/B000288XQ8

I find them very useful. But like he says...they must be kept sharp. If they are it is surprising how effective they are...if they aren't you'll just get tired hacking away with little effect.

I really like my Cold Steel Kukri Machete (not the "plus", wasn't as impressed with it). For about $36 it can't be beat. I'm amazed at how it holds an edge and I use it a lot, even field dressed a deer with it just for the heck of it, used the deep blade like an ulu. I would recomend one as a versatile cutting / chopping tool.

Machetes are meant for the jungle, where every tree is built like a nerf football. A 16 year old girl, with a dull and rusty machete can take down a 10” plantain tree like a hot knife through butter. They are also the perfect tool for watermelon, and harvesting mango, avocado, coconuts and bananas, and make short work of bamboo. That said, I’ve tried them out up here in the Canadian bush at various times and found the machete to be utterly useless.