This morning I got my new Bear Grylls Parang Machete.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v356/ulfhedinn/?action=view&current=gerber.jpg
I frequently use machetes. As you can see on the photo, among others I also have the Cold Steel kukri and the Fiskars/Gerber
brush thinner. The brush thinner was my favorite working machete. But using the BG Parang I must say it also is excellent. It feels a bit "top" heavy, a little bit like an axe. It slices through wood like butter, it's incredible. I also chopped some harder wood and could not see damage to the edge. I also received the much discussed Bear Grylls knife. It feels solid to. A couple of video's on You Tube showed Gerber has worked on the "pommel flaw". I have yet to test it.

Funny you mention the Fiskars brush thinner. It's my least favorate machete due to the curved top, and normally around here we use it on thick brush and tree limbs and it just gets in the way. I actually plan to re-shape mine so the front little hook is no longer in the way.

My Kukri was a much better machete for out here but it was a 15 cold steel cheapy I was just testing. Someday I`ll step up to the Ka-Bar.


The BG looks interesting but like you lose some power due to the shape did it seem like that?

Thanks for review and pics!

No! That is just what I mean. It feels like the most powerfull of the lot. Like I said, it is balanced well in front of the handguard. If you balance it on your finger, you have to put it about where the edge begins. Being heavier towards the tip of the blade and because it has the thickness of a good machete(just measured 0.116inch)alltough stiffer, it realy slices through wood. The brush thinner is more of a tool for clearing an entangled mess of twigs, small branches etc. I also use it as a hook so it helps me climb a short way up a tree (not safe, I know). And I use the thinner when picking up small branches so I don't have to bend over as much. Also, when it is very sharp, it is usefull for cutting gras like clearing a spot to put a tent. But is far as raw cutting power, the parang feels superior.

Great to know! Will keep an eye out for a deal

Kinda funny i never seen him ever use a parang and Ray mears uses one almost exclusively but Grylls is the one to come out with his own brand coated product. Actually if you look at it and compare it to real traditional parangs it looks more like a reversed Kuhkri then a true parang which I dont understand why they would do that

Personally id rather go with something around these lines even tho I do not know much about the brand.

http://www.heinnie.com/product.asp?strPa...chStartRecord=1

Now that's one sexy Parang right thar in my eyes!

At SHOT show I got to play with one of those Condor parangs you linked to above. The workmanship is a little rough but in a way that just adds to its sweet "must cut everything in sight" nature. It looks like it just came out of the jungle.

I also played with BG's parang. I liked the blade and think it would do well here in the rain forests of Houston but the handle just hurt to look at. It seemed too high-tech for such a primitive blade. It felt okay, but I hated the way it looked and begged the Gerber folks to come out with a wood-handled one.

-Blast