The results of this informal comparison which shows that the Chopra won, did not come as a huge surprise. Afterall, this is what it was designed to do. The fact it was over x5 times faster to cut through the Hazel branch was a surprise.
We like to test all available machetes, it's kind of what we do.
The first time we picked up another "British" machete (it's not made here in Britain) we liked it's balance and overall dimensions. Having a distal taper works well for making a blade 'lively' in hand, but not so good for chopping. This is because you do need some forward weight available (think axe).
The same British Hazel tree trunk (it's about 12cm/4" diameter) was used to test and the BMC Chopra Machete got through it in only 25 chops. The other blade took over 130 chops.
To be quite honest with you, the 2+ min video is hard to keep track of all strikes as it was quite a mission to actually chop through! The Chopra dealt with the same trunk in only 30+ seconds.
Is it fair to compare a Golok with a hybrid Bolo-Chopper? Perhaps not, but it does make an interesting case for how proficient the Chopra can be.
Analyzing the video in more detail, we might think the Golok is simply used less aggressively, and although that was not our intention, I would argue it is the simple difference in blade geometry, weight and balance that do somewhat handicap the Golok in a pure chopping test.
Would the Chopra lose out to the Golok in another head to head? We like an excuse to test so keep your eyes peeled.
Video of BMC Chopra Vs Golok:
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