Bear Grylls Parang Machete Review and Field Use - Part 2 of 2

[CanItAlready]

LOL @ the machete stuck in the tree and calling Bear to get it out. All I could think was, "You should have sprayed the blade with WD-40 beforehand..." j/k; I'm not sure that it's a good idea for people to be spraying that stuff all over the great outdoors.

Re: Gerber. I have had one positive experience with their CS, and that was in getting a sheath for my Fiskars hatchet. They also did respond to all those complaints about the BG knife and even produced a version with a plain edge.

[awesomeseekerdude999]

7:30 pirates of the caribbean theme song

[mumblejunkie]

Quality review-thanks for taking the time was very informative, and am going to sub as this is the first review where you give the tool justice for what it's made for. Am glad you did not try to cut stone or vice it, these are tools for out doors and not for kids who want to bitch about bear. Great review, keep em coming :-)

[Pule3]

great review, thanks

[church132]

great song!

[v2jay100]

Love the reviews dude, thanks a mill. I was thinking twice about the BG parang but think ill jus go ahead and get one!! '' does a bear shit in the woods"! love it! lol

[Lobosuelto111]

Very useful video. Thanks! Greetings from Argentina!

[Mr420rush]

awsome review, thanks for explaining completely everything about the machete.

[liebemintz]

I would be terrified of a child wielding a kukri. You want candy? NO PROBLEM.

[kaizoebara]

I appreciate the insights on this tool, so I'd be happy if you come around doing the CK&T Parang review some time.

[Warmonger1975]

Have you field tested the Condor Parang yet? That's the one I'm looking at getting.

[mafundzalo]

@Warmonger1975 I have tested it but it takes a while to compile the clips and edit them into a viewable video. The short of it - I don't recommend it, mainly because of the grind.

[roachas06]

cheers mate im looking for a half decent blade, ive been looking at the bg parang for a while im in the british army and want to buy one, any idea of some thing like this but better or do u think this will be ok? cheers, thansk for the good detailed review!

[smilewait4flash]

Thanks for the honest review. I just got the parang for christmas. I was a little worried about it but I feel better now. Thanks.

[deeds1957]

I have both of these and really like both of them. The Condor golok is really good as well.

[JackTheGripper1985]

are either of these machetes sharp out of the box?

[mafundzalo]

@JackTheGripper1985 my parang was very sharp out of the box. The CS kukri was so dull that it should have been called a "machete kit".

[JackTheGripper1985]

@mafundzalo hahah I know, cold steel machetes suck balls

[slomotrainwreck]

Outstanding review!

[mafundzalo]

@slomotrainwreck thank you!

[BatCav3Productions]

how is the cutting power of it

[losteden]

and the Condor Parang?

[HALOPROPRO]

got it on sale at sports authority for $32

[gibsonjr11]

do you prefer a kukri over this?

[Iloveassasinscreed]

pirates off the caribian music :DD

[tubeyou2409]

umm who the fuck was it given to!! haha

[peterlangdown]

Painful watching someone use a machete when they don't really know how to use it. Get some more practise in! lol

[coolkidcater]

bro u suck at taking labels off your machetes.

[utubesuks12345]

Why is it that people who review machetes cant use them right ?!?!?!?

[crimsonshadows1]

lol beetle from 3:05 to 3:14 at the top. ^-^

[SamGC5253]

also you have to realize that the actual kukris main use was not as a brush hacker, its was more of a... man machete. it was made to kill things and remove key components of the human anatomy quickly. i own a traditional gurkha kukri made in nepal and it is a hefty piece of steel that would easily take off a hand if not more.

[Guitardude1616]

im honestly not sure about this thing. i cant justify the price and ive seen people who cracked it off on the first screw. but your video also shows how good it is. is it good at clearing very light brush?

[mafundzalo]

@Guitardude1616 I haven't cracked mine, but the price is a bit high. It will work very well for light brush clearing. If you don't want to spend that much, take a look at the ontario 12" machete - it is very good and only $21

[MrFakebogus]

Great review. Hope you'll review the condor perang, that one looks interesting. Keep up the good work!

[MrFakebogus]

Great review. Hope you'll review the condor perang, that looks interesting. Keep up the good work!

[2011blueman]

The bear grylls parang is $29 (Amazon), he overpaid.

[dashengquan]

Great review man but stop cuting healthy stand trees....!!!!

[bobandlarrylegos]

this is a helpfull review you should do one on the ultimite survival knife

[mafundzalo]

@bobandlarrylegos Grylls' survival knife is junk, in my opinion. The serrated edge makes it useless - lots of alternatives out there, almost all are better.

[Aussiehunter100]

did enyone see that bug at 3:00

[digdug529]

Nice review. The Cold Steel Kukri Machete is a price point only. I ended up getting the Kabar Kukri machete instead. The Kabar comes pretty sharp and is made very well. I will be waiting for the Condor Parang review. If you already have an opinion on the Condor please reply to this post. Thanks for the honest opinion on the products you are reviewing.

[mafundzalo]

@digdug529 The kabar is thicker, and much closer to the real kukri shape. Its cheaper than the ghurka kukri too.

I did get a few days with the condor parang and so far I think I need to take some sand paper to the handle and shape it a bit. It wasn't very comfortable during use. Not a deal breaker for me but may be for others. The blade is thick and works good on the harder woods. Maybe too heavy for small work though. Swinging it at small stuff wears you out. Thanks for the comment. Peace

[CaptainFur]

Great review! I can't stand Grylls but I know the history of this knife design and I took a chance and bought one (for $25.00) and I must say, it's a very good design. It works, its sharp and comes "together" with the sheath. The spots of orange is good for safety and finding your tool quickly.

Note Condor Parang: if anything should happen to the handles, because it's full tang a quick fix would be a paracord rape until you order replacement grips from Condor, others on-line or make some.

[mafundzalo]

@CaptainFur Yeah the problem with Grylls is that more people are NOT buying his tools because of his name being on them. I compare his image to gay porn - its there but does nothing for me lol.

[CaptainFur]

@mafundzalo LOL! Agreed. So glad I bought mine on the net, in plain brown packaging. Bear's face was everywhere!

[mafundzalo]

@CaptainFur I know I'd pay extra not to see him pretend to be "cliff hanger"

[CaptainFur]

@mafundzalo I'm still mad at him for being on my deodorant! I had it first.

[htolas]

That part of the knife which you want sharpened is often used as a handle extension by the Malays who originally used this tool.  They would hold that part of the blade to do fine carving / peeling with the sharpened part of the steel in front of it. If you do indeed sharpen the blade as you said you would, you could end up with a lot of blade "twirling" about when you carve. And the balance would also be off.

[mafundzalo]

@htolas I've tried holding it that way, and I don;t know if it's just my lack of skill or the thin steel of the blade, but it's not a comfortable way to hold it. It felt like I would have more control if I could hold it by the handle and sharpen the area near that. I just settled for using a smaller knife for those chores - didn't end up sharpening that spot. Thinking about wrapping it with paracord to make it more comfortable to hold in that spot. Thanks for the comment man

[htolas]

@mafundzalo Thanks for responding. I don't think it's your skill at all. The BG Parang is a bit confused when it comes to that part of the blade - it's left blunt so it invites you to use it as the original users would have, and then it has a sort of guard at the handle that makes it difficult to do so. Your paracord idea would help 'thicken' the blade so it would match the handle, so it's good. And you were spot-on with your comment about the rubberized grip.

[MrTimthetoyman]

Hey man, love ur review! I am a bit concerned with how this the blade is... do you find that when chopping (its main use) is there a lot of vibration feedback? I think a thicker blade would have more of a dead blow.

Also with the thickness, does it flex quite a bit or is it quite solid (stiff?)?

thanks!

[mafundzalo]

@MrTimthetoyman It's rather stiff, given how thin the metal is. I had the same concern - that it would flop and vibrate like the gerber gator machete (read ma-shitty) but its pretty damn stiff. I think they did a much better job on the heat treatment on this one. Doesn't flex or vibrate much. A thicker blade would chop better, but would also be heavier and therefore harder on your arm. Thanks for the kind words man. Hope this helps. Cheers

[stevan070]

Great video and the "Bear" part really put a smile on my face. Very informative, but I still don't know how Gerber can claim it is a full-tang parang.

Cheers

[relicen1]

Are you a fan of tiesto or pirates of the carribbean? :)

[mafundzalo]

@relicen1 Both ;) I'm a big fan of electronic music actually, you'll hear more of it in the future

[thedefinitive]

You complained about the handle. Can you take it off? Is there enough tang to wrap with paracord or something?

[mafundzalo]

@thedefinitive Any handle can be removed, but not all can be removed in a way that they can be put back.This one has two screws holding it to the tang, but mine still doesn't come off with the screws removed. Must be glued or epoxied. Before you put paracord on the handle, let me say that while this is not the best handle in the world, it is FAR better than any paracord wrapped handle. Paracord will give you blisters much faster than this factory handle. I'd leave it alone and wear gloves

[mafundzalo]

@mafundzalo a better option if you totally hate the factory handle would be to make a micarta one. If you do go that route, you probably don't care how many pieces the factory handle breaks into when you take it off. If I HAD to replace the handle, micarta would be my first choice over the paracord any day. Thanks for the comment dude. Peace

[thedefinitive]

@mafundzalo Ok well i'll figure something out. That orange shit has got to go though lol. Thanks, man.

[jmiyagisan]

I agree with "TheCrazyOne1100". You gave a very informative video, with no B.S. attached to it. I just purchased it on Amazon for $30 w/free shipping. Not a bad deal now. I also LMAO at the end on the outtakes.



[mafundzalo]

@jmiyagisan Thanks man! I appreciate it. $30 sounds more reasonable to me. Drop a line and let me know what you think, or better yet make a vid ;)

[sergeantFirstClass87]

Your voice reminds me of Sootch00, haha.

[TheCrazyOne1100]

This was probably the most thorough review I've seen of this machete in a long time. Thanks for your time and effort put into making it.

[mafundzalo]

@TheCrazyOne1100 thank you, I'm glad you found it useful.

[relicen1]

I like your reviews and I'm really looking forward to your review on the condor parang.

[mafundzalo]

@relicen1 thanks dude. The condor parang review is still in the works. I like the condor parang the most so I'm putting it thru some thorough testing before I review it.

[thefierce123]

"Maybe I can signal Bear. Bear! Bear!" Haha, brilliant! Great review mate

[mafundzalo]

@thefierce123 thank you

[SpartanJohns]

what throws me off is the handle.(for the most part)

it did look like it was biting deep but then again it did get stuck really hard.

you got some issues with non US made stuff...get over it bro.

I really liked this review, still not willing to buy gerber made...

can't wait for the condor review.

2Xthumbs up bro...(cool outtakes)

[mafundzalo]

@SpartanJohns Yeah it gets stuck because the blade is only 1/8" thick and the hollow grind bites deep. I don't have issues with non-us made stuff, I own a ton of it, but I do have issues when manufacturers charge a premium for it though. Cold steel could make this machete for under $20, but Gerber charges $40. Probably so Bear Grylls can make his boat payments :P All CS would have to do is start sharpening their kukri blanks on the opposite side LOL

[SpartanJohns]

@mafundzalo i live in Europe, so for me to get a non US made blade that you can find at Dicks sporting goods i will pay about 20-40-80% more.

so yeah, they are screwing us no matter what we get, that is why i like small manufacturers. like the guys on YT.

i would pay about 120 $ for a becker BK2. i paid 50 $ for the condor bushlore... i am not even gonna say in the comments here how much i paid for my BRKT Bravo1 :(

about CS i am not familiar with the high end stuff but their cheap stuff sucks

[mafundzalo]

@SpartanJohns I have a cheap CS asegai spear and its good enough quality and fun, but their cheap knives do suck. The extra cost in Europe has to be due to shipping right?

[SpartanJohns]

@mafundzalo shipping costs about 25$. but some stores will not ship overseas, some will not guarantee your gear will pass customs, and then you have to pay again at customs if you order yourself. if you order thru a store here, they know you have no other option so you will pay about 10$ more than the price BRKT or CS would retail the product, so the stores take advantage of not having much competition and they charge you what they feel like.

[mafundzalo]

@SpartanJohns man that's just wrong

[SpartanJohns]

@mafundzalo i pay more, so i am very careful what i buy, and before i buy it i read all about it, watch all the videos i can find. that is why i like YT and that's why i liked your Bushlore video so much. of course it would have helped a year ago when i bought the damn thing :)

but yeah...i like bad reviews on products that everyone says they like for that reason, makes me think twice.

[mafundzalo]

@SpartanJohns The condor parang review is a ways out. I want to really put it thru the hammers before I draw any conclusions. Specifically the handle, which is only half-tang. Gonna beat on it lots before I throw the video up. The price is right though, much better design than the BG and costs less.

[ricksageek]

Hahahahah.. Awesome video man. LOL'd @ 8:14 But thanks for the review video.

[thommicat]

Good rewiew with many informations!

I can confirm your comparison to the Cold Steel Kukri.

I'm excited about your Condor Parang video in high resolution ;-)

This machete would be probably one of my next blades.

[mafundzalo]

@thommicat Thanks dude! I don't know how high res my condor parang review will be - my camera kinda sucks but I will do my best :)

[simpleapples]

Good Review, Nice to see a review that is so detailed....really liked the history part in part one, also being able to know all the specs and details of the machete....Part 2 was great to watch, liked to see so much different chopping shown...instead of the same tree for 10 mins....the outtakes are hilarious. Great job. Really enjoyed can't wait for the next review. cheers

[mafundzalo]

@simpleapples thanks simpleapples! glad you liked it

[mafundzalo]

Because this video contains music it is for some reason not available on mobile devices. I can post a mobile friendly version if there is a demand for it. Please let me know guys. Thanks

Mafundzalo