The results of this informal comparison which shows that the Chopra "won", did not come as a huge surprise. After all, 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 picking 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 pure 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 lighter blade 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 3rd party 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 that blade in a pure chopping test.
Would the Chopra lose out to that Golok in another head to head? We like an excuse to test so keep your eyes peeled.
Video of BMC Chopra Vs Competitor: https://youtu.be/4Ryb8sEvjWo?si=v9hpIB5iTyjDY7rd
