Benchmade Jungle Machete

Your best bet for drinkable water on a tropical island is up in the trees. Our pick for a hydration system on this adventure just happens to be a rather large machete from Benchmade’s Jungle Family. The edge retention was great; even after piles and piles of coconuts, there were no dull spots, bending, or chipping. Its bright orange handle had a grip that remained solid even with sunscreen, the sea, or coconut water mucking up the works. The Bowie, Clip-point blade is versatile as it has a flat cutting surface, but both it and the Bolo worked their way through a coconut or into a conch shell with ease. The leather carrying case was handy to loop onto your belt. If you are roaming around your island in a bikini, there isn’t much to loop it to, so for those smaller jobs, testers also took along a favorite everyday carry.

Tester Comments: “Benchmade’s Jungle Family of knives made quick work of the coconuts’ tough exterior. Just add a straw and maybe a bit of rum, and you have the quintessential island beverage. If it was only this easy to get the green ones down from the trees, we would be set.”