Carvin a Camp Out of Bamboo

The Esee expat Darien Machete takes on many and varied tasks.

- By Reuben Bolieu

During the weeks of late March and early April 2020, I made a stop in Georgia while on the way to what was supposed to be a bushcraft class at the Randall’s Adventure & Training headquarters in Alabama. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the plan, and I ended up spending two weeks on camp- and skills-building in Georgia with the new offering from ESEE Knives— the Darien Machete.

THE DARIEN MACHETE

The latest and fourth model in ESEE’s Expat line of knives is the Darien Machete. This piece is made in Central America and is named after its southernmost tip—a no-man’s-land known as the Darien Gap.

The ESEE Knives Expat Darien Machete features a Micarta handle for extended-use comfort and a 12.38inch blade. Its overall length is 18.18 inches. It weighs just 15.5 ounces and comes standard with a rugged, tan canvas sheath (which wasn’t used during this trip). The blade is made of 1075 steel in El Salvador.

‘CAMP GEORGIA’

Upon arriving in Georgia to stay with good friend Patrick Rollins, lead instructor of Randall’s Adventure & Training, he told me about a thicket of bamboo he had access to not far from his house. We were building up his camp in the woods behind his place, and bamboo would add a whole, new dimension to the camp (not to mention the cooking capabilities bamboo offers).