If ALL you want is to "chop" with a heavy tool doing a lot of the work, have you tried an axe or camp hatchet (with a GOOD edge)?
Unfortunately I doubt cutting branches above my head would work very well with a hatchet (Unless I found one with a nice long edge, that might work ok).
My Machete is only a Cold Steel, so if you hit thick wood too much it will bend the blade over. That Condor Machete sounds like a good deal.
How fast does the El Salvador get through wood? Anywhere near the Dog Father?
