- 15-piece survival kit built for hostile environment
- Includes Gerber miniature multi-tool for a range of applications
- Survival blanket, fire starter, snare wire, fishing and sewing kits, and more
- Land to air rescue and SOS instructions
- Comes with Bear Grylls'' Priorities of Survival pocket guide
I think the wire included is fine. Remember, snare wire has to be rigid to set up so the dental floss won''t work as a previous reviewer suggested. You can expect to snare a very small animal if it came to that anyway. Also, emergency survival kits such as this must be small, light and easy to carry or you won''t take it with you. It''s for emergency situations and not for hard or frequent use. Yeah, you can navigate without a compass but it would make it easier for the novice put it in the kit. I can''t believe that such a useful and inexpensive device is absent from this kit. Some adventurers even carry two for that extra piece of mind. Knowing that you are moving in the right direction when lost is everything... it prevents panic and keeps hope alive! I think it''s also important to understand that kits like this are for "common wilderness survival" situations. If your car slides in a ditch on a remote road in North Dakota while it''s -50*F, the mylar blanket won''t help you. If you subject yourself to extreme conditions such as this (I know, I lived there for 3 years) or desert, ocean and high altitude jaunts, you should have proper specialized training and gear.
Fishing gear in an emergency kit is okay because it''s easy to carry but Your first priority is protection from hypothermia/exposure either by clothing, shelter or fire. Second is rescue, being found, extraction, etc. I don''t think you''ll do much fishing while trying to keep warm at night, and while extracting yourself or being found the next day, as is what happens in most all emergency survival situations. Fishing gear belongs in an extended stay kit or on a planned fishing trip. I know we all think about crash landing near a remote fishing lake and the fish are biting after weeks of not being found... not likely. I was lost in the woods once and I''ll take a compass over a fish hook any day! I''m not against fish hooks and sinkers but you would have to be lost for many days and have established shelter and water source before you think about wetting a hook. I think lots of new, young wilderness adventurers are being led to believe that a few fish hooks and sinkers will save their life when the truth is, they will rarely or never be used. The items in your kit should be useful and help direct your thoughts in case of panic. Everything in your kit should help you achieve something if you pull out a whistle and blow it, someone may hear! Pull out a lead sinker and, well... you just pulled out a lead sinker.
I also like the signaling and survival instructions. Not only is the information valuable to the novice survivalist but this literature will also help keep you focused and strangely enough, could be comforting while spending the night alone and provide a boost of confidence. A fish hook won''t do that. The material the instructions are printed on could be used to catch water, cover wounds and who knows what else.
If for some strange reason catching a fish does become a priority make a fish trap instead fish swim in and they can''t swim out. If you''re lost for days you''ll have the time to make it and staying busy helps keep the mind on track. By this time you should have a nice camp set up and sportin'' a great woodsman type beard. While the trap does its work you can prepare firewood or signal for help. PLEASE Help Me Spread The Message... Shelter and Rescue First! The life you save may be your own. Good luck!
Update: 8 June 2011
Price has come down to the low $30''s... a lot better than $40 something! It seems like prices on most Bear items are falling. I guess the hysteria is starting to subside.
Buy Gerber 31-000701 Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Kit Now
I spend a lot of time in the woods and I enjoy wating Bear Grylls show on TV so this seemed like a great gift idea for me. My wife picked it up for my birthday at a local store. I am less then impressed to say the least. I currently have my own survival kit that I put together for well under 30 bucks on Amazon years ago, so I had high hopes for something that costs around 40 bucks. I al also a huge Gerber tool fan. I love their blades and carry their multi-tool everyday.Boy was I dissappointed.....
Cons:
poor quality on most items. The snare cord would snap under little pressure.
The gerber multi-tool was tiny and seemed cheap.
Matches came broken
NO COMPASS!
hooks were too bendable cheap!
Pros:
nice size
Bag to hold everything
paracord seems decent
Flint and striker worked well
I am sad that this product did not meet my expectations. I really wanted it to be a good product. This will not replace my ghetto kit in my gallon zip-lock bag. My kit cost less and is of much higher quality. This kit has been put in the glove box or my car and will stay there as a back-up. I would not trust this in a real survival situation.
Read Best Reviews of Gerber 31-000701 Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Kit Here
First off, I would like to mention that I am a huge Bear Grylls fan.I have purchased this pack as well as the fire-starter, folding sheath knife and ultimate utility tool.
This kit looks very impressive at first, however upon opening the pack you will soon realize that all the items are very small and impractical. The snare wire is barely longer than the average hands length. The mini-utility tool has very stiff components and only consists of a nail file, a knife and two very small and ineffective screw drivers. The whistle inside the pack looks like something out of a dollar store (the whistle on the outside attached to the bag is better). The LED light is purely plastic and inexpensive. It almost looks like a child''s toy.
The only two items that would be semi-difficult to find on your own would be the hand saw and mini fishing kit. The rest of the items could be purchased separately for a fraction of the cost of this pack.
The fire-starter and folding sheath knife are good (different Bear Grylls endorsed products). Those are keepers. The utility tool''s wire cutters exploded during there first use so you should be weary about purchasing that as well.
Take some time and visit some local stores. Even Wal-mart sells the majority of items in this bag. Make your own kit.
The only thing that Bear Grylls is attached to in this pack is the nylon bag that all the stuff is in. The rest is just cheap parts.
Save your money.
Be safe out there.
Want Gerber 31-000701 Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Kit Discount?
I bought this kit because I am fan of Bear Grylls. I am an avid outdoorsman and former US Army officer and enlisted soldier. My son and I tested the kit and we were very disappointed in the poor quality of the kit. DO NOT buy this kit if you are serious about using it in a real life or death situation. It could cost you your life. Put together a kit of your own with good quality materials. It will be more expensive, but will be worth the money and effort.The description of this survival kit says that it is for "hostile environments." This is a joke. This kit is more like a toy survival kit. You will not survive in any environment with this kit. It does not have the basic necessary items and half of the products did not work or were not large enough to be useful.
Here is what is in the kit and my opinion of it:
Nylon pouch: too small, once you take the kit apart it is difficult to put it back in. The pouch should be larger.
Multi-tool This is the smallest and cheapest multi-tool I have ever seen. It is too small to be used for any survival purpose, aside from cutting fishing line. Very poor quality. Instead, buy a decent Gerber 01471 Suspension Butterfly Opening Multi-Plier, with Sheath or similar multi-tool.
Miniature light my light did not work, I have never gotten it to work. Instead buy a decent, small, waterproof flashlight or a manually charging light.
Hand saw too small to use for any purpose
Signaling mirror Small, not very reflective. More like shiny tin
Survival blanket Very poor quality. My blanket tore in half when we tried to open it and test it out
Fire starter The handle kept falling off every time I tried to strike it. I could not generate many sparks and it was difficult to start a fire. It was too small. In the Bear Grylls TV show, he uses a high quality Swedish Firesteel Army Model or an old fashioned Genuine Issue Magnesium Survival Firestarter. These are much better for starting fires.
Snare wire As described. Cheap metal. I did not try to snare anything with it.
Waterproof matches as described. You only get a few in the kit. You need more matches and a lighter.
Cotton ball fire tinder, snare wire, emergency cord, waxed thread, fishing kit, sewing kit These are all as described. You get a very small amount of each item. You need more than a few hooks and a few feet of fishing wire.
Pocket survival guide, and rescue instructions Very general. You should invest in a SAS Survival Handbook: The ultimate guide to surviving anywhere
I would not buy this product again or recommend it to anyone serious about buying a survival kit.
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Ok, so in being honest I was once a fan of Bear''s. However after watching the show for a season or so I can tell you, if you do what he does YOU WILL DIE. This kit sums up the overall experience, a whole lot of filler, nothing of use. There are some good features to this, a signal mirror is excellent, the space blanket is a fantastic life saverhowever I can tell you from personal experiencebuy the one at the sporting good store that is a bit more heavy duty. In the event you actually need it -and I haveyou will be glad that you skipped on the one with a thickness similar to tissue paper. Like others have said, the multi-tool is great, but a good multi-tool is something that I feel everyone should own, not a chinese made knock-off. I find it nearly laughable to think that a COMPASS was not included in this kit. A whistle is always a good thing to have, plastic is the "warmest". As one other review stateddump the fishing line and hooks, I have been in the back country along the Sierra''s for nearly ten years and I can tell you on one finger how many times I found fish.To sum up and in all honesty, Bear was paid to endorse this, I highly doubt he created this. Do your own research on what is needed in a survival kit for your particular area and make your own. The knowledge that you gain will save your own life.
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