Bear Grylls Survival Series

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #60 on:** June 27, 2011, 05:12:45 PM

There's a write up on the Ultimate Knife in the current issue of Tactical Knives magazine, written by Tim Stetzer, who is a member here, moderator at Knifeforums.com and one of the guys responsible for Woodsmonkey.com. Seems like he likes it and thinks there's something to it.

Def

cerbera147 · **Reply #61 on:** June 27, 2011, 06:34:24 PM

I'd like to see that review

I really want the Survival Knife even though I don't need it. If only they made a plain edge version.

I don't think it is fair that so many people are dismissing this due to a dislike of Bear / Gerber / China $:-\$ Any bad reviews I have seen are from people that haven't tried it

Most reviews I have seen are positive

At the end of the day it is marketed as a "Survival Knife"; when the brown sticky stuff hits the fan. It would appear to serve that purpose well. You could safely throw this in your bug out bag for when the time comes. You do get a lot for $40

Why does this sound like I'm trying to convince myself?

Travis Autry · **Reply #62 on:** July 08, 2011, 04:28:03 AM

I got the chance to pick up a few of the BG Compact Multi-tools on sale recently for The Multitool.org Store at EDCSource.com.

After reading Chako's write up I decided to buy one for myself. I've had it a few days now and have been carrying it as my "pocket knife". As Dan mentioned, the tool is very pocketable.

I haven't had occasion to use the serrated blade yet, but the plain edge blade works very well for my oddball cutting chores(opening packages, opening mail, trimming strings, etc.) I cheated a little when I first started working with the tool. I didn't find the cutting edge quite to my liking, but after a few strokes on the kitchen steel it shaved hair pretty well.

I've looked for opportunities at work to use the screwdrivers. Today the Phillips driver was useful for swapping out a coupe of computer monitor cables. The placement of this driver, opposite of the handle pivot allowed me to open both handles for a longer and more comfortable reach. The slotted driver on the pivot end wasn't nearly as useful.

I haven't used, nor do I see much use for, the tweezers. On a small pliers tool I would be more inclined to use the pliers as a tweezer than a questionable little tweezer. I can envision some use for the small screwdriver, but haven't needed it yet.

I also haven't worked much with the pliers. At work I naturally reach for my EDC SwissTool when I need pliers. The few times I have tried gripping small items with the Compact pliers they have worked well enough. I suspect they would be good for making the occasional tool from a paper clip or similar sized wire.

I think the Compact is pretty useful in a light task, supporting role. While I wouldn't want it to be my only multitool on any given day, I do like having it as an option for my EDC rotation. For the price I think it is pretty substantial. I like it much better than any of the similar key ring size pliers I have handled before. It is big enough to be practical, small enough to keep handy and affordable enough that I can afford to use it and not break the bank if I lose or break it.

Keep watch at The Multitool.org Store for these and more new items coming soon.

jekostas · **Reply #63 on:** July 08, 2011, 07:30:39 PM

What bothers me (and I think a number of other people) about the Bear Grylls series is that they really don't provide much value.

Fully half the line is just existing Gerber products with Bear Grylls' name on them, perhaps slightly different handles, and a higher street price. The Ultimate Multi-Tool is just a Suspension with different handle scales (and I'm mightily sick of those as there are a million of them already) and a higher street price. The Compact Multitool is a a tool mix/match between a Clutch and a Vise. The Ultimate Knife is just an LMF 2 with a slightly different handle. The two larger folding knives have almost, but not quite identical blades with slightly different handles.

Not only that, but the fact that the tools subscribe to the "dump truck full of cash" theory is so obvious that it nearly slaps you in the face. Gerber was so bloody cheap that for most of the line, they didn't even bother to take a picture of Grylls using their products in the packaging - he's still using his custom bushcrafting knife in that picture!

Travis Autry · **Reply #64 on:** July 09, 2011, 05:20:11 AM

I just found a somewhat out of the ordinary use for the screwdriver/bottle opener tool on the Compact. It works as an emergency key for the utility golf cart that I drive at work. A few months back I used the nail file on my SOSAK edition Wenger EvoGrip 16 to start the cart. Tonight it crossed my mind to try the driver on the Compact and it did the job perfectly.

I'm not sure whether that says more about the usefulness of the Compact driver or the lack of security among golf cart keys. Probably a toss up!

Fortunately for me my "survival" escapades rarely involve any real survival. They are more everyday tasks where my tools make it much more convenient.

kirk13 · **Reply #65 on:** July 17, 2011, 11:11:28 AM

Haf my BG Compact arrive yesterday.Bought it under the mistaken belief that it was a tarted up Vise,where as if I'd bothered reading this tread...

Anyway I rather like Clutches so I'm very pleased even if it does have the BG makings on it.Interestingly enough,I bought mine through Amazon,having seen one for £10.95(plus £3.50 or so P+P),which I thought was a fair price,given that I'd paid more for both of the Clutches.Turns out it shipped from the States for this price,and still took less than 7 days to deliver.Bl**dy good job Alphanet!