Gerber BG Canteen.

[Chako]

Not exactly a multi-tool...although it is multi functional.  It is made by Gerber...so I think this is the right forum for it. I guess one could even argue it is a multi-tool...of sorts. I present to you, the BG Canteen. Yes, that is correct. Apparently, Gerber will paste Bear Grylls name on all sorts of things...including this canteen.

Well considering that I have so much BG gear already, what is one more BG branded item like this Canteen. Well, here is a short pictorial on the Gerber BG Canteen. I truly wish I was joking here...but I am not.

The Canteen comes with a nice cardboard product placement advertiser.


On the back side is some info.


just in case the fine folks you are hiking with thought you had a plain Canteen , the Canteen comes in a nice semi insulating jacket with of course plenty of BG symbols.


On the belt loop, features Bears embroidered signature.


Once you strip the outer jacket off of the canteen, you see this. I would like to add that striping off the outer jacket was difficult due to two rubber handles found on the back side of that orange bottom cup.


After struggling mightily off came that bottom cup. For a moment, I thought they used JB Weld to hold them together. I managed to squeeze the not so squeezable Canteen to get it off. I guess folks might find you when you are in a "survival situation" by the foul language incited by this procedure. Either that or I got a stiff one.


Here is the Canteen and metal cup's rear. You can see the two rubber coated handles on the backside of the metal c up. These handles flip open.


The rubber coated handles are designed to fold into each other to somewhat lock together. The handles  themselves have some resistance when folding open or closed.


Here is a different view of the interlocking flip out handles of the metal cup...and the inside of said cup.


Now you didn't think a Gerber BG item would not have the BG survival guide did you? Well I was sure this was going to be the first item that didn't feature that survival guide. I was a bit surprised to find a hidden pouch on the side of the outer jacket. Yes, there was a guide hidden in there. You know, if you deck yourself with BG survival gear, you can have multiple hidden survival guides...all the same...but they are hidden. Very mall ninja that!


This concludes this short look at the Gerber BG Canteen.

[MadPlumbarian]

Thanks for the info! In your opinion, 1-10 what's your rating? And compared to a U.S. military canteen/cup/cover/stove, any real diff besides the stove? I have two complete military setups but that gerbers had my eye.. JR

[Chako]

I do not have a US military Canteen to compare.

[MadPlumbarian]

I do not have a US military Canteen to compare.

Bummer, as far as a 1-10 what do you think of it? JR

[Chako]

A Canteen is a canteen. It is water proof. I haven't seen how long the insulated outer sheath will keep things cold..but I wager the US military probably has a better insulating sheath. This one has an included cup.

Seeing that I have nothing to compare it to...I can't give you a rating scale. Let the photos tell you what you need.

[scrappy]

Not bad chako. Looks serviceable which is all it needs to be. I am impressed with the more recent bg products.

[Nhoj]

Another thing I will never buy because of a giant BG pasted all over it. I have no want to advertise for Gerber or Bear Grylls. Thanks for the review, and keep buying stuff I guess!

[Grumpy]

It looks nice, but around the same money over here we can get the crusader cook system, has a lot more usefulness

[AimlessWanderer]

It looks nice, but around the same money over here we can get the crusader cook system, has a lot more usefulness

I have that set up tucked away in a box somewhere.

There is something that REALLY annoys me about this BG set up, and it's akin to the frustration with all the endorsed ranges (not just BG) doing the survival knives in combo edged blades - and that's the rubber handles! If you look on Chako's puicture of the packaging it shows that they have envisaged using the pot for cooking ... so why coat the handles in something that will damage from heat? Yes, it's a nice marketting gimmick that the insulted handles will stop you burning yourself, but in reality that's utter tripe.

I have used the crusader cup (and ohers) on a hexi stove and on wood flames, and those flames will go where the bloody hell they want, especially if there is a breeze. As such, I refuse to buy any single skinned metal mugs that have anything other than plain metal handles (and carry gloves). If it's a double skinned insulated mug, I'll not be cooking with it anyway so no problem - but the only reason to buy a single skinned mug is so you can put it on flames.

Another example where the "geniuses" in the marketting department ruin a perfectly good product because they haven't got a sodding clue about anything they can't use their (often feeble) "powers of persuasion" on.

... and ... errmmm ... a semi insulated assembly in dark colours which will very effectively absorb the sun's rays and turn them into heat .... and a cooking pot which does completely the opposite (till the base gets sooted up anyway) ....

Pillocks! 

[Grumpy]

It looks nice, but around the same money over here we can get the crusader cook system, has a lot more usefulness

I have that set up tucked away in a box somewhere.

There is something that REALLY annoys me about this BG set up, and it's akin to the frustration with all the endorsed ranges (not just BG) doing the survival knives in combo edged blades - and that's the rubber handles! If you look on Chako's puicture of the packaging it shows that they have envisaged using the pot for cooking ... so why coat the handles in something that will damage from heat? Yes, it's a nice marketting gimmick that the insulted handles will stop you burning yourself, but in reality that's utter tripe.

I have used the crusader cup (and ohers) on a hexi stove and on wood flames, and those flames will go where the bloody hell they want, especially if there is a breeze. As such, I refuse to buy any single skinned metal mugs that have anything other than plain metal handles (and carry gloves). If it's a double skinned insulated mug, I'll not be cooking with it anyway so no problem - but the only reason to buy a single skinned mug is so you can put it on flames.

Another example where the "geniuses" in the marketting department ruin a perfectly good product because they haven't got a sodding clue about anything they can't use their (often feeble) "powers of persuasion" on.

... and ... errmmm ... a semi insulated assembly in dark colours which will very effectively absorb the sun's rays and turn them into heat .... and a cooking pot which does completely the opposite (till the base gets sooted up anyway) ....

Pillocks! 

Well said Al i use a trangia pot grabber with mine n always have my gloves near by,

[scrappy]

I don't have any concerns with the handle. It would work for me. I cook with cups, and pans with plastic on the handles and yes the handles damage, but it still works just as well as a handle that wasn't coated in plastic. I have used my Coleman pan for years, the handle is all sorts of melted but it still works excellently for cooking on a camp stove or over a fire.

[scrappy]

That said, I don't mean it is the best on the market, I have no idea since I don't own one. I just mean to say the plastic is not a put off for me. But I hadn't considered the color of the fabric. That is a very good point and I wouldn't want it heating my water on a warm day.

[colt 1911]

I just like the military stuff with out BG all over it

[Goatlord666]

It has served me well in the jungles, but i had to remove the rubber coating off the heating cup's handles cause they got burnt when I tried to cook with the canteen cup

 

[Goatlord666]

it's worked quite well but everytime open flame touches the anodized orange coating of the cup, a brown resin like substance forms. it's pretty hard to scrub off so i make my coffee through the heat that's radiated by the flame and conducted through the stone



fetching water from a running stream was easy



I guess i'll rate it 7/10 because it takes too much space inside my pack and I guess I'm still used to the GI Cup and Canteen I've been using all these years

[Gareth]

great photo's and good to hear some feedback on it's use.

[Goatlord666]

a word of caution though... as i took a 4 hour trek through the same jungle, i realized that it's so easy for you to twist the cap of the canteen and think that it's properly threaded just because it resists any further twisting. just to find out that it's not properly aligned and realize that all the stuff in your pack are soaking wet.  So, double check all the time.

[Grathr]

Its a nice looking canteen!  Nice pics and feedback too!
Have you tried to fill it with boiling water from a cup or pan?
The mouth looks a little narrow compared to the army canteens Im used to, but that might not be a problem?

[Goatlord666]

Its a nice looking canteen!  Nice pics and feedback too!
Have you tried to fill it with boiling water from a cup or pan?
The mouth looks a little narrow compared to the army canteens Im used to, but that might not be a problem?

I poured boiling water into the canteen using a large funnel. it held up, but you can definitely taste the plastic. I would recommend that you let the water cool down a bit