Gerber Bear Grylls Survival Torch

[Chako]

As some of you know, I have a lot of Bear Grylls stuff in my collection. Not because I think the world of the show, its host, or even the products. It morphed from my liking of Gerber multi-tools. You see, there are a few such items in the Bear Grylls series, and well, one thing led to another and before you know it, I have a drawer full of the stuff.

Keeping that in mind, when I saw that Gerber sold a flashlight as part of the Bear Grylls collection, I thought to myself, self, you need that in the sub-collection...and thus, I find myself typing this out on yet another Bear Grylls item. 

The flashlight, or as some people call them, a torch, is a bit different from the usual fare in that it has a sizable compartment in the tail end for your own micro survival kit. The flashlight itself comes with the usual matches and striker that comes with all of Gerber's Bear Grylls marketed stuff. What I found hilarious however was the tinder provided. I looked at this tiny patch of fluff, agog with incredulity written across my face. I mean, are they kidding. After looking at the back of the packaging, it did state "sample of tinder". Um, yeah, ok. For the price of this flashlight, mid 30s, I would expect not a sampling, but a good hunk of tinder. How much are cotton balls anyways? Yeah, I know, I can add a few in there for dirt cheap, but that isn't the point. They could have done the same.

The flashlight has that nice texturing of the Bear Grylls line. To me, that feel is the high water benchmark of the series. What I found lacking however, for a flashlight that bills itself as a survival torch, there is no protective plastic lens over the LED. It is recessed enough that it might not be an issue, but it still looks vulnerable to being taken out.

The flashlight is waterproof with the usual rubber O rings. I dunked it and it passed with flying colours. The threading is fine and feels good and well made when screwing or unscrewing the end cap or flash head. Yes, the Bear Grylls series strong points definitely weight on the tactile side of things. It is one of those units where you turn it on or off by screwing the flash head back and forth. With that said, it is very simple...on or off.

 The colour is good. You probably could find this if you drop it at anytime other then fall...and that depends on what part of the world you find yourself in. To me, the colour of the flashlight is very nice and um...er...flashy for lack of a better word. On the odd side, you do get the usual Bear Grylls survival guide...but no place to store it. It won't fit inside the compartment...not that you would want to store the guide there as the space can be better used for more important items. Another oddity, no fishing kit. How can Gerber call this a survival torch with no fishing kit. The nerve! 





Overall Length: 5.98"
Weight: 3.89 oz.
Batteries: 1 AA
Lumens:
High: 24
Runtime:
High: 20 hr

[sawman]

It looks pretty cool, I like orange, but the lumens are pretty low.

[Syph007]

You're committed now to buying all the BG stuff eh?  

How many of those survival guides have you got now?  What's in them anyhow. Anything useful, or is it just common sense stuff like dont eat yellow snow?

OH and dryer lint makes great tinder.

[Gareth]

Low lumen and long-ish run time seems to be the way Gerber like their torches.  Cheers Dan.

[Lynn LeFey]

For any kind of survival situation, I'd vastly prefer low lumen/long runtime.

I actually find that I'm generally happy with 10lm. This is about the rating of the little flashlight that comes with the BG Survival Tool Pack, a little light I'm very happy with.

I'm not sure how I feel about this Survival Torch. I'm not sure the small space for gear makes it worth making the flashlight that much bigger. Interesting idea, but I think I'll pass.

I do like the color though. Looks easy to find out the wild.

[Chako]

Those little guides? Quite a few now.

As for what is in them, there is a little section on:
1. Protection: Clothing, Shelter, and Fire.
2. Rescue: Location, Signaling, Navigation.
3. Water: Sources, Collection, Purification.
4. Food: Snares/Traps, Knots, Scavenging.

Throw in a few line drawings, and for some odd reason, a 10" ruler and a 26 cm ruler in case you need to measure something in the wild. 

Overall not a bad little guide for what it is.

EDIT: I think it is better than that which comes from Les Stroud and the Camillus knives.

[gorbag]

Is the light regulated or a direct drive?

The world belongs to the funkiest.

[RT1969]

How big is the 'survival' compartement? Could you fit the matches in there?

[Chako]

I believe it is regulated.

As for the size of the compartment, it is about  half the length of the handle, and yes, those matches do fit.

[RT1969]

That is an interesting design philosophy:
Favor a longer duration over a higher output, give up a potential second AA for a compartment, keep the longer handle.

I would have either cut the body down in length or used a second AA to gain more power. The way it is, it's like holding a smaller flashlight and a film canister in your hand 

But before I forget: Thank you Chako for showing us this gem piece of your collection! 

[Pignut71]

I rather like it, thanks for the little review. That said I'm ashamed to say I'm a BG fan anyway, really like the guy.


Sent using my chubby fingers...

[ducttapetech]

I wonder if you could store a spare battery in the back? Would make a sweet backup.

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