GERBER Bear Grylls Fire Starter, Black, Medium

OK. The item. Nicely constructed, feels robust. has some cotton wool in the cap. No instructions on how to use it on the pack. However a quick search of the internet produces plenty of advice.You need to use the item a few times to get rid of the protective coating and then you will get sparks. The item produces a good number of sparks...but I cannot get them to light stuff! I have managed to get one fire going, but I think that there was some luck involved. I suspect it is my technique rather than the item - as I said plenty of sparks.Going to try a different kind of tinder and see how I get on.Only things I would say is that the lanyard is probably a bit short, but you can flip the cap and have a longer strike. Also I think that the rod would benefit from beinga shade longer...but it may just be my technique.All in all a good item, but you need some practice before relying on it I feel.

I generally avoid anything 'endorsed' or designed by a celeb. However given the bargain price this was for sale at and generally very positive reviews I thought I'd give it a go as the design looked interesting.Comparing this to another excellent brand - the Light my Fire Swedish Army 2.0 the Gerber rod is about 2/3 of the size, so considerably smaller and thinner. With the container however it ends up larger and heavier in total. The important thing though is use, and I have to say it excels at that. Firstly like all of these tools it takes a little practice. Be sure to scrape some of the black coating off first. Then use the slide of the scraper to maximise contact. It doesn't need to be sharp, no knife is needed, it works great with the attached scraper alone. Another little tip is to always use the same section. That way it will wear down flat as you use it, which increases surface contact area and increases the number of sparks compared with using a different side each time and keeping it round. The key difference I have found with this tool is that it seems the easiest to 'throw' sparks with. For example the other fire starters produce lots of sparks but they seems to burn out in a flash and not travel as far from the rod. This Gerber rod however will throw them out a foot or more and they burn for a good second or two. This makes a big difference in the wind and rain to getting tinder going. So it might not last as long as say the thicker bigger items, but then it will work the best when it matters.

if you live 360 days in jungle this is great solid item. if you just go camping get a cheaper item. sparks as well and comes without royalty feed for bear grills

this is a great bit of kit a nice chunky fire starter, what i like about it when not in use its all sealed a nice touch that the top comes off where is stored a ball off cotton wool tip here just rolling it between your fingers with some Vaseline makes for even better lighting , the stater when sealed is water proof. it has a nice chunky feel. if you buy one not only can you have one of the best feeling s in the world making fire . to boil your water for tea coffee, . it strikes that well you can put on a display to rival some fire works. it also has a whistle its loud will attract attention even wakes teenagers! also comes with a sheet full of tips on how to survive if the worse happens . i am sure some where someone will owe their life to this sheet, so good on you bear for including this .. there is one thing more this great bit of kit could have had a compass set in the end , saying that if you are out in the wilds or just want to light your fire of barbie this will not let you down one strike and you have fire

As a bushcraft, survival and canoe instructor I bought one of these as I really liked the idea of it being a sealed unit with a waterproof tinder compartment. I immediately on receiving it changed the cord on it for a longer piece of 550lb paracord so I could wear it around my neck. The waterproofing works well, I placed some cotton wool in the tinder compartment and submerged it in the bath for half an hour, I took it out, got the cotton wool out and got a bright clean spark that ignited the cotton wool first strike....Ok, that's the good news....I'll be honest, as a striker it's NOT the best one out there, the rod isn't the thickest, longest or best one out there and it's not the best striker. A Swedish light my fire steel is a far better piece of kit and considerably cheaper. I really like that it's a neat sealed, waterproof unit that I can use on canoe trips etc but it's quite expensive for what it is, the quality isn't brilliant and I think it should have a slightly bigger tinder compartment.By no means am I saying this is a waste of money, just make sure this is definitely the kit you want, if you just want a flint & steel to keep in your kit bag, buy a light my fire one.

I'm still on the fence whether the item I received is fake item or not, but it is hard to believe the quality would be this poor if it were a genuine Gerber product. The cap on the end does not stay on at all. It literally just falls off, no matter how it is fitted. And the colour of all three plastic parts is different. Each side and the end cap are all very different shades of grey. The striker may work, but at this price the overall quality is shocking.