Expanded Survival Kit based on Gerber Ultimate Surival knife

[majorhavoc]

In recognition of current ($27) deal on Amazon: Gerber Ultimate Pro Fixed Blade Knife

As near as I can tell, the above linked knife is the Gerber-branded version of my Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival knife which Gerber made a few years back. My knife, pictured below, is the Gen 2 version of the Bear Grylls.  The Gen 1 version had breakage issues just above the hammer surface of the pommel.  Gerber modified the design and by all accounts that solved the problem.  I've never had the slightest issue with it.  But then again, I think using your knife as a hammer is a dumb idea.  If you're in a survival situation and you absolutely have to hammer a nail or crack open an acorn, I bet it wouldn't be too hard to locate a suitable rock to do the job. 

The non-Bear Grylls version available through the link above has a much more muted grey and olive drab color scheme.  I suppose there's something to be said for the high vis orange coloring in a survival situation, but as you can see from the pictures below, I went to some length to at least tone it down a bit.  The knife comes with a very good sheath with good retention and nylon loops for securing it to a belt or pack.  The blade is partially serrated and has a milled section on spine that is an excellent striker for the included fire steel, which is also of very good quality.  The emergency whistle is VERY loud.  The built in diamond hone is pretty coarse - good for putting a utility edge back on a dull knife, but nothing you'd want to use outside an emergency situation.   

Since this knife comes with the firestarter, whistle and sharpener, I decided to see how much more capability I could cram into it.  First the front of the sheathed knife:



The first thing I did was move the whistle and lanyard from the knife handle, run it through the bottom of the sheath and connect it to the fire starter.  That way, both are secured and it's just about impossible for lose either.  I made a new knife lanyard out of about 6 feet of black paracord.  The majority of it is wrapped around the handle to cover up the obnoxious orange Bear Grylls branding on the grip.  The one disadvantage is it's not nearly as comfortable now.  That overmolded grip is really nice.  Between the wrapped handle and all the extra stuff I slipped between the two halves of the sheath, those velcro retention straps are just barely long enough.  The upper strap around the knife handle is no problem, but I had to add a Nite Ize 6" gear tie (basically a super heavy duty twist tie) to back up the lower strap (it's visible just below the compass).  In addition to the compass (I checked it against my Suunto for accuracy), you can see some safety pins I added.  Finally, if you look just to the right of the compass, you can just barely see where I took a black Sharpie marker to the bright orange Bear Grylls signature stitched into the retention strap. 

On to the back of the sheath:



One thing that the Bear Grylls version comes with that the Gerber-branded version lacks is the pocket survival guide.  It's very basic information, but is made of some sort of plastic Tyvek-like material that's waterproof and highly tear resistant.  Any survival information is welcome, but the "Alpine Rescue Signals" printed on the pocket the survival guide slips into is just ridiculous.  It provides instructions so you can communicate to a hovering rescue helicopter the following: Yes Need Rescue, No All Is Well, Need Mechanical Help, Have Radio, Need Medical Attention, Do Not Attempt To Land, Can Proceed Shortly or the ever-useful Use Drop Message.  Let me tell you, if I'm stranded in an emergency situation and there's a fucking rescue helicopter looking right at me, I could care less how to say Drop Message or Can Proceed Shortly.  I'm hopping up and down and waving like a mad man, which I'm pretty sure will get my point across.

Also visible are two long and three short zip ties, another safety pin, three band aids folded and tucked into the belt and strap loops, and some ice fishing line as additional cordage. 
 
Undoing the retention straps allows the whole sheath to cleverly unfold, revealing the diamond sharpening stone.


Here you can see I've added a tiny Energizer flashlight attached to the sheath with a bit more ice fishing line, the previously mentioned safety pins, band aids and zip ties, as well as six AquaTab water purification tables, a fresnel lens, 4 or 5 feet of black duct tape wrapped around a wallet sized card, and one single use insect repellant wipe. 

This knife was purchased early in my prepping journey, but it's not a bad knife at all.  Can't hold a candle to my Schrade SCHF9 in terms of build quality but guess what?  Even loaded down with all these add-ons, the Gerber weighs maybe half as much as the Schrade.  Which means I'm much more likely to actually carry it with me on hikes.  The Schrade lives under my car seat.

If you have a cool piece of kit you've modded or just think is nifty, I encourage you post about it.  Taking my Bear Grylls Knife survival kit apart to photograph it was very useful to me.  I discovered that the button cell batteries in the mini flashlight are completely dead and the Aqua Tabs expired as of July 2021.  Replacements for both are now on order.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

The only real nodding I've done to any of my gear is adding some jimping to the spine of my EDC fixed blade. And that was mostly because I was bored and needed something to do.

[Moab]

I would not be embarrassed about this knifes Bear Grylls pedigree. If I were a noob I might be concerned about someones opinion of my skills. If that were the extent of them - simply owning a Bear Grylls knife. 

But I've not only gained some skills. But stopped giving a shit about anyones opinion long ago. Lol! 😀 And you sir are well beyond that as well. I say wrap the 550 around the sheath. And give the comfort back to your hands. And a big f-u to anyone that looks at you in the slightest of sideways. Lol. Half joking here. If course.

But it might be hard getting to all your other wisely placed survival items. If you had to unwrap the 550 each time you needed access. So maybe around the handle is best.

I swapped the scales on my ESEE 5 just because of the discomfort in the original square ones. They hurt my hands to the point I was reluctant to use it. Which is a shame with any knife. Ergonomics matter once you start using something alot.

I like the addition of the light and the water tabs. I'm always debating my water filtration "system" . And then once in a awhile remember that it all could be replaced by a handkerchief and a few tiny water purification tabs. Minimalist to the max. Thats awesome thinking. The light is a nice addition in a survival situation at night. Its amazing how something as small as a little light can do for you psychologically. Not to mention actual travel at night.

I don't recall what you specifically said about your fishing gear. But if thats not braided line in your picture. You might consider it. Its amazing how much of that you can wrap around something. What you can do with it and how little room it takes up. 

This last comment is splitting hairs. But I wonder about a small piece of sterile gauze in plastic. In place of the band aids? You can make any shape or size bandage you need out of the duct tape. And could use the sterile gauze to do so. Whereas the bandaids are confined to relatively small wounds. And might not last as long as duct tape.

Maybe add a tiny bic lighter?

Lastly, a small packet of triple antibiotic might be more worthwhile than the bug lotion. But your ao determines that. It could also be used as firestarting fuel. As I believe its petroleum based. I could be wrong about that though.

Awesome knife. I like thats its a good knife. Expertly set up for survival. And not so expensive that if it gets stolen your not losing a family heirloom. I've so changed some of my equipment choices lately. There is buy once, cry once. But sometimes you get beyond the point of neccasary financial outlay. When it comes to quality. And sometimes enough is enough. There isn't anything any other fixed blade will do that this one can't. So why buy a more expensive item? When you can concentrate that money on some other area of preps and survival?

Lastly, I so agree with you about not hammering on or with a knife. I don't baton for that very reason. I just find smaller sticks. Lol. 

[majorhavoc]

Good points all around.  The limiting factor to adding more stuff are those two velcro rention straps; one for the knife handle and the other that holds the polymer sheath to the nylon webbing "backplate".  The polymer sheath and the backplate hinge at the bottom and the lower retention strap holds everything together.  The diamond hone is mounted to the backside of the polymer sheath and is ramped (presumably at a good bevel angle to sharpen your blade). That creates a bit of dead space between the two halves of the sheath system that allows you to add extra gear.  But only a certain amount will fit before those velcro retention straps aren't long enough to reliably engage and hold everything together.  

Even a Bic Mini would be too fat to fit.  I'm sure someone with creative paracord or duct tape skills could weave some sort of holder for a Bic Mini that hangs off the side of the knife/sheath combo.  But maybe a simple book of matches in a small zip lock baggie would be more doable. 

I'd like to add some sort of plastic bag for water collection/storage. I always say water purification tablets are all but useless unless you have some sort of container to mix them in.  

For folks seriously considering the Gerber-branded version: you won't get the Bear Grylls pocket survival guide.  Like I said, it's very basic information.  What you could do instead is get Dave of Ultimate Surival Tips Tiny Survival Guide.  Unlike the Bear Grylls Guide, the Tiny Survival Guide is a freaking encyclopedia of detailed information on dealing with various emergency situations.  If you lost the duct tape-wrapped wallet card and the insect repellant wipe, I think there'd be room for that between the two halves of the sheath system.  Or if you want to a no-cost option, consider Urban Prepper's Survival Cheat Sheet (plug here: Cliff aka Urban Prepper is a terrific resource for urban dwellers).   Either option - if you're like me with middle-aged eyes, definitely find room for the fresnel lens, because the print in either case is tiny.  Plus the fresnel lens is another firestarting option.  

I did this expanded survival kit as a thought exercise as much as anything.  But I do carry it on all but the shortest summer hikes.  If I were in a dire sitution and it's all I had, I'd be plenty thankful for this knife and those additions.

[Moab]

These might be an option. I've had these in my shopping list for awhile. I plan to put one in each of our bobs. Just as backup water reservoirs.

Survival Water Bags - Outdoors and Camping 1 Liter Stand Up Emergency Water Bag (Pack of 3) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TORQ5A/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_52V31XTQDSMMSNNVGBC6

[majorhavoc]

These might be an option. I've had these in my shopping list for awhile. I plan to put one in each of our bobs. Just as backup water reservoirs.

Survival Water Bags - Outdoors and Camping 1 Liter Stand Up Emergency Water Bag (Pack of 3) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TORQ5A/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_52V31XTQDSMMSNNVGBC6

That is too funny. Because I've had this in my cart for ages waiting for the price to drop. Which I'm starting to realize is never going to happen. Great minds think alike! 

I actually want to buy at least 12 of those Whirl-Pack stand up emergency water bags because I want to do an Altoids Tin survival kit class for this outdoor adventure club I'm involved in. I'm going under the knife in less than 2 weeks for a total knee replacement so I figure I'm not going to be leading any hiking or bicycle trips anytime soon. But I could run a survival kit class, preferably at a local craft brewery. I bet it will be popular. 

[Moab]

There is this...

6 Whirl-Pak 36 oz. (1 L) Stand-up Bags for Emergency Water Collection, Treatment, and Storage https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K6JH1XE/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_WG4YHT0H4VZS2VA6RHYF?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1