Heavy-Duty Survival Kit for the Toughest Spots

I have never been one to give into novelty items that I think are cool when I see them on TV. I came across a nice little survival kit though from Gerber. It is part of their Bear Grylls series so my first thought was that is was all marketing for the all mighty dollar but then I actually paid attention to the product and it's pretty cool. I have not made it down to my local Sportsman's Warehouse to pick one up yet but Gerber makes good stuff so I trust that the quality is there and the content is quiet nice. This would make a great start for an Everyday Carry Bag (smallest of bug out bags). Just look...

The product of collaboration between Gerber and survival expert Bear Grylls, the Ultimate Kit is a 15-piece survival kit built for hostile environments. It fits in your pack and has everything you need--including Gerber's miniature multi-tool, a fire starter, a survival blanket, and a wire cutter--to survive even in the toughest spots.

Survival Series Ultimate Kit At a Glance: 15-piece survival kit built for hostile environments Includes Gerber miniature multi-tool for a range of applications Survival blanket, fire starter, snare wire, fishing and sewing kits, and more Land to air rescue and SOS instructions Comes with Bear Grylls' Priorities of Survival pocket guide

The Ultimate Survival Kit has essential items for surviving outdoors. View larger.

Kit includes instructions for land, air, and SOS rescue techniques. View larger.

Bear Grylls and Gerber Team Up
The Ultimate Kit is part of the Gerber Bear Grylls Survival Series of gear. This collaboration brings together Gerber's 70+ years of knife and gear expertise with Bear Grylls' extensive outdoor survival and adventure experience to create a one-of-a-kind line of knives, tools, and gear.
From spending time in the British SAS, to scaling Mount Everest, Bear knows what it takes to be a survivor in extreme situations and multiple environments. Now he brings that knowledge to the creation of a range of items that help you make the most of your outdoor adventures.
Heavy-Duty Survival Kit for the Toughest Spots
Ideal for hard-core outdoor adventurers, the Ultimate Kit has everything you need to stay safe and alive until you can be rescued or rescue yourself.
The 15-piece kit includes the Gerber miniature multi-tool, which offers stainless steel, weather-resistant components including needle nose pliers, wire cutters, fine edge and serrated knives, a Phillips screwdriver, small and medium flat drivers, a lanyard ring, a bottle opener, and tweezers. This tool's rugged construction and external components make it a reliable multi-tasker, even in the harshest environments.

Bear Grylls' Pocket Survival Guide

Rugged, Ready-to-Go Tools and Accessories
In addition to the multi-tool, the Ultimate Kit comes with a lightweight ripstop nylon bag with a waterproof zipper for weather-resistant storage and an array of tools and accessories, including a miniature light, a hand saw, a signaling mirror, a survival blanket, a fire starter, waterproof matches, cotton ball fire tinder, a snare wire, an emergency cord, waxed thread, a fishing kit, and a sewing kit.
Includes Survival Guide and SOS Instructions
For added peace of mind and a higher level of preparedness, this kit comes with land to air rescue and SOS instructions. It also includes Bear Grylls' informative Priorities of Survival pocket guide, loaded with survival basics.
What's in the Box
Nylon pouch, multi-tool, miniature light, hand saw, signaling mirror, survival blanket, fire starter, waterproof matches, cotton ball fire tinder, snare wire, emergency cord, waxed thread, fishing kit, sewing kit, pocket survival guide, and rescue instructions.

From the highest peaks of the Himalayas, to the rainforests of South America, if world renowned outdoorsman Bear Grylls is on an adventure you can be sure he's equipped with the most durable outdoor gear Gerber has to offer.

From the Manufacturer

Gerber’s 31-000701 ultimate kit is a survival kit for hostile environments. Stick the ultimate kit in your backpack and hope you never have to use it. If you do, it has everything you will need to survive in even the toughest spots. This fifteen piece kit features a Gerber miniature multi-tool with needle nose pliers, wire cutters, fine edge knife, serrated knife, Phillips screwdriver, small flat driver, medium flat driver, lanyard ring, bottle opener, and tweezers. It comes in a water proof bag with miniature lights, hand saw, signaling mirror, survival blanket, fire starter, waterproof matches, cotton ball, fire tinder, snare wire, emergency cord, waxed thread, fishing kit, and sewing kit. It includes a lightweight, ripstop nylon bag with waterproof zipper, land to air rescue and SOS instructions, and the Priorities of Survival pocket guide containing Bear's survival essentials.

Video: How to Escape From Zip Ties

Where’d ya get those pearly whites?? - (Making your own Survival Toothpaste and Mouthwash)

I found this article on SurvivorJane.com and she has been nice enough to allow me to share it with you all. HERE is a link to the original work. Okay, once again I’ll admit I’m pretty obsessed about keeping myself groomed.  Yes, to the point of keeping my pearly-whites – well, pearly white. I just love that just cleaned feeling of just brushed teeth don’t you?   Slick, shiny and sparkle-y – okay I know you can’t ‘feel’ shiny and sparkle-y, but that’s what it feels like to me!    It’s a given that most people will look at your mouth when you are talking or when you first meet. And what do they see?  Your teeth! I’m a smiler (one-who-smiles-a lot).   And as a result I’m a little self-conscious that my teeth are not as white or clean as they could be (especially after eating that piece of blueberry pie the night before. Ugh!) So, in considering all my personal grooming aids for my survival kit, knowing that I may not have access to store-bought products, I began to wonder what alternatives I would have for tooth paste if the ‘poo’ should ever hit the fan.  And, as with most of my journeys, I found out there are tons of er … suggestions, thoughts and recipes, if you will, for toothpaste/tooth powders.  Some good and some, well  not so feasible for a ‘PHTF’ (poo hits the fan) scenario. What I tried to do was focus the majority of my attention on looking for ingredients we may have in our survival supplies already, or that we should add, if we don’t.  From looking at all the ba-gillions of tid-bits of information there is out there, a pattern began to emerge - salt, baking soda and hydrogen  peroxide (along with the proverbial drop or two of your favorite oil such as peppermint or spearmint.) The method that surfaced was to put a little baking soda and salt on your tooth brush and brush, then gargling with a little hydrogen peroxide (making sure not to swallow any) and follow with dental floss.  That’s it.  Something passed down year after year. That’s pretty easy huh? And, we should be set to go with oral hygiene in a survival situation.   Whew! ‘But what about keeping my teeth white?’ you may ask.  Good question because I wanted to know that very same thing.   And the answer?  Strawberries! What??? Yepper, I said strawberries, those yummy staples you are growing in your garden (and if you’re not, you should be.) You see, strawberries contain malic acid which acts as an astringent to remove surface discoloration.  If you baking soda with strawberries it becomes a natural tooth-cleanser, buffing away stains.  How cool is that???  All you need to do is, take one ripe strawberry and crush it to a pulp using a folk or back of a spoon in a bowl and then mix a ½ teaspoon of baking soda into the pulp until it is all blended.  If you want, you can throw everything into a blender (not the spoon and bowl) to make it a paste like consistency, but keep in mind, you may not have access to electricity in a grid down situation and so I am focusing more here on off grid remedies.  Once your mixture is done, put some on your toothbrush and spread the mixture onto your teeth.  Just like you would with your “whitening-type strips”, leave this mixture on your teeth for about 5 minutes, and then brush thoroughly with your homemade toothpaste to remove the berry–baking soda mix and then rinse.  Also, remember to floss after this treatment to get rid of the little seeds that my have gotten dislodged between your teeth. Now as with all good things, as in teeth whiteners, you must be careful not to use this whitening process too often, as the acid could damage the enamel on your teeth.  NOT a good thing!!  The common conscience is to not use it more than once a week. Well what happens when you don’t have a mint to pop in your mouth?  The answer.  Parsley.  It seems parsley is great for bad breath.  Its leaves are rich in chlorophyll and act as a powerful neutralizer of bad breath (and garlic-odor.)  So keep this in mind as you’re woofing down those garlic knots with your favorite pasta meal, and then realize you have a social engagement to go to afterwards.   To ward off the garlic, ask the waiter to bring a few sprigs of parsley for you to chew on after dinner.  And, as an added bonus, parsley when swallowed helps reduce intestinal gases (toot toot). Now, we know you won’t be eating garlic knots in a survival situation, but we all wake up with ‘dragon breath’.   So, just like with the baking soda and salt remedy for brushing teeth, there is a simple remedy for mouthwash as well.   Just boil some parsley and whole cloves together, let the mixture cool and then strain it to make a great gargle mouthwash for that “oh so fresh survivor breath”. Now, smile pretty!!! - Survivor Jane