GerberBear Grylls Fire Starter [31-000699]

This works and sparked almost immediately. It's been a long time since I've seen a product, which goes WAY above and beyond; than just giving you what you've ordered. For me this is a FABULOUS product. The rod and striker goes together with a rubber washer to keep water, dust out. But that isn't why I love this.They have included a very compact, folded guide. An the title is a real gem, "So you're in a spot of trouble." A very personal message. It details information on determining direction, collecting water, snares/traps, knots, fire starting, shelter, signaling and a ruler in centimeter and inches. So much information so copy it, have spares and I really hope you do this.But No There's More - They've made little diagrams (but easy to read) - 'what position to take if a plane flies overhead, SOS and Alpine Rescue Signal - ON THE CASE.Oh and the lanyard is OK but I'm going to replace it with a weaved paracord; cause you can never have enough paracord.Anyway, I totally understand if it doesn't fit your needs or you're looking for something else. As you can expect, I definitely recommend this and will definitely purchase more.

[UPDATE]My problems with the firesteel were in fact, due to my own lack of knowledge. The striker part of the firesteel will work just fine, it's the way you hold it that matters. The top part of the blade should be facing AWAY from you, not TOWARD you. If you hold it with the top facing away from you, then the striker will produce a very nice shower of sparks, which is great because I'm not quite sure what kind of long term damage would be done to a knife if you consistently use it to produce sparks, but it certainly looks like it would do some damage. Because it was my own fault I had problems, this product gets a 5 of 5 for being a flawless firesteel. I wish they'd include some tip like that with the product because new users obviously have problems with it judging from my original review and other reviewers. It's an excellent product, I would definitely recommend it. I've left my original review below so you can see what else is good about this product.This is a decent firesteel, and my problem with it may be due to my own lack of skill with starting fires. First off, I like the build quality, everything feels solid and well put together. I also love the way it all snaps closed into a compact tube. The cotton inside the small storage space was perfect for starting a fire, and I'll be repacking it as soon as I get more cotton balls. The problem with it not producing sparks until you scrape off the black coating is minor, I used my knife and had it off and producing large showers of sparks in no time. This does, however, expose the big problem: the striker doesn't seem to want to produce sparks. Whether it's too dull, or I'm just using it wrong, I can't get it to spark using the striker. I can, however, get a huge shower of sparks when I use either of my knives. The whistle is neat, never know when you might need one, and I like both the pocket survival guide, and how the firesteel has useful signals printed on it. It's nice to have those, Gerber definitely hit a homerun there. The lanyard kind of ticks me off though because it seems to be twisted just due to the way the cap closes. Still, it's a good product, and if I had to buy it again knowing what I know about it now, I think I still would.

I just tried this out in our firepit. Once I scraped the black paint off a strip, and after practicing my angle of strike and pressure, I got lots of sparks. I used a very small pc of cotton, some oak leaves and twigs for my base (and even added some dried grass bits later). I finally got the cotton ball to ignite and burn, and an oak leaf or two, but nothing else. It's in the afternoon, a dry sunny day, hasn't rained in a few, it's off my kindling pile sitting outdoors. So picture being in the woods with what you have around you, basically. I couldn't get a fire to stay lit. I realize I'm not the best fire starter, but I was a bit disappointed in how this works. Try number 2 with petroleum jelly and bigger cotton ball yielded better results, but still no lasting fire. Likely some of my own fault, but I guess I had bigger expectations.So here are my observations as a woman who is trying to learn outdoor skills and be more prepared for 'what if': Need more cotton! Use a 'cotton ball sized or bigger' wad of tinder, don't skimp like I did at first and have extra for backup. Also, if you can carry a small vial of petroleum jelly, this works great as an accelerant dabbed onto cotton ball, a bit about the size of small pea, makes a hotter fire too. Next, have lots of leaves handy to add. Lots! Do not leave fire for more, it will go out. Yes, it will. Also have your kindling right next to you, all different sizes, and feed that fire. I did not have enough leaves (I had two or 3 handfuls), it flared nicely, then burnt out. So much for my twigs.I was surprised that there is no info on package to tell you what is what. Not even on the insert, which btw is quite informative, nice to have. I had to go online to figure out where the tinder was hiding, because I couldn't get the what I thought was the cap to 'unscrew'. Well, it just pulls off, sort of. Now that I've done that 6 times, it comes off a bit too easily. Nice idea, but screw cap would have been better. Also, there is a tiny o-ring inside, perhaps that is to keep tinder dry as a moisture barrier? I dropped it back into the bottom of the tinder cup, but it drops back out every time I open it up again.I do like how the two pieces fit together, but the cord is kind of, not sure, how do I attach it to something? It hangs in a triangle shape.Perhaps a Bic lighter is a better idea after all...(I actually have one plus matches in my BOB bag.)Update: 3rd time conquers! This time I built a bigger base, added more leaves, bit bigger cotton ball and dab of petroleum jelly. I got it going on the first strike! I built a great fire, burned my pile of sticks and leaves I had waiting since this summer, and it's been burning several hours at this point. So I upgraded it by a star, as it does do what it's supposed to, minus the other little things I didn't like about it.