I hate to even wade into the whole Bear Grylls issue! He's probably a nice fellow and to have completed the training that he has I'm sure he has a lot of knowledge. But the way he portrays survival strikes me as downright dangerous and reckless. As for his product lines, I suppose they're okay for what they are better options are available for the money. Personally I think Gerber quality has fallen dramatically over the last couple decades, and a lot of the issues revolve around offshoring production of much/most of their stuff to China. It's possible to make great products in China if you set your mind to it, but that's almost never the goal of offshoring; in nearly every case they do it cut costs. It's probably a waste of time to bemoan this since that ship sailed years ago. Many competitors also make their products in China.

Personally I'd rather have Doug's PSP than the corresponding entry level kit by BG. Just looking at his products, both the manufacturing and construction and contents list, it strikes me that many of them are gimmicky more than useful.

On the other hand, his popularity probably encourages folks to study survival and buy his items. You're certainly better off with BG survival gear than having no gear at all!