Survivorman/Man vs. Wild.

[Rick-SAR]

I wish he (Les) would show more what to do rather then "hype" the show. Tens of Thousands of kids throughout the US and Canada have been taught the Hug-A-Tree program (I forget what it is call in Canada). It teaches to "hug" a tree (stay put) and other easy survival skills.

When the kids that have seen this program are lost hear or see a aircraft they should lay down and form an X with their arms and lags (spread eagle). NOT WAVE as Les did.

Think about it if you are in a aircraft and looking down someone standing up you only see him from the top down (unless it is early or late in the day where shadows make him/her bigger). Waving is not a good way to signal the searcher. Waving at a helicopter is a signal for danger - don't land etc. There have been cases where a search helicopter has not responded to a subject waving thinking that he was a searcher.

In a major study in AZ some years ago test were done in mountains and deserts of AZ by the Air Force and SAR volunteers from southern AZ. In the test 60% of volunteers were standing and waving were spotted by the aircraft. 81% were spotted "lying spread eagle".

When your search from the air you look for something that is not natural to the terrain. Obviously if you see anything that is X shaped you are going to investigate it. By the way the pilots found more subject then observers.

I saw in the program he was using a gridded signal mirror. I think it would have been much more beneficial to use another type of reflector (compass mirror, knife blade, CD, etc.) Explaining that you hold the reflector close to your eye put your arm out and shine the sun spot on your thumb. Once you see the reflection on your thumb then you put your thumb (keeping the reflection on it) in line with the search aircraft.

Other simple survival tools the kids are taught is to always have a whistle with them when out in the woods - he also could have used it to signal the SAR team.

Rick-SAR
www.SearchAndRescueTraining.com

[red lake]

His new project is survivorman kids. There is a web site for it if you google it.

[klkak]

I saw in the program he was using a gridded signal mirror. I think it would have been much more beneficial to use another type of reflector (compass mirror, knife blade, CD, etc.) Explaining that you hold the reflector close to your eye put your arm out and shine the sun spot on your thumb. Once you see the reflection on your thumb then you put your thumb (keeping the reflection on it) in line with the search aircraft.

Other simple survival tools the kids are taught is to always have a whistle with them when out in the woods - he also could have used it to signal the SAR team.

Rick-SAR
www.SearchAndRescueTraining.com

In September of 2006, I broke my right leg very badly while moose hunting. I won't go into the details again. When the rescue helicopter arrived in the area it was a couple miles away from my location. I had with me as part of my survival gear a device called a "Laser flare" made by Great land lasers. As soon as the light hit the helicopter it turned and came straight to my position. When the crew got to me the pilot asked me what I signaled him with. I showed it to him. He was so impressed with it that he bought one the next day and has had it in his flight suit ever since.

[HOP]

Recently Les Stroud has announced that he will stop making survivorman and is moving on to other things.
He does have a book just out called Survive and I will try to find a copy soon.

[Rick-SAR]

I have not heard of the "Laser Flare" I did look it up on Google and see the range (at night) is about 10 miles - looks like a neat device.

There were test done with Army Signal devices in the 1800 that documented a 200 mile range. The test was done from one mountain top to another. However, my point was that "Les" on his show tries to show how to survive with what you have with you. Not many would have a gridded signal mirror, Laser Flare, smoke etc.

I carry a Mark 5 orange smoke flair with me, gridded signal mirror, whistle, etc. your two points are right on:

1. If it's in your kit and you don't know how to use it....It's useless.
2. If you can't reach your kit when you need it....Its useless.

Rick-SAR
www.SearchAndRescueTraining.com

[ADEPT]

well crap. I did like the show

[hopeak]

well crap.


That is how I feel about all T.V. just so much used dog food.

[klkak]

I carry a gridded signal mirror along with pen-flares and the laser-flare. I have discovered that a good deal of the time when signaling needs to be done, the sun is not available. Especially here in Alaska. I change the battery in the laser-flare every 90 days unless I use it then I change them ASAP.

As for the two points in my signature: I believe in them so strongly that I apply them to everything I do.

[wareagle69]

hey kids we still have a new season to look forward to

[ledzeppie]

this makes me feel sad =(
now I'm stuck with man vs wild...("ok now you just repel down this 200 foot waterfall with a 3/4 inch thick vine")

[Gray Wolf]

I too always carry a gridded signal mirror along with pen-flares. It's called being prepared...
They take up such little room in your pack, that there is no reason not to carry them.

klkak, I believe the two points in your signature completely!

[Gray Wolf]

Les's new book, Survive!: Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere - Alive
$13.57

http://www.amazon.com/Survive-Essential-Skills-Tactics-Anywhere/dp/0061373516/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1226636829&sr=11-1

[BuckyBadger]

Man vs Wild wins in my book. Anyone who says Bear Grylls shows "suicidal behavior" doesn't know what they're saying. Bear is a very experienced climber, having climbed to the sumit of Mt. Everest and many other mountains. Whenever he does anything of the sort on the show, he says to never attempt it in a survival situation unless you're an expert and are aware of the risks involved. Bear delves into almost every aspect of survival, from first aid to finding food, keeping warm to building shelters, and much, much more. He explains how to avoid confrontation with dangerous animals, and in one episode he even talked about how to avoid kidnaping by local guerillas who have been known to do such. There have been episodes in every kind of place. Just to name a fraction of where I've seen him, I would say: Numerous locations in Africa including the Savanna and Namib, the Amazon, the Everglades, Patagonia, Alaska, Ireland, Mexico, South Dakota, Australia, and many others. As this show has been running for quite some time, there have been many other episodes. Think of anything about wilderness survival, and I can assure you, he's covered it on numerous occasions. All in all, my answer is yes. If I had to chose one program for people to watch to educate them on wilderness survival, it would be Man vs Wild, hands down.

[crashdive123]

Hey BuckyBadger - head on over to the introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself. Thanks.

[Foxman]

I trust both Bear and Les very much... But I enjoy Survivorman more because he's all alone in the wilderness with NOBODY to help him with anything. Plus he has to carry all of his camera equiptment around. Bear has a whole crew of people with him, whom could be supplying his with a sleeping bag, pillow, food, water, and anything else he might want to make it easier, and then hiding the evidence afterwards. I'm not saying he HAS done this... but I'm just saying that you know for sure with Les. Also, Bear seems to take more dangerous actions when facing poisonious animals or 100 foot high waterfalls, while Les trys the best he can to find at least one more route away from the danger.

[Sarge47]

I trust both Bear and Les very much... But I enjoy Survivorman more because he's all alone in the wilderness with NOBODY to help him with anything. Plus he has to carry all of his camera equiptment around. Bear has a whole crew of people with him, whom could be supplying his with a sleeping bag, pillow, food, water, and anything else he might want to make it easier, and then hiding the evidence afterwards. I'm not saying he HAS done this... but I'm just saying that you know for sure with Les. Also, Bear seems to take more dangerous actions when facing poisonious animals or 100 foot high waterfalls, while Les trys the best he can to find at least one more route away from the danger.
Bear teaches things that'll get you killed, like drinking urine straight from the bladder...that is bogus!:cool:

[italia]

I like both shows. I like Survivorman a little better though. They both don't stand a chance against Ray Mears' old shows though. Also i just watched Les Stroud's "Off The Grid". I loved it! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7740441619915152822&hl=en

[rockymtnchief]

Bear seems to take more dangerous actions when facing poisonious animals or 100 foot high waterfalls, while Les trys the best he can to find at least one more route away from the danger.

I stopped watching Bear after he suggested you jump in the river and float yourself downstream to safety while in Montana. First of all, you could drown. If not, hypothermia will get you.

[doug1980]

Well considering it is T.V I take them both with a grain of salt. However I belive Survivorman to be a little more realistic and practical. Bear might have tons of training and experience but that isn't what the show should be about. I think Les tries to paint a realistic picture in that most people will have minimal to no experience. And the normal person won't scale a cliff or jump 40 feet into a river. Bear takes too many risks for the sake of making his show more entertaining, which doesn't help in a real survival situation.

[minuteman]

not sure what you mean by "have to basis" but Les from survivorman is the real deal and is quite knowledgeable about survival situations. Bear Grylls seems to be fairly knowledgeable but his camera crew often helps him out in survival situations and many things on his show are infact staged. If you don't want to be deceived then stick to survivorman.

[doug1980]

I just finished his book, only took two days of reading. Very informative, great book IMO.

[Stairman]

Les never seemed to be an expert to me.I have never learned anything from the show.His shelters were poor as well as his traps.I do enjoy the show however for the entertainment,Bear Grills seems to be more experienced at survival and I have learned a few things from him.But I wont be squeezing an elephant turdball into my mouth for its water content,nor do I eat reptiles or hard shelled insects raw.I do love his show.I know some disagree with my opinion of Les but I just think I could do better in these situations,minus the camera work.

[mitch.chesney]

I think this was a good time for him to stop. He's done pretty much every environment short of urban. Another season would just seem redundant unless they put some stupid twist on it (and you know they will for ratings!).

EDIT: What I would like to see is a 2-hour, or multi-part, session where Les faces off against Bear. Both dropped into the wilderness (same kind for both of them), different locations, and each has to film themselves (no film crew, Bears!). They have, say, 2 weeks to survive. First one to hit the emergency beacon loses. If both last, winner is whoever survived the best at the end. Put an end to Survivorman vs. MvW once and for friggen all!

[Stairman]

Bear would win and Les knows it.[IMO]

[sgtdraino]

Bear would win and Les knows it.[IMO]

That was without film crews, hotel rooms, and off-camera help, Stairman.

My money's on Les, by a lot.

Something I loved in Les's last episode: He went through all the various methods he's used in the past to start a fire, and said that this time he would use a different one. He then produced... his butane lighter! LOL!

Particularly ironic since you survival experts seem to favor a simple Bic as your primary firestarting tool.

[crashdive123]

Ironic??? Wouldn't simple (and reliable) be your best option in a stressful situation?

[mitch.chesney]

Strange, because I'm moving away from lighters. I ran one under the sink for a few seconds and couldn't dry it off enough to start again for at least 30 min. Did the same with a firesteel and it starts good as new

[sgtdraino]

What I would like to see is a 2-hour, or multi-part, session where Les faces off against Bear. Both dropped into the wilderness (same kind for both of them), different locations, and each has to film themselves (no film crew, Bears!). They have, say, 2 weeks to survive. First one to hit the emergency beacon loses. If both last, winner is whoever survived the best at the end. Put an end to Survivorman vs. MvW once and for friggen all!

What do we think? Who is the better survivor, Les or Bear?

[mitch.chesney]

Oh god, not another one of these threads. PLEASE! one is already stickied! I'm not playing.

*folding hands and turning away*

[nell67]

Pretty sure we did this before,pretty sure my vote stayed the same too.

[sgtdraino]

Ironic??? Wouldn't simple (and reliable) be your best option in a stressful situation?

Yes, that's why it's ironic. It took 23 episodes for Les to finally use the best firestarting option.

[sgtdraino]

Oh god, not another one of these threads. PLEASE! one is already stickied! I'm not playing.

*folding hands and turning away*

Ah, but this is the first one to actually incorporate a poll into it! :D

[crashdive123]

I'll never move away from a fire steel as they will work under any condition. As some of the pics I've posted reveal, when I travel into the bush I carry several options. Everyday, I carry a bic in my pocket (small kit in each vehicle with more options)....besides, I get funny looks when somebody asks for a light and I pull out the fire steel.

[crashdive123]

Yes, that's why it's ironic. It took 23 episodes for Les to finally use the best firestarting option.

Noooooow I get what you're saying. Guess he was just showing alternatives to what everybody already knew.

[wareagle69]

look above dude 50,000 veiws with 520 replies how about this who cares allan beauchamp will put both to shame

[RobertRogers]

Gotta love his expensive knife, though

http://www.survivaltopics.com/blog-images/bear-grylls-knife.jpg

[wareagle69]

Les never seemed to be an expert to me.I have never learned anything from the show.His shelters were poor as well as his traps.I do enjoy the show however for the entertainment,Bear Grills seems to be more experienced at survival and I have learned a few things from him.But I wont be squeezing an elephant turdball into my mouth for its water content,nor do I eat reptiles or hard shelled insects raw.I do love his show.I know some disagree with my opinion of Les but I just think I could do better in these situations,minus the camera work.

dude do your research, les has lived off the land with his wife for a year he has worked as a professional guide and survival insructor and trained with some of the best in thw world guys you probably have never heard of but are truley craftsman at what they do allan beauchamp and gino ferri to name two of many les has trained with imho he is the real deal can you prove the same about bear. you say you could do better than les? seriously dude what are your credentials for that mighty arroagant statement

[chiangmaimav]

There was a tragedy here awhile ago where 2 young tourists on jungle trek drowned. The guide told them not to go into the water as it was near rapids amd very strong current. They went anyway, and drowned. Afterwards the guide, who did not speak very good English, said they had told him "the guy on tv does it all the time." I don't know who they meant, but it shows you not to rely completely on what you see on tv.
I do not see any of these shows over here but back in US I loved to watch Survivorman, and I did once see him drink jungle water with no filtration or boiling or anything, which did make him sick. I stopped watching the Grylls show after the waterfall episode. I also was broke down on Natchez Trace in middle of night back in 1974. Would not care to do it again.

[tacticalguy]

I think Les is a better example. He doesn't go jumping off waterfalls or into rivers. He has a better example of survival. If you want to watch a show on survival watch him.

[Stairman]

dude do your research, les has lived off the land with his wife for a year he has worked as a professional guide and survival insructor and trained with some of the best in thw world guys you probably have never heard of but are truley craftsman at what they do allan beauchamp and gino ferri to name two of many les has trained with imho he is the real deal can you prove the same about bear. you say you could do better than les? seriously dude what are your credentials for that mighty arroagant statement

Not arroagence,If he's as good as you think he is then he sure is holding back alot of information on his show.A whole lot.Ive never saw him mop dew,build a warm shelter using natural fluff for insulation or build any useful deadfalls or snares.He starves half to death on every episode and freezes to death on every other show.Im not bashing Les,I love the show,but for its entertainment value and not for usefull information.

[christagious]

Survivorman is definitely more educational. While Man vs. Wild sometimes has some good tips, it's more of a "hey I'm such a bad***, look what I can do" kind of show.


The thing that bugs me is the fact that they never bring up stuff like, what to use in lieu of toilet paper.

I never even though of that when watching episodes, what are some good things to use? I forgot about the fact that nature calls even during survival.

.if they got in a fight against one another survivor man would beat him senseless and live of his corpse for weeks.

Although I think Les is better at survival, I have to disagree with you hear. I think Bear would win no problem in a fight, he has that elite SAS training.

[Stairman]

Toilet paper?lets see,smooth stones,soft yet pliable leaves[not poison ivy]soft bark,water,moss[smoke it first to kill redbugs]corn cobs[2 red ones and 1 white]start with a red one,then use the white one to see if you need the other red one......As far as Bear goes he could kick the snot out of Les.I cant believe the results of the poll either.

[Sarge47]

I saw Urban Survival too, i think. Wasn't that the one when he talked to the Katrina survivor? If so, that was very good. I also like Survivorman and Man vs. Wild. Know, I don't know much about nothing, but I do realize that most of the things Bear does on Man vs. Wild aren't neccesarily the right things to do but I do find it more entertaining than Survivorman.
...and Bear has a cuter Tush as well...right?:rolleyes: Let's all lift a glass of warm urine in honor of B.G. & his upcoming endorsements of Holiday Inn Express!:D

[klkak]

...and Bear has a cuter Tush as well...right?:rolleyes: Let's all lift a glass of warm urine in honor of B.G. & his upcoming endorsements of Holiday Inn Express!:D

He may have a cute tush but can he wear a twinky suit?

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

Today is a survivalists education day, les stroud has every show he ever made (back to back!). it makes me itch to go and try an exercise in survival skills. I dont have 7 days, so i take it as i can get it. thanks to people like les , survival is even more a household name. What is your opinion about the
"teaching potential" of material like les stroud?

[red lake]

what channel?

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

what channel?

discovery channel

[larmus]

i like les he has some good ideas and teaches some but its no substitute for the real thing... i think its geared for the armchair survivalist, but dont get me wrong i really enjoy watching him survive, cause he goes into like a person who was just out for the day and ends up getting lost and he uses only that which he has on hand...

[red lake]

The intro in his new books says survival is not fun. It is not a camping trip. It is an emergency situation and you will likely have to endure pain, eat gross things and push yourself beyond your normal limits in order to survive. I think he does a good job showing this in his shows.

On the other note Discovery in Canada has a different schedule. Crap.

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

He does show the rigors of surviving, he could show more edibles than he does and other things like working with pine pitch, birch bark,ect.. all can be done with conservation in mind,and without damaging trees or ecology

[Sarge47]

I like Les, dude plays a mean harp!:D He also demonstrates several Survival items like the Mag. block, fish trap, survival items stored in the butt of a .22 rifle, etc.. One thing that I thought a lot of this showed was that even with a rifle, knowledge, knife, whatever; there is no guarantee that you're going to find what you need to eat in the wilds. It's great "classroom" instruction, but doesn't do anything for "field" instruction. But then, no TV program can do that!:cool:

p.s.: The time he had the dog-sled teams you will notice that he never mentioned killing & eating the dogs.:eek:

Also, I now need to move this thread over to the "sticky" on the continuing dialouge between the two shows....sorry.

[crashdive123]

Here's my .o3. While I believe that Bear has an incredible amount of skills both physical and mental, I believe Les portrays a more realistic view of what it would be like in the situations on the shows.

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

Here's my .o3. While I believe that Bear has an incredible amount of skills both physical and mental, I believe Les portrays a more realistic view of what it would be like in the situations on the shows.

I agree, he does portray realism , and also I think that mabe les uses some of the tools he makes to show that even the simplest person can make something that he needs to get food or a job done. I would like to see some of his expert hand crafts that he makes, that we dont get to see on the shows.

[larmus]

Here's my .o3. While I believe that Bear has an incredible amount of skills both physical and mental, I believe Les portrays a more realistic view of what it would be like in the situations on the shows.

finaly someone who thinks the same way, ive had arguments where the other person wouldnt even listen to the fact i said bear had better skills and had military training... some people just dont like to hear the truth...

[Sarge47]

finaly someone who thinks the same way, ive had arguments where the other person wouldnt even listen to the fact i said bear had better skills and had military training... some people just dont like to hear the truth...
..can be quite fickle at times. It has been brought to my attention that the SAS unit that B.G. belonged to was the equivalent to our "National Guard." BTW, does anyone know if Les has ever had any military training?:confused:

[klkak]

After graduating from Mimico High School in 1980, Stroud went on to complete the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario.

Stroud worked for several years at the Toronto-based music video channel MuchMusic, and as a songwriter for his band New Regime before a Temagami canoe trip sparked a career change. During this time he also worked as garbage collector for the City of Toronto.

In 1990 Stroud became a guide for Black Feather Wilderness Adventures leading canoe excursions into the Northern Ontario wilds. It was also during this time while on a survival course he met his wife, photographer Sue Jamison. They married in 1994 and together left for a year-long honeymoon in the remote Wabakimi area of Ontario which was to become the basis of the documentary Snowshoes and Solitude.

Afterwards, the couple moved to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories where Stroud was employed as an outdoor instructor to special needs individuals of aboriginal descent. Stroud and Jamison then settled in Huntsville, Ontario, and started the outdoor instructional outfit Wilderness Voice and the media company Wilderness Spirit Productions. Inspired by the popularity of the television show Survivor, Stroud pitched a more authentic version of the show to The Discovery Channel Canada.

Stroud produced two programs titled One Week in the Wilderness and Winter in the Wilderness for @discovery.ca in 2001. The success of these specials led to the development of his current show Survivorman which follows a similar format, leaving Stroud on his own, with minimal equipment, in the wilderness to film his survival experience.

Stroud has extensive experience with survival and primitive living skills, initially training with experts Gino Ferri and David Arama. He went on to study with many others including John "Prairie Wolf" McPherson.

Stroud has been an active participant in adventure racing and has competed at the Canadian championships.

[RichNH]

Hi all, I'm a brand new member here. Interesting reading some of the replies on this thread although I didn't read all of them. Personally I've watched one or two Man vs Wild shows and all the Les Stroud shows I can. I liked Survivorman so much my kids got me the first season for Christmas a year or two ago. :D

Personally, from what I saw in Man vs Wild, he's gonna get someone who doesn't know what he/she is doing killed one day. But that's just MHO.

Looking forward to learning from this site, ta ta!

Rich

[crashdive123]

I think a lot of folks are in agreement with you RichNH. How about heading over to the introduction section when you get a chance and tell us a bit about yourself. Thanks.

[RichNH]

Actually, I looked for an introduction section and didn't see one. Hmmmm, must be lost, anyone have any survival tips for being lost in a forum?

Rich

PS, someone mentioned about the episode Les did with the dog sled and said he didn't mention eating the dogs. Actually, I watched several of his episodes today and I heard him mention eating sled dogs in one of them, perhaps it wasn't the episode with the dog sled but I thought it was. I could be mistaken of course, I'm old enough to suffer from CRS on a regular basis...

[crashdive123]

Here you go Rich. http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=14

[RichNH]

You know, it's amazing what can be accomplished with the up and down arrows.... After you told me that a thread did exist, I went looking it darn if it didn't take all of 30 seconds... Now I've come back here to eat some tasty crow... Oh well, not a very auspicious beginning...

[crashdive123]

Hey, crow seems to be a great survival food. I eat it all of the time.;)

[larmus]

mmmm... crow, ive had that once or twice...

[Sarge47]

Anybody notice all the votes for Les Stroud & only one for "Grylli Vanilli"? :D Hey bear, you actually have a fan! Maybe he'll even buy your $700 knife!:eek: No matter how hard I try, I still can't get that picture of Bear doing push-ups in the snow, bare-arsed nekked, out of my mind!:eek::cool:

[crashdive123]

Careful Sarge. Chiye Tank may send the Spirt Talkers to visit you.;)

[SARKY]

Can we just call a spade a spade? Bear is an adrenaline junkie and a fraud! The BBC has already outed him for staying in hotels when he claimed that he was sleeping in the bush. Also if you watch his show very closely you can see where events are sooo staged. The one show where he was in the rockies and used a rabbit stick to take out a rabbit, if you look closely you see that the rabbit is staked out. And yet we are subjected to frauds like bear and Jeraldo by the producers of these shows (Oh that's right Bear is one of the producers of his show)

[dougz]

I'm a little late to the conversation, but in my opinion Survivorman is the better series, and Les the superior survivor..

1. Les shows his triumphs and his failures..

2. Les survives for a week on his own (not for the couple hours he spends filming, whereupon he retreats to his hotel with his camera crew)..

3. Les came up with the idea first

(reading alot of yahoos claiming Les stole Bear's thunder)..

Man Vs Wild, Oct 27, 2006, Survivorman November 1st, 2004

4. Les is Canadian..

Case closed, in my opinion..

Edit:

One thing I can't stand is Les's annoying Shater-lite cadence when he's doing his opining monologues, etc..

If I'm going to sur'viiive in this barren wilderness, it's going to take every oooounce of strength to...

LOL

[Sarge47]

If I'm going to sur'viiive in this barren wilderness, it's going to take every oooounce of strength to...

LOL
Les does that to "sell" the series to the "armchair survival freaks". It creates suspense, drama, & ratings for Discovery Channel!:D

[dougz]

Don't get me wrong, it's a great show and I have nothing against even what he says during these segments..

I just wish he'd use his normal voice.. :)

[RichNH]

And when a jaguar shows up outside Les' camp he does the normal, rational thing. He runs for his LIFE!!! Now THAT's survival! LOLOLOL

[klkak]

If I remember correctly in one of Bear's episodes he took off running for his life in the middle of the night because he heard a sound in the brush. He didn't even know what it was.....just a sound. It could have been a coon, skunk, dear, etc..., Whatever it was he ran like a scared puppy. It appears that the British SAS trained killer is afraid of things that scurry in the ground litter at night.

[crashdive123]

If I remember correctly in one of Bear's episodes he took off running for his life in the middle of the night because he heard a sound in the brush. He didn't even know what it was.....just a sound. It could have been a coon, skunk, dear, etc..., Whatever it was he ran like a scared puppy. It appears that the British SAS trained killer is afraid of things that scurry in the ground litter at night.

It was probably the local Girl Scout Troop out foraging for mushrooms.

[tsitenha]

Bear was with the TA to which the SAS were attached to as a regiment, a slight difference. He tends to "bend" the facts.
Like my father served with an American Special Forces unit but was a Canadian soldier not an American Special Forces, they just needed his lets say... "expertise" He even got a citation from the Americans.

Klkak: if memory serves me it was a buddy dressed in a cartoonish suit a la Yogi Bear, seen picture of it. Ron Hood was on his first shows as an advisor but quickly disassociated himself.

[Ole WV Coot]

I was under the weather this weekend and stayed in the sack with the tv on watching a good ole Les marathon to help me sleep. I did wake up when Les and 2 guys went hunting somewhere in the temperate zone of either the US or Canada, don't remember which. 3 men, 3 bright red Honda quads back into the boonies, parked and went in 3 different directions. Les had a nice camo ground stand, another had a permanent tree stand, the other from the ground. Rained like crazy, Les ventured forth, didn't know where he was, used his universal signal 3 shots bang, bang 10sec delay then bang, an answering bang then a game of here I am, where are you, oh by the way his 3 well timed shots were fired into the underbrush, one way to find his friends, couldn't find their ATVs and Les' hand held GPS batteries were dead after only a full day?? No compass? Walked to a tree stand but didn't know what direction to the ATV? They did their survival bit, badly for over 7 days before being found by SAR. I left a lot out, but plenty of chuckles for someone like me in my kind of territory. I think he has a taste for snake, frogs and other fish bait. Guess inbreeding does that.

[RichNH]

Went shopping today and when I cam home I got my last Christmas present in the mail. Kids picked me up the second season of Survivorman.... YEA!!! :D

[MANABA]

Les is probably a better survivor. Not to say Bear isnt as good but they are filming at 2 different perspectives. Les has no crew for safety so he cant do all the high speed dangerous things Bear does. Bear appeals more to me on my military background side. But Les is my choice for a true survivorman. But lets face it both shows are set to get ratings and make money for networks and the hosts. Its a rough job but someones gotta do it. I dont know....its just TV.

[Gray Wolf]

Bear appeals more to me on my military background side.
As I've posted before, Bear is an accomplished mountaineer/climber, he was in the British Special Forces (for 3 years), he's in outstanding physical condition, passed the training tests for the French Foreign Legion (which is a truly great accomplishment) and is the youngest person to successfully climb Everest. BUT the show is dangerous!!!

[rockymtnchief]

BUT the show is dangerous!!!

I'll agree to that. As I've mentioned before, I saw the episode where he jumped into a Montana river and floated his way downstream to find civilization. He then casually walked to the road and got a lift. He failed to mention that Montana rivers are formed from snow run-off, mountain springs, or cold rains. 99% of people trying this same stunt would die from hypothermia unless it's in July or August.

[sniperfx]

bear is too commercialized. he also does very dangerous stunts that will get you killed. tries to paint a glamorous picture of a crappy reality....

[Gray Wolf]

Following allegations in 2006 that the show deceived viewers into believing that he was really stranded in the wild when he was not, Channel 4 temporarily suspended the show for a few weeks. Discovery aired re-edited episodes, removing elements that were considered too planned, with a fresh voice-over and a preceding announcement pointing out that some situations are 'presented to Bear to show the viewer how to survive'. Both Discovery and Channel 4 have continued to broadcast the program.

An adviser to the Man vs. Wild/Born Survivor series had claimed that Grylls had been staying at a California lodge while filming. A crossing of a deep crevasse was shown to be within sight of a road. Bear was shown taming 'wild' horses who had horseshoes on their hooves when the film was examined closely and which turned out to be ex-Ranch horses. Similarly, it was alleged that Grylls had stayed at a crew base-camp in the Costa Rican jungle, while giving viewers the impression that he was alone. Further, there have been several other incidents, including the impression Bear built a raft "in a matter of hours with no tools." According to the adviser, the raft was actually in part built by a show stunt consultant. This particular episode implied was filmed on a small south pacific island, which as Channel 4 revealed was actually a small peninsula in Hawaii, the scene of at least three Hollywood movie shoots. These allegations were confirmed by Channel 4, who argued that it was not a documentary, but a "how-to" guide to survival, implying that re-shot scenes were acceptable in that context. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: