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Ray Mears was asked a while back if people could learn anything from Bear Gryll's TV shows and replied- "Yes, how not to make TV programmes", meaning he didn't think much of Grylls as a survivalist.
Personally I think both guys shows are okay because on the one hand Mears teaches us how to work with nature, and Grylls shows us how not to fear it.
So can I ask forum members this question-"Who would you rather be stranded in the middle of nowhere with, Grylls or Mears?"
This has been discussed over and over again on this forum. Most of the older members have expressed disappointment with BG because of the erroneous and dangerous material that he demonstrates. BG has about a 15% approval rating. I don't know about Ray Mears, but Les Stroud, David Canterbury, and Cody Lundin won out with a wide margin. :detective:
Man woman, wild also surpassed BG, but that's only because some of the members thought that Ruth was hot. :w00t:
Really doesn't matter as both travel with a crew...you know these are TV guys right?
Now check out ManWomen Wild.........Ruth is Hot.
Looks like deja vu all over again.......
I plan on taking Bear Grylls along. He'll take all the risks like jumping off cliffs and sliding down steep slopes so I don't have to. And he provides comic relief to keep my spirits up!
How did I know you were going to say that?Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter63
Wow I never heard of MWW or Ruth, where's she been all my life? I'll look at some clips on youtube, and will also look at Les Stroud, David Canterbury, and Cody Lundin, i've never heard of them either!Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter63
As for TV fakery, yeah it happens all the time, but I don't think it's faked when Grylls eats creatures that'd make even Rambo puke, so for sheer entertainment I'll take Grylls..:)
Okay for sheer entertainment I understand. However, he's been canned by Discovery, so you'll have to watch his older episodes where he drinks his own pee and squeezes water out of elephant poo. At least he had comfortable sleeping quarters in the Inns that he stayed at.Quote:
Originally Posted by Endworld Guy
David & Cody were on the 1st two seasons of Dual Survival, and Cody will be "dualing" it with a new co-star this season, of which we're all in the dark as to who that will be!
Les Stroud, aka "Survivorman" and a Canadian, was the original competition for BG but took a leave of absence. He would go out into his chosen survival areas all alone and film his 7-day adventures. Now he's planning on coming back with 10-day solo jaunts on some specials. Those should be interesting. Ray Mears has not been on any channels that I can get here in the USA, but I am curious. :yes:
:cowboy:.
He's been on Brit TV for years and knows his stuff, but he does it all without Gryll's showmanship and some people therefore find him boring, (he's on youtube).Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarge47
I like Ray Mears just fine. I've watched a lot of his stuff.
I think I could sit around a campfire and have a good conversation with Mears.
Grylls, I can not imagine him allowing a conversation, or understanding one if it ocurred.
Bear Grylls, I'd say probably not. A lot of the people around me, sort of... worship him. So if they read this, it'll probably be my last post! haha. No, in all reality, i've only seen Mears a few times, but I like him more. I don't need to jump off a cliff, break my leg, contract some disease.... although that is worst case scenario.
Whoa Whoa buddy, maybe you didn't know.Quote:
Originally Posted by Endworld Guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hLY1TYUWp4
Mears is really good at field-craft. I watched one of his vids on sharpening a knife and instantly was turned off by the thought of carrying 3 stones, a Japanese water wheel and a leather strop in my pack.
You can learn all about the wilderness 100 yards from your truck, but, is someone who practices knifecraft inside his comfort zone the person whose tutelage I want to rely on if I'm soaking wet, staring at a boat sunk to the rails, in November, again?
Not sure.
Grylls is just too hard core for me. I like a light dinner after walking 100m across a volcano. Crab Brie, french bread, and a rib eye on fine china is too much.
Mears.
Ray Mears. However, Lofty Wiseman is my personal preference.
Hey, what a funny topic it is! How can you compare two totally different person?
Bear is a showman, an ex-soldier with limited survival knowledge, and Ray is THE bushcraft with an extensive knowledge of survival, natural medicines, plants and animals.
Personally I agree with Winnie, John Wiseman is the master. [I have his masterpiece (SAS survival handbook) in both English and Hungarian.]
Don't know much about Ray, but haven't heard one negative comment on here about him, so that's a big point in his favor! I do have Lofty Wiseman's book in English, but not Hungarian...I don't read Hungarian! :innocent:Quote:
Originally Posted by Winnie
If any of you Bear Grylls fans happen to chance upon BG out in the wild, and he offers you a drink, and you notice that it's yellow in color...trust me on this...it's a good chance that it's NOT lemonade :no:
That "again" thing really gets on my nerves, you would think that you would learn after the first time.....But, Nooooooooo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Winter
Chest waders allow you to get deeper into it....before you get really wet.
Cell phone in plastic bag is a good thing.
Yeah, how many times do you have to step on that partially submerged limb to get your water hose in the water only to slide off and go over your boot? I mean, come on.
There's another fact we need to consider when deciding who we'd like as our leader ---PERSONALITY--- regardless of whether it's Grylls or Mears or anybody else.
An episode of the classic 1970's TV series 'Survivors' explores the theme nicely when a chap joins the group.
He's an agricultural college-educated expert and knows absolutely everything about growing crops.
At first they welcome him because he's such a priceless asset, but as time goes on they get more and more fed up with his snooty insulting manner, and the morale of the group begins to suffer.
In the end they decide to do it their way with their own limited agricultural knowledge and ignore his way.
Irked at being ignored, he leaves, and the groups morale begins to climb again..:)
PS- All 38 'Survivors' episodes are on youtube, I watched them again earlier this year, basically a plague wipes out about 95% of humans and we follow a group trying to survive. It's intelligently scripted with not a zombie in sight.
Type 'Survivors 1975' into the youtube search box but be warned you'll have to spend some time compiling lots of parts into playlists, eg- (Part 5, Episode4, Series 1 etc), or buy it on DVD.
Use the WIKI 'Episodes list' for a helpful overview.
Wow! Leader? Really?
Good luck with that.
I am surprised you haven't heard of Ruth, she is British.
I love Ray. He is my favorite out of all of them. Sarge, you need to learn how to surf youtube. I think most of Ray's stuff is on youtube. Winter, you need to watch his video on sharpening a knife in the field. He uses a falkniven DC3. Very good video. All his videos are great and I have learned more from him than any other TV guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4y8u_iJf1M
With the #1 selection in the Wilderness Surival "Who Would You Take With You" Draft -- Warheit selects Bear Grylls of the United Kingdom.
*thunderous applause*
Good point mate, which brings us to the question- would survival groups do better with or without a leader?Quote:
Originally Posted by crashdive123
Every tribe in every part of the world has had a chief or headman or Big Man on Campus since prehistoric times, so if it worked for them maybe it's still a good idea?
It's almost as if people automatically look to a strong leader to willingly follow.
Or would our groups do better as a leaderless democracy, I dunno?..
How about it Colonel?
"Son, you WANT me on that wall, you NEED me on that wall"
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g6...holson-FGM.jpg
To be fair, Ruth was a British Anchor on one of the British news programs, right? But she's NOT a survival instructor, rather, her American husband, Mykel Hawke, supposedly a survival instructor in the US Special Forces is the teacher and Ruth is the student who does extra work by getting Hunter all worked up! :w00t:Quote:
Originally Posted by finallyME
Yeah, I'll check his vids out, thanks FM!
In any social situation, especially in a group dynamic, a leader is going to emerge, perhaps a few. There will be problems, as it is likely that a few similar personalities will go up for the same "crowning of the king" -- but overall I think people prefer construct and order to disarray, and I firmly believe that a leader of good quality can best unite a band or group of people. As you mentioned, that is precisely one of the reasons why intimate groups of people throughout history have had such a system -- for order, consistency and stability.Quote:
Originally Posted by Endworld Guy
IMO it depends on the experience of the group. Members of the group lacking outdoor experience should have a leader/instructor. Even the US Marines teach, in their survival course, for the student groups to pick a leader. However if the group is made up of members with equal experience in the field then they need to work together instead. Dual Survival illustrated this point very well with both Cody and Dave, often at odds with each other's methods, working side-by-side none the less. :1:Quote:
Originally Posted by Endworld Guy
Look out, here comes Crash...again! :no:Quote:
Originally Posted by Endworld Guy
Nah. Not yet.
Hahaha, I'm talking about sunken boats. I didn't do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter63
Adventuring comes with certain risks.
That makes alot more sense for bushcraft than the other one I saw. ThanksQuote:
Originally Posted by finallyME
Sorry for the triple post.
Leaders.
A leader and a chain of command/authority work best if their powers are clearly defined. I abhor authority, but if I join a group with a charter than I have accepted that set of rules. I prefer rules over rulers and won't stand for people being subjugated.
The Charter also needs to clearly explain the process of problem solving and making new, or removing, rules.
Oh, wait, that's how America was supposed to be and lasted a mere decade before people found a way to abuse the rules.
Much as it pains me I have to agree with Warheit...Bear knows where all the best Inns are! (running and ducking rotton eggs and tomatoes.) :FRlol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Warheit
Anyone can lead. Few people are leaders. Huge difference in my opinion.
I agree, In the military some "leaders are the guys walking point that get the 1st bullet! I was going to show a current example but can't without violating the "no politics" rule on this forum. :ninja:Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick
Yes "adventuring" does make life interesting...... I do like the term "adventuring".Quote:
Originally Posted by Winter
Haven't sunk any boats yet......several canoes have "gotten washed out".......but my biggest problem is the getting in to deep, syndrome.
We have an island that has been nick named "laundry island", for the number of times it has had "laundry" hanging up to dry.......Actually more of a floating bog, that will suck you down, or people just seem to "fall off'????.
BTW an old canvas decoy bag works good as emergency "drawers" while yours dry.
I've sunk a boat about a thousand times. Thankfully I've surfaced a boat just as many times. When the number of surfacings is less than the number of sinkings........that is a bad thing.
Personally I only abhor authority if it's oppressive and bossy, but if it's fair-minded and decent, i have no prob with it at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Winter
For example I was admin/mod/2nd in command at a gaming/military discussion club for a few years and the atmosphere was great, I ran the place single handed while the Big Boss was at work or down the pub, but then he started making bad decisions and overuling me and wouldn't listen to reason, so i said to him "You're gonna have to get yerself another boy mate", and walked, and so did some other members.
The moral? - Weakening any group (whether a survival group or a club etc) by losing members is a sure sign that the leadership is shaky..
Nonsense, sometimes you just need to "let the dead wood float." Sometimes you have to get rid of those that are being part of the problem rather than part of the solution. Sometimes a good leader will actually cut people from the group for the over-all good of the membership. Take this group for example. Oft-times we have to ban members who are trolls or spammers for the good of the group and/or the forum itself. It doesn't weaken the group, it makes it stronger! :cool2:Quote:
Originally Posted by Endworld Guy
Where does it say that the owner of anything doesn't have the right to do with it as they please? I agree with Sarge. I've seen a lot of successful groups of one kind or another that had terrible leaders. I've seen some groups where folks left and the leadership was outstanding. It has far more to do with the dynamics of the group and the personality types involved than whether the leadership is good or bad.