Feedback wanted: Survivalshows on TV

S

short

Joined
Mar 14, 2012
Messages
31
So this is my first time posting in Wilderness & Survival skills.

As of lately, I have been getting more and more obsessed with survivalstuff. Watching various series on the internet. Only the following actually sticked to my liking.
  1. The Colony
  2. Survivorman
  3. Dual survival


For me, it's plain entertainment and knowledge that I hope to never having to utilize in a real situation.
What I really like to know is (experts) feedback on those TV shows. Even if you think those shows are total BS, do tell me your opinion.
Which of those are actually useful and worth "learning" from. (Not listing Man vs Wild for obvious reasons.)
 
There is a vast amount of information that can be gleaned from all of those TV shows mentioned (including MVW) i.e. firestarting, shelter building, trapping etc. - just take it all with a grain of salt and be aware they are meant for entertainment and not to be confused with actual survival courses.

Welcome to the forums short.
 
Don't let the banter about these shows bother you Ku, to hard to write the rest, already said there can be something learned from all of them with a little common sense, even Bear. No, I am not being a hypocrite, I am a firm believer that a bad example can sometimes teach you more than a good one.

If you see interesting ideas or techniques on the shows research them and practice them yourself to find out how valid they really are. Everyone is different but of the ones you mentioned Les is my favorite, although he does seem to be a bit of a masochist. LOL Chris
 
The purpose of these shows first and foremost is to make their producers money via advertisements gained through viewership. The choice of show themes accentuate this and often times and set-up scenarios that are either unrealistic or are just a plot device to show a 'survival magic trick'. In any event, I'm often only in agreement about 25% of the time on choices made or otherwise find myself asking why somebody finds themselves in the situation at the time.

A good example on DuelSurvivor (which I like and have much respect for Cody even though he is goaded into stupidity all the time) in one of the desert episodes. Scenario - they are driving this little car and it breaks down. Cody goes off to find water and Dave rips apart the car to find useful materials to work with. Dave's modis is to find an ignition source for fire. He rips out the battery and shorts it with steel wool or some other tinder (I forget) to get a fire. All the time I'm thinking, why doesn't he just use the cigarette lighter that every vehicle I've used since the 1970's onward has? Just stuff like that - they are so intent on ripping the car apart to make fire from the battery, that they forget that the car has a bloody cigarette lighter in it....

If you really want to learn about survival, then I suggest getting involved in outdoor activities. Really, once you start learning how to make due with a limited amount of gear in a wilderness setting then you are well on your way to getting hands on experience on what its like to be alone, without supplies and how to make do without. Its all mostly headgames, and basically, learning to take control of yourself in situations where you are alone is the best training you can possible have. Plus, you'll have a good time doing it along the way.
 
Welcome to W&SS ! Like they have said, these shows are mainly for entertainment but they do have some good info mixed in. Dual Survival & SurvivorMan & Man, Woman, Wild are my favorites. You can hang around here for some really good info on Bushcraft/Wilderness Survival, alot of great people on here that will help you out ! Hang around & ask questions...you will get hooked on Bushcraft !
 
short said:
What I really like to know is (experts) feedback on those TV shows.
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A night in the woods with the likes of Marty Simon or our own Kev Estela will teach you more about real survival skills then watching all the episodes of the listed shows.

Just Sayin'.




Big Mike
 
Don't rely on any skill until you've practiced it first. That includes everything you read in this forum.

Haven't seen the colony but the other two shows I like. Though, I really could do without Canterbury. If you have netflix you should watch Ron Hoods primer video that they have. I learned more about hypothermia in 10 minutes then I did in weeks of sar training.
 
Hey, thanks for the welcoming and opinions!
Yeah, I already figured that most (not all) of whats shown on discovery channel would be buffallo excrements.
That even cody would use such harsh wording :(
 
Shotgun said:
That and the fact he's always trying to prove himself. I hate macho BS.
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I feel the same way. I know it is all about the money, Cody even said that himself in so many words, but I am really surprised that Cody agreed to team up with him. Chris
 
IMO Cody Lundin is a moron. Anyone who goes off into the wilderness barefoot in shorts, even in the winter, is not someone you should follow. I saw a few episodes of Dual Survivors. Cody gets scratched up, bleeds, almost gets his feet frostbitten...all because of inadequate clothing. I saw one episode where they were in Montana I think in the winter. Snow on the ground, freezing temps, high winds. And there's Cody in shorts and socks. Those guys are going out with a support crew and camera team. They aren't "surviving". They're making a tv show.

I remember another episode I saw where they tried to make a boat out of a tarp. They wasted hours and tons of calories because they wanted to "ride the river" instead of walking. My brother and I were laughing our heads off the entire time, especially when their boat sank after going about 30 feet. Then they had no tarp for shelter, no cordage or duct tape or whatever it was they used, and they were cold and wet. Definitely not good survival advice.
 
Fanglekai said:
IMO Cody Lundin is a moron.
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Everybody has a right to their own opinion. I suggest you take Cody's other accomplishments into consideration before passing such harsh judgement. A couple of hihgly successful books on survival (before he was ever affiliated with the show), many journalist documentary stories in which he is featured as an expert (all before the his appearance on the show), his attendance at many national gatherings dedicated to survivalism and bushcraft such as Rabbitstick (he was a well known figure at these meetings all well before he was affiliated with the show), his teaching responsibilities at a college in outdoor education, his years of experience as head instructor at a successful and renowned survival school.

So you dislike his philosophy and decide he's a moron. You criticize his approach of not wearing shoes (which I do not agree with either, but I accept its what he does and respect him for often saying he doesn't recommend it to others), then you criticize him when he, through the show, is open about the problems his approach can cause under certain conditions. Its true they are on a TV-show and not surviving. Its also true that Cody's school is about survival and the bushcraft movement and his school is famous for its week long to nine day trips going off into the desert with nothing but materials made on site. Again everybody is entitled to their opinion, but its worth while to also point out when somebody is making their opinion based on incomplete information. Being able to look at a different approach with an open mind is often the mark of a critical mind, even when those approaches might be counter to your own experiences.

Now regarding his partner on the show. Lets just say the "before and after Dual Survivor" transition of this man's career was remarkably different then Cody's on many fronts. So I do not put them together in the same light nor do I draw similar conclusions about their legitimacy as survival experts. Dave turned his 'web-tutor' survival school from a hobby to a career based on the success of the show. Cody already had successful career as an expert in the area before walking into the project.
 
Like you I got pretty obsessed with survival and bushcraft after watching a few episodes of Survivorman which led to Man vs Wild, Dual and Man, Woman Wild. Now I love trolling YouTube for new videos from several different wilderness channels like Living History school, Natural Bushcraft, and especially WildernessOutfitters/Pathfinder School which is Dave Canterbury's school/channel. Also check out the Woodsmaster dvd series from the late, great Ron Hood along with his magazine Survival Quarterly which can be bought from their site Survival.com, where they have a VERY long running survival forum(I think I heard it started in like '94:confused:) Another fantastic magazine that I just picked up 4 issues of is Self Reliance Illustrated which is a collaboration between The Pathfinder School and Blind Horse knives. And like some have mentioned-this forum is awesome for obtaining info on skills, events and the gear forum for new gear...obviously;) I know that most local Barnes & Nobles won't have these mags but they will have tons of decent survival guides-though I wouldn't start out by buying the ones written by the TV personalities. Instead look for books like Woodcraft and Camping from Nessmuk(George Sears) or Woodcraft from Bernard Mason, also Camping's forgotten skills by Cliff Jacobson is good and a few survival guides that are really good and thorough with nice illustrations are the SAS survival guide by John Weisman, The Survival Handbook-essential skills for Outdoor adventure by Colin Towell, Camping and Wilderness Survival-the ultimate outdoors book by Paul Tawrell and Primitive Skills and Crafts by Richard Jamison. And any book by Ray Mears is a great buy. Ray has a great survival/bushcraft show or two on dvd and somewhat on Youtube called Extreme survival but you will need a region free dvd player to watch it. And also books by Mors Kochanski, Horace Kephart, and Tom Brown Jr will be worth the read. As for the show The Colony, its got some cool stuff on it, and though I only watched season 1 thoroughly, the battery bank they created for power, and the generator to re-charge it was nice as well as the gasifier they made to power the truck. I never would have known wood can power a vehicle. Here's a link to a thread I started here a few days ago with some great vids on Youtube that you will probably enjoy as well as a few links to some Ray Mears episodes too. I've put the beginning of each episode but the links to the other parts of it will be on the youtube page that opens.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/935896-A-few-great-documentaries
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv6EjpwF4ZY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRavZ3S1B-E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM2KcirdNk8
I hope this list of resources helps you find info that interests you and helps you learn these invaluable skills
 
I will second Ken's remarks about Cody.

I have formally trained with Lundin on multiple occassions starting 8 years ago; both through his school and primitive skills conferences. I have been with him in the Sonoran desert at 109* and in the teens (or lower) in the San Fransico Mtns. and just recently, the Mongollon Rim. He is the real deal, barefeet and all. Very few can claim making a livlihood teaching survival as long as he has, as well as being published (not self-published). He himself has had some pretty amazing mentors including Kochanski. His teaching style is very refined. You walk away with a knowledge base you will remember, backed with science and experience, and from a philosophical approach that lets you take that information and make it your own.

What you see on TV is just that, TV. Check out his resume... http://www.codylundin.com/resume.pdf

And here is a snip-it from my time with him this past February...

[video=youtube;0tqSNqhhQeQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tqSNqhhQeQ[/video]​
 
kgd said:
Everybody has a right to their own opinion. I suggest you take Cody's other accomplishments into consideration before passing such harsh judgement. A couple of hihgly successful books on survival (before he was ever affiliated with the show), many journalist documentary stories in which he is featured as an expert (all before the his appearance on the show), his attendance at many national gatherings dedicated to survivalism and bushcraft such as Rabbitstick (he was a well known figure at these meetings all well before he was affiliated with the show), his teaching responsibilities at a college in outdoor education, his years of experience as head instructor at a successful and renowned survival school.

So you dislike his philosophy and decide he's a moron. You criticize his approach of not wearing shoes (which I do not agree with either, but I accept its what he does and respect him for often saying he doesn't recommend it to others), then you criticize him when he, through the show, is open about the problems his approach can cause under certain conditions. Its true they are on a TV-show and not surviving. Its also true that Cody's school is about survival and the bushcraft movement and his school is famous for its week long to nine day trips going off into the desert with nothing but materials made on site. Again everybody is entitled to their opinion, but its worth while to also point out when somebody is making their opinion based on incomplete information. Being able to look at a different approach with an open mind is often the mark of a critical mind, even when those approaches might be counter to your own experiences.

Now regarding his partner on the show. Lets just say the "before and after Dual Survivor" transition of this man's career was remarkably different then Cody's on many fronts. So I do not put them together in the same light nor do I draw similar conclusions about their legitimacy as survival experts. Dave turned his 'web-tutor' survival school from a hobby to a career based on the success of the show. Cody already had successful career as an expert in the area before walking into the project.
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I didn't google him or research his life. I'm not arguing about his philosophy. This thread is about the tv shows, and what I've seen in the shows leads me to believe he's a moron. Obviously he might not be a moron, but his behavior on the show leads me to this conclusion. Anyone who goes around without shoes, socks, or long pants in environments that, let's be honest, require those items is not someone who should be imitated. Freezing cold temperatures in the great plains mean you need long pants, wool socks, and adequate boots if you want to go anywhere or survive in those conditions. I've lived in the great plains during the winter. No one in their right mind would go anywhere without proper shoes or long pants - even in the city. Furthermore he obviously has a poor sense of judgment and a total lack of understanding of how evolution works if he thinks he can manipulate and increase the efficiency of the mitochondria in his feet in one generation. It just doesn't work that way and instead of researching it he holds on to his ridiculous beliefs that he can somehow change his genetic makeup by not wearing shoes. Sorry, it doesn't work that way.

So, while he may not be a moron, on the tv show he certainly comes across that way. If anyone would be so kind as to show me where on the show he is not a moron I would love to glean some tidbits of survivalist knowledge. Until then I'll view the tv show as nothing but entertainment, at which it excels.
 
Fanglekai said:
Until then I'll view the tv show as nothing but entertainment, at which it excels.
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That is what it was designed for, so I guess it accomplished its goal. From your post I guess your mind is just made up and that is that.

Abo - thanks. I bet he is an excellent teacher. I had the pleasure of being around people like George Hedgepeth and it is quite amazing how much could be learned in a short period of time when a quality instructor takes the time to develop a curriculum and demonstrate it an effective way.
 
kgd said:
Everybody has a right to their own opinion. I suggest you take Cody's other accomplishments into consideration before passing such harsh judgement.
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Cody, strategy do suck big time. Playing safe & sit you ass and eating insects..C'on
 
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