I shouldn't be alive: Anyone watch?

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phxbigdog

Joined
Aug 11, 2005
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344
Howdy,
Has anyone see I Shouldn't be alive? I got to say I like this one. For some reason survival shows are poping up everywhere. This one is a blend of story telling and survival skills. Not as good as a Hoods Woods or WSI DVD, but better than the others I've been catching. I watched the Jungle one tonight. Good stuff. The expert, Mike Hawke, gives some good tips.

http://dsc.discovery.com/beyond/player.html?playerId=203711706&categoryId=278035962
 
I've seen a few of them - they are pretty good, and amazing stories - not always educational, but definately interesting. They had Les Stroud (I think - Survivorman, right?) re-enact one scenario from "I shouldn't be alive" following the episode, which was a great combo. It was the one w/ the guy and wife w/ baby that got stuck on some back country road in the snow. I also enjoyed the Grand Canyon story.
 
phxbigdog said:
Howdy,
Has anyone see I Shouldn't be alive? I got to say I like this one. For some reason survival shows are poping up everywhere. This one is a blend of story telling and survival skills. Not as good as a Hoods Woods or WSI DVD, but better than the others I've been catching. I watched the Jungle one tonight. Good stuff. The expert, Mike Hawke, gives some good tips.

http://dsc.discovery.com/beyond/player.html?playerId=203711706&categoryId=278035962
Click to expand...

I've watched all of the episodes they have so far. They're supposed to start a new season.

The original I Shouldn't Be Alive just told the story of the people invovled. They revamped some of them (but not all of the episodes) to show you how to survive the same experience as the victims.

Pretty good series though.
 
I've watched a few and nearly came unglued at the bad decisions leading up to the Grand Canyon tragedy!! Apparently did not check coming weather for the HP zone that pushed temps to near record; took adolescents OFF TRAIL!;did not see a cell phone, gps or map amongst any of them; when guide and brother fell out- they apparently did not think to build a shade shelter; 3 15yr olds strike out for the river but carry all three packs full of junk instead of stripping to one with empty water bottles. These folks did not end up there by accident, they PLANNED this trip & it could well have cost all of them their lives. As is, one young man died for their poor decisions.
I do like the premise of the show though. Hopefully between this show, Les Stroud and Bear Gryhlls, the public awareness as to preperation will be raised in the same way Steve Irwin raised awareness for animal conservation.
Bill
 
I've seen the jungle episode a few times. Mike Hawke is THE best "survival expert" I've seen on these types of shows yet. Discovery should boot Grylls and sign this guy up for a series. I like Les, but Mike knows the score and doesn't pussify the gravity of survival situations. He's all about prep, and that's the name of the game in staying alive when things go south. JMHO.
 
jav200dc said:
Mike Hawke is THE best "survival expert" I've seen on these types of shows yet.
Click to expand...

I was also very impressed watching Mike Hawke last night. It was the best "I Shouldn't be Alive" episode I have seen so far. It depicted short reenactments of an actual incident but concentrated on Hawke's well explained commentary and demonstrations of how to survive in the rainforest.

IMHO, Mike Hawke's authentic style makes Bear Gyrllis's contrived heroics look like pulp fiction by comparison.

I got the impression Hawke really knows the rainforest and was not operating mainly from a script hastily thrown together by a team of researchers.
 
Watched that episode with my pops lastnight, and he's an X army ranger that served in Vietnam, he was saying Hawke's stuff was right out of the book ranger training and he liked it as much as I did. Was a great episode far better than just the story telling ones. I hope they make more like this!
 
If these stories do anything, they show us how "Survival Situations" come about. Mechanical failures, Bad weather, Poor planning, poor decision making, poor skills, no equipment, etc. etc. they add up to some really bad real-life scenarios.

It typically takes a sequence of events and/or bad decisions linked together to create a disaster. I'd say the same holds true for these survival situations.
 
diceman said:
I've seen a few of them - they are pretty good, and amazing stories - not always educational, but definately interesting. They had Les Stroud (I think - Survivorman, right?) re-enact one scenario from "I shouldn't be alive" following the episode, which was a great combo. It was the one w/ the guy and wife w/ baby that got stuck on some back country road in the snow. I also enjoyed the Grand Canyon story.
Click to expand...

This story is about Jim and Jennifer Stolpa, I personally know both of them. I went to basic and AIT with Jim, he was stationed at Camp Roberts CA when this happened.

Well, there is my 15 minutes of fame.:D
 
Mike Hawke is what I liked about the show. With Bear Gyrllis, or whatever his name is, when he was in the jungle, he build a sheter, made fire, and ordered an end-table from IKEA :rolleyes:

When Hawke had just a knife he just built a swamp bed and racked out. He even explaned that, sure he knows how and, could "rub two sticks together" but in his suituaiton it would have been a waste of time and energy.

I watch Survivorman and like Les but Mike Hawke is in a whole other and better league.

I'd like to see more from Hawke.

On another note, does anyone that saw the show know what brand Hawke's machete was? This is BladeForums after all.
 
Hawke said he actually used a cheap machete he picked up in Southeast Asia because machetes frequently break or get lost and he just happened to like the style and weight, but he said the one used on the show is actually too heavy for normal use. His recommendations are Cold Steel's Kukri for woodland, their double edge machete for general survival and their heavy metal for jungle or light metal when a lot of cutting is expected. This is a part of an artical on this website. http://www.incredible-adventures.com/newsletter/newsletter037.html
 
jav200dc said:
Mike Hawke is THE best "survival expert" I've seen on these types of shows yet.
Click to expand...

Same here. That was the best episode of the series, and he knows his stuff. I watch Bear and Les, but Myke would be great on a show like that, or a DVD series.
 
I too saw the show.

does anyone know how to get in touch with mike hawke? does he have a school or a web site?

does anyone know who makes the parang machete he was using in the show? i want one.
does anyone know of a web site that would sell machetes like that one? it looked like a custom made product to me.

it was nice to see a guy who could teach and entertain at the same time. very interesting guy. i would like to get some training from him.

thanks for the help.
 
yo i found the machete that myke hawke uses on the internet after much searching... i have only found a japanese site and have had it translated through google ... but i cannot go any further on the site because the purchase page is in japanese... although i know some of the language i do not know enough to follow through with this order... i am inserting the link so the site... as i have found that some people have been interested in the machete but could not find it... if someone else knows of an english site/dealer that i can purchase this blade from please reply... thanks...
http://translate.google.com/transla...tart=30&hl=en&lr=&rls=com.netscape:en-US&sa=N
 
o and i know some have said that this place is cheap but the few sites ive seen it on it was going for around 170-200 ... on the site i just listed it is going for about that same price if u convert the yen...
 
asoul;

i salute your google fu. mine was not as strong. i concur, i think that is the one he used and not the one with the link posted above. that is about a $200 machete.

now, like you said to find the u.s. distributor.

i hope you will keep us informed. that is a sweet piece of steel.
 
Cold_Zero said:
I too saw the show.

does anyone know how to get in touch with mike hawke? does he have a school or a web site?

does anyone know who makes the parang machete he was using in the show? i want one.
does anyone know of a web site that would sell machetes like that one? it looked like a custom made product to me.

it was nice to see a guy who could teach and entertain at the same time. very interesting guy. I would like to get some training from him.

thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

ColdZero -

Here is a link for his website. this will tell you about him, and thecourses his group offers. Cereedy posted a link which will tell you about the machete.

http://www.specops.com/bio_m_hawke.htm

Cheers
 
Howdy,

I watch very little TV in general but if I have time I watch as many of the survival shows as I can, including "I Shouldn't Be Alive." My main point in watching them is to have my sons watch with me, (usually no problem with that). After the show we talk over the decision making processes the survivor/victims went through, preparation or lack there-of, proper or imporper gear and how little things in the pocket survival equipment department could have completely turned the situations around. It's a teaching tool for us at my home. Maybe some day I'll get my boys to actually start thinking.

The shows are valuable for both the good and the bad that they show. That's what makes them valuable.

It was either von Bismark or von Hindenburg who said, "A fool must learn from his own mistakes. I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others."

Whoever said it, it's bang on!

KJ. Moulton
"Conquer yourself first, all else will follow."
 
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