He was in a UK "territorial" unit, The Artist Rifles. A comparable U.S. unit would be a National Guard unit before 9/11. The Artist Rifles have an SAS theme - train part-time (about 27 days a year) for SAS missions. They are not the SAS. Most of his hitch was spent on medical leave because he seriously injured himself during training. (no surprise). What "resume"? What "experience"? He is not taken seriously by bushcrafters in the UK and is willing to demonstrate absolutely looney behavior for its entertainment value.
Les every time (even if he goes to sleep with fires burning inside brush shelters).
OK let's get a few things straight:
1] All these shows have crazy margins of safety, even Les definitely has a big 'ol SAT phone in his pack. So while he's 'surviving', he's not in a 'survival situation'. Dislocated shoulder: boom heli will be there in 10 minutes ... unlike me having to hike out 2.5 hours and then drive an hour to a hospital with a dislocated shoulder [last fall] - good times. Les has a big entourage too, they're just not right there with him.
During the episode in Northern Ontario when he had to be rescued b/c the ice was melting, they had lots of people and a mountain of gear ... two helos ... etc.
2] Survivorman is DEFINITELY the better survival show. Les actually teaches his viewers how to 'survive' ... "this is how you make a snare" ... "this is how you skin a rabbit..." etc. Bear Grylls doesn't really cover this in detail or does it so quickly we don't see the process. Bear [in the name of showmanship] also feeds a lot of bad advice and does a lot of stupid crap [especially around cliffs and waterfalls] - in a survival situation, when you're scared, malnourished, tired and sick, you should ALWAYS take the safe route. Climbing down slippery waterfalls and shit is just going to end in tragedy. Keep in mind these two programs are targeted at different types of people: Survivorman is really only going to appeal to outdoor types, like those who frequent this forum; MvW is geared towards a much broader audience: it's fast-paced, entertaining etc ... and my wife can actually sit through an entire episode. MvW is about showmanship and entertainment value and is filmed just like any other program: in segments. Survivorman is unique in that it's mostly filmed entirely by Les.
3] MvW is definitely less hardcore than Survivorman, but Bear is still a hardcore dude and doesn't deserve the 'he's a joke or a farce" monikers. As for his outdoor resume: 1] He's climbed Everest. The standard route up Everest certainly isn't the hardest on earth, but it's the highest and would make 5 marathons back to back seem like a complete joke. There's no rescues high-up on Everest. Surviving for 7 days anywhere doesn't even come close to the kind of pain and risks one assumes climbing 8000 metre peaks. He's done several other crazy expeditions as well. 2] Obviously has superb mountaineering/climbing skills and comfort dealing with heights and parachuting. 3] Wikipedia makes no mention of "The Artist Rifles" they say Special Forces SAS[Reserve]. I'm not an expert on military assets, but I don't believe the National Guard is considered a 'Special Forces' team. The article mentions that he was a survival instructor [for SAS] and a medic. If the military is asking him to teach survival skills, I would hope he's qualified. He passed the special forces selection [obviously], which I'm sure is probably pretty tough; you must be of a certain aptitude, intelligence, judgement and must exhibit strong physical ability. 4] Has a black belt, studies ninjutsu etc. 5] Speaks three languages ... etc etc.
Anyway ... the two shows are apples to oranges. One [Surviorman] is more realistic/hardcore than the other [MvW]. I think Bear is the fall guy for how a network chooses to film a program. Being a good survivor isn't just about your bushcraft abilities, knowledge or how well you absorbed the SAS Survival Handbook, it's also about: 1] mental tenacity; 2] strong physical fitness; 3] age; 4] resourcefulness; and 5] judgement. Practice, practice, practice ... TV shows omit a lot, read, ask questions, take courses, and practice whenever you can.
On a side note, if any of you want to see an very good 'survival' movie watch "Touching the Void" - now that's insanely hardcore. Talk about will to live.
