New TV Survival Show - Alone

With the way the show is unfolding, I think it is turning from a competition of skills to a simple stroke of luck by the winner.

In the case of Joe, I believe he's a skilled survivalist even though he lost his firesteel.

It appears that the early tap out were those who were dropped to a spot with the predator animal nearby. Unlike the others who are in a relatively safer area compared to the early tap outs, so far they have lasted up to episode #4,

So, the lucky one who got dropped in the area away from the predator animals get to stay longer (also with their skills) and greater chance of winning the competition.
 
I thought about the drop locations but I don't think that's as big a deal. No one is chained to a rock unable to move their camp.
 
Josh got his visit from the bears on the first night. He tapped out at sunrise.

Chris felt the very near presence of the wolves on the second night. He tapped out at sunrise.

Wayne got his visit from a cougar on the third night. He called to tap out before sunrise.

I believe the danger is real and without firearm how are they going to protect themselves from the predator animals? In this situation, those who have not stirred the interest of the predator animals because they're not near them got the upper-hand in this competition.

That's how I look at their situation because I'm not a hunter and knows nothing about wild animal behavior.
 
I wonder- with all the bears in the area none of these guys have made a spear or any kind of weapon. I would at least have a long pointy stick at the ready. It's better than nothing.
We don't have many bears here in Missouri, so I can't say that I wouldn't be freaked out too.
 
Monofletch said:
I wonder- with all the bears in the area none of these guys have made a spear or any kind of weapon. I would at least have a long pointy stick at the ready. It's better than nothing.
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I'd sure have some. It also gives something to do; many is the time I spent happy hours around the fire making spears and things. :)

Even if all it did for them was provide more peace of mind...they haven't been actually attacked by the animals in any episode yet; it has been the psychological effect that has done the damage.

Pretty sure they all have bear spray too.
 
I suggested a show called "All tooled up and not afraid of nuttin" but it didn't get past the pilot.
 
Danke42 said:
I suggested a show called "All tooled up and not afraid of nuttin" but it didn't get past the pilot.
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It would be a tad boring watching a guy in an armoured RV, eating steak and lobster while watching satellite television, surrounded by loaded firearms. :D
 
stabman said:
I'd sure have some. It also gives something to do; many is the time I spent happy hours around the fire making spears and things. :)

Even if all it did for them was provide more peace of mind...they haven't been actually attacked by the animals in any episode yet; it has been the psychological effect that has done the damage.

Pretty sure they all have bear spray too.
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I think the bear spray and flare is a last resort type thing. If you use it then you're out type deal.
If I knew I could use bear spray I wouldn't be as scared.
Also if you could use the one flare then Joe could have probably found a way to start fire using a flare if needed.
 
What I see is a bunch of guys who've sat under tarps for 3 days talking about their feelings.

No spears, no fire, no home made napalm. No victory.
 
Danke42 said:
What I see is a bunch of guys who've sat under tarps for 3 days talking about their feelings.

No spears, no fire, no home made napalm. No victory.
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Things can be much harder out in reality than they appear on television.

I watched the guys struggle with fire, so I went out on a flood-level rain day to see how it would go.
I had two tarps, and two people to work on things...and more than two knives, naturally. :D

It took all our effort to keep the fire going during the downpour, pretty much; we also managed to cook food, but that was it.

I had planned on doing a multi-knife review while out there, because I was going to use them all to make a bunch of spears, and see how much of a deterrent barrier we could make as well.
It turned out that there were no spears other than the two we made for cooking purposes...no spiked palisade was in the cards, despite having two people there.

I would love to see how long I could last on Alone, but that little test the other week makes it so I'm far less quick to judge my chances based on what I can see on television while in a nice dry living room with a hot cup of coffee.
 
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I caught part of the second episode yesterday at the inlaws (they have a paid streaming service) Saw the banana slug, and up to the point joe lost the firesteel. Interesting stuff, that's a big mother peli case for a couple little cameras, so my bet is that its also pretty well stocked as a survival kit, given that they might end up in an area hard to reach as far as rescue, lessons possibly learned from Les Stroud's Labrador adventure.
As for the bear spray, if they did have to use it, it would be very important for them to fully clean all of their gear, and move to a new location. pretty much a full re-set, since the traces of the OC just smell like food to bears. So I'd suspect that if they got that close to a bear and pulled the spray, that's an exit as far as competition is concerned.

The predator situation makes this much more difficult. I suspect that the guys who haven't seen a bear or cougar yet has more to do with luck that anything else, because those animals are out there. I can't say for sure that they wouldn't bother me, there is no way to know that. And maybe its because I grew up around blackbears. Of things that are going to kill me, that falls lower on the list in my mind. Its a reality of the situation that I can't at all judge, and in that high stress environment, I very well might do the same.

From the little I watched, those guys look pretty non-competitive. From the little history vid Wayne looked very confident, but also very comfortable, and I think that might have worked against him. Joe looked like he was working really hard, but I think he might have been struggling to moderate his emotions. He was very happy to find that beach, but the mistake took the wind right out of him. Can't say I blame him. I feel like the remainder are either going to have to be much hungrier for the win, or have everything go very well. Mitch seems very driven, he has a lot of focus, and that might hurt him, but its sure an advantage now. I get the need to rush for water, and he pretty much gambled it all to go for it. If he can keep his risk calculations on track, I think he's got a really good chance.
I think if a second season happens, they will have a selection of people who might not have as good of skills, but want to play the game much harder. More of the prepper-survivalist/ ex-mil sort of guys.
 
Danke42 said:
What I see is a bunch of guys who've sat under tarps for 3 days talking about their feelings.

No spears, no fire, no home made napalm. No victory.
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Actually, a lot of them did in fact make fire already. I think you also have to remember its only been 3 days and much of that time has been spent finding a suitable location to set up camp. Finding a really good spot is important because these guys are trying to be there long-term, not just for a week or two so I don't blame them for making that a priority.

I think as the show goes on and they establish their camp and shelters you will see more of what I think you are looking for. Not sure about the napalm though. But hell, Mitch already put together a make-shift plant raft and crossed some pretty frigid water which takes some major guts if you ask me.
 
jonnyt16 said:
But hell, Mitch already put together a make-shift plant raft and crossed some pretty frigid water which takes some major guts if you ask me.
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I did like the "tarp and sticks" raft. :thumbup:
I would have wasted a bunch of needless energy building some overbuilt thing that weighed a tonne.
 
stabman said:
I did like the "tarp and sticks" raft. :thumbup:
I would have wasted a bunch of needless energy building some overbuilt thing that weighed a tonne.
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Ha! I remember thinking the same thing. And most likely would have sunk myself and all my gear.
 
When Josh (police officer) tapped out after just one day, and then Chris on the third day, who said he was never more than an arms reach away from a gun outside or inside his house. I think, the experience of those two relied on their firearm to be able to do other survival tasks. They appeared weak without their firearm when the predator animals started to stalk them. Without the firearm they felt very vulnerable against the predator animals. Its a different situation from their experience where they're the predator of animals because of the firearm. Without the firearm, they instantly become the prey. I can't imagine the fear. I would be very scared in that situation.

It would be interesting to see how the other competitors responded or reacted to stalking by the predator animals. Are they just lucky to have last as long as they did because the wild animals didn't stalk they yet?

If I were to be dropped there, it would have been a quick "Hello-Bye" from me without leaving the helicopter.
 
stabman said:
I did like the "tarp and sticks" raft. :thumbup:
I would have wasted a bunch of needless energy building some overbuilt thing that weighed a tonne.
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I've built a big one of those before. A pro tip is to have a friend along to ride on it during sea trials.
 
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