Just finishing up the third episode and am about halfway through the comments but I thought I would share my thoughts on the show so far.
I don't think the suggestions to not judge anyone are very helpful. This is a unique experiment, basically an anthropological study of bushcraft and survival, so critical or even harsh comments may be just as useful as any other. We've all seen the comments on youtube channels and know about the trolling everywhere online, so given that these people are youtube bushcrafters selected for having online status they knew what they were getting into and probably shouldn't have gone on a show like this if they were worried about their egos. That's not to say trolling is acceptable, just that we should try to learn from this experiment and all of the comments made about it.
It is pretty clear that several individuals did not think the experiment through very well. Attacked by a dog as a kid and going to live in wolf territory? Never camped alone nor practised survival skills in bear country? Did not anticipate severe weather or wildlife encounters for a long-term camping/survival situation? These are basic aspects of common sense for anyone with experience, which leads me to believe they either had a poor selection process, wanted some drama from obvious failures, or these people boasted about their skills/willingness. The show characterises these people as "Trained Survival Experts" which also contributes to the feeling that something is not right. They should not have that tag on the show.
Don't get me wrong, I'm really liking the show and think it's a perfect concept. It's just that these people are not even close to being experts for the most part. A lot of them are weekend warriors (no offense intended with that term, it can be difficult today for some to get time off to go camping) and only three of them could be considered close to expert level in some of the skills (clearly they don't have the wide-ranging skillset of the experts either). I'd say Wayne, Lucas, and Mitch have the best skillset, and Mitch is really the only one close to having an expert mindset.
I also see that one of the individuals criticises the usefulness of the axe even though he lives in the Boreal. This and the fact he acted as though he never encountered a bear before, even when living in bear country, makes me question his knowledge and how much time he's actually spent in the woods. Another uses the edge of his axe to strike his ferro rod (from youtube instructionals). And Lucas goes into this location thinking he will build a log cabin, which is a 6,000-10,000 calorie a day activity. I think he has the best skills of all of them by quite a bit, but that attempt shows either a lack of knowledge or limited time practising these skills alone in the woods (which is very different from on the farm or in a skills commune).
I think this is an important consideration because it shows how lacking the focus on skills really is. Very few of them have the mindset, or the survival mentality, and on a similar series set in Alaska it was the same thing, people with the survival/bushcraft skills actually dropped out before the average joes. This makes me think of how camping has become. People don't like to hear this, but the vast majority of bushcrafters are dayhikers and amateur gear reviewers. Most trips are simply overnights or weekend trips. A very small percentage go regularly for more than a week let alone a month, and it was just 50 years ago when anything under a month wouldn't even be considered real camping.
People may see that as harsh or overly critical of the participants/bushcrafters. But I'm just trying to make an important point. Humans have become mentally very weak here in the Western world, it's not just the bushcrafters, and if we compared one of the individuals from 50-100 years ago with a low skillset to one of the bushcrafters from today it should be obvious who would win this competition. The mental fortitude of an old-timer would win out over all the fancy skills easily, and as we are seeing these skills actually seem to contribute to a feeling of overconfidence which can result in extreme drops in mental positivity/neutrality. In fact, it suggests to me that a lot of average people who live in rural areas would most likely do better than some of the bushcrafters selected for this show.
The fact that most of these people are crying about their families after four days, just an average camping trip, really suggests a lack of experience.
Again, don't get me wrong. I've camped out in cities where the rumbling of trucks makes it near impossible to sleep and then gone into isolated areas where the change to silence can near drive you mad, so I know how difficult a situation like this can be. And I absolutely hate permanent soaked conditions like they are in, so I sympathise with the difficulty. I just think there is a lot to be learned from this, so I'm thinking everything over.
I think the guy from Georgia is the best bet as he has a bit of an old-timer mentality. Or whatever they call them there, rednecks?
I was pretty disappointed in Joe. It was a bad mistake and then he just gave up. I mean, he didn't even try. He had a fire, an O1 knife, and an axe. He could very easily have kept the fire going. Really, in a situation like this keeping your mind occupied is crucial, so gathering firewood and staring into the fire is one of the best things to do anyway. I have no idea why they are thinking about having all these splitwood fires. Once you get the fire going, keep it going unless you're in a dry situation where a forest fire is possible. A splitwood fire for boiling water takes just as much effort as keeping a fire going. Get your wood, dry it out, build something to protect it. You have an axe, build a longfire and it's going to dry out a lot of area around your camp. If you really know how to use that axe you can do the work in a couple of hours.
Otherwise he could have resorted to tinder fungus. At worst he could have still tried to get fires going with a spark and some balsam resin (nature's gasoline), old man's beard, and fatwood. Heck, if you really wanted to do this you could build a water filter quite easily with moss, sand, and charcoal. Lots of options, and it was a great opportunity to learn, even if he could only hold out a few days or a week.
Wayne's bear encounter was quite unclear. Did he run? Seemed like it to me, which could have provoked an attack but in this case only seemed to get the bear to follow him into camp. I don't understand wallowing in fear. He had bear spray and a flare so why not at least try it? Bear spray will work. Even a flare should work. Being from New Brunswick where there are a lot of old-timers still around I don't feel like he has nearly as much experience as the show lets on.
I think making a spear and bear bat should have been priority here as well. Did none of these people read Kochanski before going into bear country? Because they sure do not have any bear country experience. Spears are crucial for defending a shelter, a knife is no substitute. And the bear bat could also be used as a throwing stick for small game - dual-purpose.
I question why one person brought a hatchet for long term survival, pretty useless. I'd also question the forest axe. Taking three tarps or four cutting tools also seemed a bit silly. Given the tarp as a free 11th item I'd certainly be taking a bible or some other favoured book. After a week or so, just reading a passage could lift your spirits for some time. Entertainment is crucial in tough weather by yourself. But perhaps such an item was disallowed.
The conditions are extremely difficult and I am unfamiliar with the area, but I find it hard to believe that they could not find a suitable camp location given a whole day to set up. Fire or shelter is priority depending on the situation and I didn't really see either from most of them until the second day. The first day is when they could afford to use some energy (they could hydrate and bulk up before this, which only makes sense when going into the woods) and getting a proper fire and shelter in this situation was crucial. Many have started off so bad largely because of that first day with poor shelter and no fire.
The bow and arrows seemed like a poor choice as well. I don't think any of them are actually experienced hunters, so it seemed like a wasted item. A slingshot or rat trap would be much better without bow-hunting experience.
I hope that doesn't come across as disrespectful of them, I'm just trying to learn from this and offer up some thoughts. It really does take guts to go out there and put your skills to the test, especially with everyone being able to watch you and criticise your every mistake from a safe spot.
Anyone know what time of year this was filmed? Starting in difficult wet conditions is probably not the best idea.
And any idea what Mitch used to start his fire? Definitely looks like spruce, and around here that is king for making fire in the wet. It's not quite as bad as Vancouver here, but can be close certain times of the year.
Anyway, I look forward to reading all of your comments and learning from this show. Hopefully all the guys learned a lot as well.
(I don't know of many thing to eat...)