Saw Survivorman last night

Hi. I’m Bear Grylls and I survived in some wild places, but I always was missing an essential survival item. That is why I designed the All-In-One Survival Kit 3000. And now, you can get my brilliant kit for only $24.95.

I wish I had this kit when I was sleeping in a lion’s cave while my camera crew watched me. It has over 100 items, and they are all stored in the handle of this super lightweight aluminum knife. The blade also doubles as an emergency whistle. I bloody thought of everything. And it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, this is the right kit for you. Whether you are in the tropics or the arctic, the desert or the jungle or the open sea. This is the only survival kit you will ever need.

So call right now and you too can start surviving in the wild just like me, Bear Grylls.

But wait, call right now and I will send you two kits for the price of one. So call now!
 
I have not watched the show - but I think if he got dropped off in the woods with a survival tin - it would indeed be pretty boring. "Here I am survivng pretty well!"

The reality is that the majority of people die before 72 hours because they cannot start fire, find water, or perform emergency medicine.

Think about it in this fashion. A day hiker gets lost - the weather is getting really cold. He whips the lense off his SLR camera and makes fire ("I saw this on Survivor Man") - and saves his ass until he can see the light the next day and find a road.

I think that is what they are shooting for. I know you and I think it is common sense to crank out a bow drill fire - most people are screwed WITH a Lighter and Gas in the woods trying to start a fire.

TF
 
For those that missed Survivorman's Disclaimer that shows before every episode:

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Man vs. Wild does not have one, but as someone else said Bear always says something about not trying some stunt before he does it. (Specifically when he does any kind of freeclimbing.)
 
nemoaz said:
Where is the 10% education in Moron vs. Wild? I only saw three episodes before I quit watching. Didn't see ONE SINGLE THING that was educational. EDIT: That drinking from the jungle stream then vomitting violently all night scene and the drink the elephant dung then mention that you have diarrhea scene were useful in illustrating why you don't drink questionable water without treating it in some way. I found myself rooting against the guy. I did find myself a little let down that our pretend SAS trooper wasn't eaten while napping in the lion's den beside the water buffalo bones. Or that he didn't snap an ankle while rapelling on grapevines and have to limp out. I know that's wrong of me.
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So, it's education in reverse, then! ;)
 
GibsonFan said:
My biggest annoyance with Les is, he's a little too new age/touchy feely about killing things. If it had been me in the episode where he had the rifle for polar bear defense, there would have been one less caribou wandering around and one well-fed survivor with a new fur cloak;)
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Totally agree with that, in the scene where he's hiding on the wild pig in the desert, I would have been leaping on top of it with a big spear, then roasting it on the same stick that killed it.
 
Liam Ryan said:
in the scene where he's hiding on the wild pig in the desert, I would have been leaping on top of it with a big spear, then roasting it on the same stick that killed it.
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I have hunted pigs all my life, ferals and javelina, which is what Les saw. I would pay to watch you jump on ones back with a sharpened stick, not saying you wouldn't kill it, but without catch dogs I think it would be entertaining to watch.:D

I am sure that the majority of people that watch the discovery channel are not hunters, and Les has to play to his audience. Chris
 
You know, after deer hunting and small game of all kind, I think i wanna try hog hunting sometime, that would be quite the thrill :D
 
always wanted to try hog hunting myself....Don't know if I have the right firearms though.....Guess I'll have to buy another
 
Fonly said:
You know, after deer hunting and small game of all kind, I think i wanna try hog hunting sometime, that would be quite the thrill :D
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It isn't really, they are very over rated for their ferocity, a lot of the good ole boys where I am from in GA use dogs and catch the hogs alive, castrate, and fatten them up in a pen before slaughtering. If you ever make it down south let me know and I will take you hog hunting, I like it better than deer hunting
you don't have to sit in a stand and it might be safer because of that fact. Chris
 
that would be great, I gotta say though, stands suck! haha, honestly though, I love a nice long walk through the woods, on a winter day, snow crunching under your feet.

But that would be great, may just take you up on that :D
 
For the most part, you don't hear about the lost hiker that has all the tools and equipment to survive. If they are smart enough to pack all the correct survival items, generally they are smart enough not to get themselves in a bad predicament. If someone was able to do a research on all LOST victims, I would assume that most would have just the clothes on their back, no water container, no knife, no signaling apparatuses, and if they are found they generally say "I have been wondering around for days". Instead of hunkering down once they realize they are lost and waiting for help.
Just had a board meeting at our local archery club and the Boy Scout leaders were there to discuss using our park for some outings. I asked them about this last boy that went missing. They told me that they stress stay put if you become lost. I asked them, have you ever demonstrated how this works. They told me "no" we just tell them. In order to teach or train an individual on how some thing works you have to physically show them. The Scouts are getting soft in their ways of training.

Just my .02
 
Tony Turner said:
For the most part, you don't hear about the lost hiker that has all the tools and equipment to survive. If they are smart enough to pack all the correct survival items, generally they are smart enough not to get themselves in a bad predicament. If someone was able to do a research on all LOST victims, I would assume that most would have just the clothes on their back, no water container, no knife, no signaling apparatuses, and if they are found they generally say "I have been wondering around for days". Instead of hunkering down once they realize they are lost and waiting for help.
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Something tells me that the yahoo who would get lost without any gear whatsoever is not exactly the type of person watching SurvivorMan. And, if they are, they'll probably remember just enough to really get themselves into trouble. I could be wrong tho. It happened once before. :D


Tony Turner said:
Just had a board meeting at our local archery club and the Boy Scout leaders were there to discuss using our park for some outings. I asked them about this last boy that went missing. They told me that they stress stay put if you become lost. I asked them, have you ever demonstrated how this works. They told me "no" we just tell them. In order to teach or train an individual on how some thing works you have to physically show them. The Scouts are getting soft in their ways of training.
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I concur. My understanding is the the boyscouts don't even let the scouts carry knives anymore. Obviously this is probably different from troop to troop, but nevertheless I suspect there's some truth to this.

Also, I have a friend who has a daughter in girl scouts. His wife volunteers on their campouts so she had to go for "training." I'm told the girl scouts told her to get a knife that had to (1) be a folder and (2) not lock. That was her only instruction. Naturally she went out and bought a $14 special from Big Five Camping Supplies. (This was before I found out she was in the market -- I would have at least steered her towards a SAK). Anyway, not a good sign in my book.

I also have daughters in girl scouts. I'm debating whether I should volunteer for their camping trips. On the one hand, I'm not sure I trust the girl scouts with my daughters in the wilderness, if all they're going to be carrying are $14 el cheapos from Big 5. On the other, I don't think they'd welcome my fixed blade(s) on their outings.

My girls are still quite young, so at the moment I'm working on overcoming the GS' bad vibes by training my kids myself, but it's slow going. Hard to teach wilderness skills when the nearest real wilderness is 5 hours away.
 
First, BSA does still allow and encourage the use and carrying of pocketknives in Cub and Boys Scouts (Provided they have "earned" the right to), and Boy Scouts still teach knife, axe, and saw safety. I would agree that this would vary from troop to troop. BSA has pretty much discouraged the use and carrying of fixed blade knives, however.

As far as SurvivorMan goes, Les puts himself in a situation that for-the-most-part, any normal person might find themselves in; Mtn biking, dirt bike riding, a simple hike. Then what happens when things go wrong? Now you and I might have the makings of a good PSK, but alot of "outdoorspeople" might not. (I have personally witnessed people climbing MT. Monadnock in flip flops, or with no jacket of any kind, no water, etc., so it does not surprise me to see people end up out in the wild without gear.)

Bear's show is like "extreme survival" to me, jumping out of planes, and climbing up waterfalls. It is not realistic to me, but it is entertaining.

The one thing that people don't bring up alot when comparing the 2 shows: Bear has a film crew with him, and Les has nobody. Les has to haul his own camera gear and set up all his shots. Also, I would like to think that it is a huge Psychological advantage having companionship when in a situation like that. Even if they are not helping in any way, just having them there with you is a big morale boost. Les has nobody to talk to but the camera. IMO, that makes it more realistic for me.

Either of the shows are better than watching most of the junk that is on nowadays...

Glenn
 
bulgron said:
I've never seen this show before. I know a lot of ink has been spilled on this site about shows like this, but I just want to shout out a big complaint to you all. As a result of the time I've spent on this forum, I simply couldn't sit back and enjoy watching Les wander about the Rockies.

Couldn't get past the idea that you'd have to be a raging idiot to be in the position that Les put himself into. Basically, he had a helicopter drop him off at the top of a mountain and he had to get down. At one point he says that this "simulates heliohiking gone bad."

He had no way to make a fire and no emergency shelter on him. But he DID have a backpack, a video camera that he beat up for the lense so as to make fire, and quite a lot of cold weather clothing. Oh, and a multitool.

Uhhh.... Dude.

Let me see if I've got this straight; there's people out there who allow themselves to be dropped off on the top of a mountain without:

- A couple of ways to make a fire.
- Emergency shelter. (Siltarps cost ~$60, and an 8' x 6' section weighs all of 7 oz
- Some high energy snacks (cliffbars, etc)
- No compass or GPS
- No maps.
- No ropes.
- At least a neck knife or a small fixed blade.
- A first aid kit
- A tin in which to boil water.

Let me see, in order to be minimally prepared, you'd have to spend maybe $100 and add what? 2lbs to your load? If that?

Um, right.

My biggest complaint with these shows is they don't say, "Look, I'm doing this just for entertainment purposes. This is what you really SHOULD be carrying if you ever let a helicopter drop you off on top of a mountain."

Before reading this forum, I never would have allowed myself to go into the wilderness without the minimal gear anyway. But after spending time around here, shows like survivorman just look dumber and dumber to me.

I try to suspend my sense of disbelief and simply enjoy them for what they are. But I can't shake this nagging feeling that there's a city boy with more money than sense somewhere eating this stuff up.

I really think Les (and Bear) need to stop from time to time and say, "Look, really, this is sheer lunacy. You really want to carry a few more things than this when you head out into the wilderness."

I mean, where is the episode where they build the PSK that you hang around your neck and off of your belt and put in your pockets?
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I agree. i have watched maybe too many of these shows and they are fun to watch. but they do seem to throw common sense out the window.

these shows are not the best way to get survival ideas.

there are so many web sites and many books & manuals today that have better information on the subject.

i will still watch these shows but only with entertainment in mind.
 
bulgron said:
\
I concur. My understanding is the the boyscouts don't even let the scouts carry knives anymore. Obviously this is probably different from troop to troop, but nevertheless I suspect there's some truth to this.

Also, I have a friend who has a daughter in girl scouts. His wife volunteers on their campouts so she had to go for "training." I'm told the girl scouts told her to get a knife that had to (1) be a folder and (2) not lock. That was her only instruction. Naturally she went out and bought a $14 special from Big Five Camping Supplies. (This was before I found out she was in the market -- I would have at least steered her towards a SAK). Anyway, not a good sign in my book.

I also have daughters in girl scouts. I'm debating whether I should volunteer for their camping trips. On the one hand, I'm not sure I trust the girl scouts with my daughters in the wilderness, if all they're going to be carrying are $14 el cheapos from Big 5. On the other, I don't think they'd welcome my fixed blade(s) on their outings.

My girls are still quite young, so at the moment I'm working on overcoming the GS' bad vibes by training my kids myself, but it's slow going. Hard to teach wilderness skills when the nearest real wilderness is 5 hours away.
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i was a scout and i don't know what happen to them.

sorry to hear you are not near the wilderness, I've been spoiled all my life in living near and now in the wilderness.

i raised my children with wilderness skills and is a very good bonding experience.

i hope you can get the time to get out with your children to teach them the outdoor skills that will serve them all through life. time goes by too fast so don't think about too long. i think they will learn these skills better from their dad than someone else.
 
For what it's worth, man has evolved from club handling cavemen to what we are now, but when we really think about it we are still quite nieve. A lot of people will take things literally and believe what they see or hear, while not assurting their own logical thoughts (eg. cults).

I believe what Les is showing us is very possible for tourists or people who flies regularly in a single engine prop plane and the worst thing happened. There is a real chance that they're not equipped with the right tools or most things were lost in the crash.

Even when there is a pre-schedule trip, there is always a chance search parties will not find you. Remember there was an incident in northwest mountains 7 hikers were lost and only 4 was found (forgot which state they were in)? Even then, I believed the hikers do have sort of fire making device, map, knives, power bars, etc., and 4 of them barely made it out and 3 died.

P.S. I made this post after only reading the first page.
 
re: Les Stroud's philosophical reluctance to kill game

runningboar said:
I am sure that the majority of people that watch the discovery channel are not hunters, and Les has to play to his audience. Chris
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You're probably right about Discovery Channel's demographic. But, I get the impression that's Les's personal feeling, not that he's playing to the audience, and I respect that. He makes a point of only taking what he needs from his surroundings; that's highly commendable, too. I don't think there's much, if any, BS in the man.
 
Buck268 said:
I agree completely. Not the 100% best show I've ever seen, but heads and shoulders above most of the other garbage.
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Yes, I have been a little snide about this show also, in the past, calling it "survivorham" etc. But, the show is miles beyond the prefab pseudo reality "survivor Island" garbage in TV land. He is really out there being scared, lonely, cold, hungry, bitten, wet etc and usually adapting to the situation. If he fails a task he is usually humble enough to admit it. I think that there is a lot more real about Les, than phoney. He may not be everything for everyone, but I lean more towards him than away from him these days.
 
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