Survivorman

skammer said:
He comes across as learning this stuff yesterday and with little confidence in what he is saying.
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He actually states this at times, as in he tries a technique which he has never used before, it fails. The worst I have seen him do in this regard is when he used a multiple signal fire approach, found it too hard, then noted he had taught it before without ever trying it out and realizing that it was impractical due to difficulty. You teach survival, would you ever consider advising people on techniques/methods without fully exploring them first.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
He actually states this at times, as in he tries a technique which he has never used before, it fails. The worst I have seen him do in this regard is when he used a multiple signal fire approach, found it too hard, then noted he had taught it before without ever trying it out and realizing that it was impractical due to difficulty. You teach survival, would you ever consider advising people on techniques/methods without fully exploring them first.

-Cliff
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Cliff,

I remember laughing at that one myself.
If I learned one thing about teaching people it is this. NEVER EVER attempt to teach anything until you have the concept down second nature. Sure as s hit someone will pick up on it and beat you to death with it.
People will forgive you for not knowing something by admission but will crucify you for trying to bullshi t your way through it. ;)
It does nothing for your credibility or your livelyhood and bad news travels fast. This thread a perfect example.

People want and pay good money for "know it all" expertise not some bumbling dumb as s learning as he tries to teach.

Skam
 
Ok guys Les drank from a puddle of water that COULD have parities and diseases, SO! If I was mountain biking and got lost I would die of dehydration long before I would have a problem with illnesses! One more thing to add Survivorman is a great show to learn and to be entertaned.
 
My favourite was when he tried sealhunting and lasted about a half hour doing it. This is a lifetime skill that only a few talented people are good at. I don't think Stroud tried sealhunting because he didn't know better, I think part of what he wanted was the experience and at the same time show the viewers how involved it is, and how it can't be learned in a half hour even from an expert.
 
cheung_victor said:
Ok guys Les drank from a puddle of water that COULD have parities and diseases, SO! If I was mountain biking and got lost I would die of dehydration long before I would have a problem with illnesses! One more thing to add Survivorman is a great show to learn and to be entertaned.
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For the uneducated he may seem a great source of information. He is not.

The amount of errors and condradiction on his show is shamefull.

If you have the means to purify your water why not? He did/does and didn't on this show at least. Setting bad examples and not explaining seems to be a theme on his show.

Not only that he grates on your nerves after the 4 show, the whining :mad: and the great "food energy" gains after eating an ant drives me. :rolleyes:

Like I figured the lamen love him, hes at their level.

Skam
 
cheung_victor said:
If I was mountain biking and got lost I would die of dehydration long before I would have a problem with illnesses!
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Thus he has taught people that you don't need to purify water because dehydration will kill you before parasites/disease. Yes, that is a great lesson I am sure you will find others like Davenport in 100% agreement with. Especially when you have a fire running in the background.

-Cliff
 
I still think some people are misinterpreted the show. The show is for hikers, hunters, backpackers who get lost in the wilderness. It is NOT for survival experts. I remember when I got lost on a hiking outing with only my day pack. The trail we were suppose to go on was flagged everywhere with flagging tape I am suspecting from hunters in the fall. Well to make a long story short, it was only a day hike. I had my SAK, matches, jacket etc but we ran out of water in the warm spring day and I hiked around for about 8 hours without a drop of water - I only brought water for the supposedly 4 hour trail - about 2 litres, my standard I bring on every hike. Well needless to stay, I felt lucky to get out about 15 hours of wondering in circles but it made me think. I have never been lost before and even with a fire, it would have been very difficult to boil water without a metal cup or pot. Plus, when I go out into the wilderness, I always carry a stove, pot, tent, etc so I do not have to make a shelter or hunt for food. I believe it is environmentally more friendly that way.

If I fell into the water and lost my gear and only had my knife, I would be in the same "do not know what to do" situation. Everything would be new knowledge to me since I have never made my intention to hack my own shelter from a oversized blade. I would probably drink from standing water if I was lost from many days. Beats dying on the spot.

And for those "be prepared for everything people", I use to be one until I discovered that planning ahead and lighting up your load is like finding Nirvana. When I lightened up load, I could hike an 22 km trail in 4 hours unless I am with a person that carries 3 knives, 4 pots, and and a gun. Then I can only travel about 8 kilometres while grinding my teeth all the way! :mad:

So how can you boild water with a fire but without a metal cup? Les did show us to use hot rocks in a hat. What are the other ways?
 
I would have thought that he would have shown a proven way to light a fire using his rifle rather than the trail/error method he did, thus wasting a round.

Almost had me waiting for the polar bear to show up.... :eek:

Also, the sleeping under the glacial overhang sure didn't seem to smart to me.....but what do I know, I'm just a dumb hick from Ahia... :rolleyes:
 
wildstar said:
I still think some people are misinterpreted the show. The show is for hikers, hunters, backpackers who get lost in the wilderness. It is NOT for survival experts.
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The show is to educate. It has failed in that department. It has nothing to do with survival experts. The fact people who understand survival are in agreement about the shows extreme shortcommings should be red flags for everyone else.

It is to survival as the A Team was to small mercenary units.
For entertainment purposes only.

Skam
 
wildstar said:
It is NOT for survival experts.
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It isn't that there are better/more efficient ways and that people with experience would do things differently, it is that several of the things he does are outright dangerous. Even if you are aiming to teach someone with no experience at all, you don't send them down that path.

Yes a lot of what he says is useful, as I noted he does a lot of decent fire and shelter making, though I agree with Skammar he puts them too close together, he even set his shelter on fire once because of it. He learned nothing from that though and still does it.

However if you teach somebody even one thing that gets them killed you have a problem. Plus his entire mindset is dangerous and wrong. Talk to someone like Davenport and you quickly note that a proper mindset is critical and whining about difficulty doesn't help.

-Cliff
 
Well Skam if you were in a wilderness survival situation what would you do?
Would you do everything right, this man is filming him self and trying to survive. If you think his ways are bad why does he stay alive for though 7 days? He is staying alive for thoughs 7 days not for 30 so he most not worry about next mouth but next day.
 
Wow, after reading this thread, I'm even more pleased that I don't have cable or satellite television. I appreciate the input, advice and opinions here on BF. The combination of this, reading and good ol' fashion trying different methods is what I depend on for education. Although I would like to try a course or two at Earthwalk NorthWest.
Obviously, I have not seen this "Survivorman", but, after watching anything on personal survival, wouldn't you try it for yourself as to better judge? Good sense and practice go a long way, but it sounds like "Survivorman" doesn't have much of either. ;)
 
cheung_victor said:
Well Skam if you were in a wilderness survival situation what would you do?
Would you do everything right, this man is filming him self and trying to survive. If you think his ways are bad why does he stay alive for though 7 days? He is staying alive for thoughs 7 days not for 30 so he most not worry about next mouth but next day.
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Not that I feel the need to defend myself against a high school troll but:

If I were teaching on TV I would not be in his survival situation to begin with. I would have a proper crew and script it all out to show how things are done properly without having to worry about camera placement and batteries and lighting. Get on with the job of teaching survival not film making. ;)

He is not trying to survive. :rolleyes: He is not in a survival situation, he is one sat phone call away from a pickup. If he were in a real situation he wouldn't be doing the dumb stuff he is doing, like taking chances with water and fire etc......... I hope ;) . He spends more time fussing around with his camera than teaching.

This is really boring me now :yawn: .
I have seen the whole series and the out take show (which really proves he is out for ratings and not to educate). I believe in my heart Davenport or Hood would never get messed up with such a production as this.

Skam
 
skammer said:
I would have a proper crew and script it all out ...
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There are monetary considerations here, he produces the show, it is on OLN, not CBS, and he needs some kind of "hook" to get it on TV which is where the "one man stranded" likely comes from. I think the general idea is decent enough, just don't illustrate poor behavior, it is easy to think that someone watching this in an actual survivial situation would think "Well it didn't kill Les, and damn I am tired so screw it."

-Cliff
 
They have his show on the discovery science channel in this area. Two of his episodes were watched and I couldn't believe a lot of what he was saying and doing. Like in the second show when he picked up a mushroom, said that he hoped it was the edible mushroom he thought it was, told the folks at home that a mistake with mushrooms will get you killed and then promptly ate it. Was he going to show the folks at home how quickly it took to kill him, if it was in fact poisonous? Of course he knew it wasn't, but the average hunter doesn't know and not everybody has built in common sense. They see a similar mushroom and scarf it down, it could kill them in a relatively short time. Certainly not time enough to get out or even wait for the chopper they just called in. He has some good information to share, but as a survival mentor, he leaves a lot to be desired in my book.
 
just to tell you Skam i've been on many survival courses and one solo with the DND/Cadets so i'm not just talking about something newto me.
 
I enjoy the show myself, although I don't like his little speaches when he kills something.
I like that he doesn't take himself to seriously and he will show you when he makes a mistake.
He is by himself looking not only after himself but about 50 lbs of camera gear.
I personally don't know anyone who watches this show and thinks this is the way to learn servival skills. In most cases he shows stuff that the average guy could do, and some of it is inovative.
If I wanted to watch a detailed survival school type program, I would watch something else but I don't think this is how the show presents it's self.
Also as far as him having no skill he and his wife did survive for 1 year in northern Ontario using only primitive equipment.
He's not a dummy and in one of the episodes where he was staying in a canyon he did leave earlier then the 7 days and he admitted that he was leaving because he didn't think he could last the whole week.
I enjoy it but I don't take it to seriously
 
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