"Survivor Man"

[Uncle_Alvah]

I think thats the name of the show on Discovery.
Discovery Channel usually has some great stuff, but not this time.
The dink in the program could not, in my opinion, last very long in a real survival situation.
I think the whole thing is faked!

[edward_4576]

Definitely staged. It seems to me that the show is aimed for those who haven't really thought to much on the subject on preparedness. Heck I don't think there's a single person on this site that doesn't have at least some level of preparedness.

In some instances it's like all he does is start a fire, find something to drink and waits till the seven days is up. I would definitely like to see something on the order of two weeks.

[FN64]

I've watched several of his shows & yes he might be better off in a survival situation than some but there's also a lot of info he puts out that could get someone killed or drastically ill.

It's entertaining and the scenery is nice but I wouldn't put all faith in his info.

Check this site..
http://www.m4040.com/Survival/Survival.htm

FN

[Nickathome]

I personally prefer to watch that limey guy on the show called "Man vs Wild"... He's much more entertaining and seems more intuned on how to actually survive a stranding, than just how to turn a car or bicycle into the sum of its parts, like that other clown. I think Man vs Wild dude is an ex- special forces soldier, so you know they know a thing or two about making it out there.

One thing you have to realize though between both these shows is ,its a TV show first. Of course there's gonna be the entertainment factor. Without that who'd watch. Secondly, in a real survival situation its a whole different ballgame. There's no telling what anyone thrust into a scenario would really do.

I can say that I have gotten some interesting tidbits from both shows, some I knew of, a few I didn't. So to take it with a grain of salt I see nothing wrong with these shows. *I had to laugh though the time Man vs Wild guy squeezed the juice from an elephant turd to quench his thrist. I'd have to be really fu*ked up to wanna do that. Think I'd seriously consider drinking my own urine first!!!!!! :P *

[hunter63]

Actually I watch "Survivor", better scenery.

Still amazed after all these years, that no one has ever made fire unless they had the magnesium strike stick!
Didn't they watch the old ones?

Anyway it's just entertainment, and somebody is making a good buck at it, wish I would have thought of it.

[Jeff]

I think if either one of those two TV guys would do OK if they got stranded in the woods for a couple weeks. It's possible they wouldn't live, but I think they'd have a decent shot at it.

However, most electricity-dependent, couch-potato, anti-nature people (which covers almost all Americans) would be sadly up a creek in a "stranded situation."

Recently a highly educated and intelligent city man became stranded in the Oregon wilderness (not real wilderness though, it was a logging road). He didn't last 10 days.

It can pay off well to know a couple of wilderness tricks, just in case.

[Uncle_Alvah]

would be sadly up a creek in a "stranded situation."


They figure theres a store they can go to!!!!!
:P
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/UncleAlvah1/paddle.jpg

[hunter63]

LOL
Gotta love it.
Thanks for the grin!

[RangerRick]

Strictly Joe Hollywood. My 6 year old grand son could give him pointers but hey, it's better than watchin Monk.

Rick

[bigriks300]

I think most of those shows are interesting and at least they are truthful as to what effort it can take to make a fire with a bow. However, of what good is it to watch the man v wild guy climb a rock face?? I'm in pretty good shape but I don't know the first thing about climbing a rock face and it would be dumb as shit to try it.

Where's the show(s) for that silly couple that decides to just "take a walk in the woods" but get lost?? How do they survive? They aren't going to be able, in most cases, to swim a half mile across a freezing cold lake. They aren't going to be able to scale a mountain and they certainly won't be able to magically "find" their way out when they can't even backtrack the way they came in in the first place.

While the shows are interesting to those that carry a pocket knife at all times the shows are a tad bit on the "hollywood magic" side of reality.

I want a show that takes a beer belly couch potato, his "oohh, ick, a bug" wife, and his thumb calloused from to much video game playing, lazy ass kids, and drop them off in the middle of know where with a knife, hatchet and the best of luck. Now that would be entertaining.

[Archangel]

Three Days and they die; show over. Just my 2-Cents Michael

[ArmySGT.]

I am just the opposite. I think Les Stroud "Survivor Man" is many time more knowledgeable than Bear on Man vs. Wild.

Les Stroud's general message is to stop. Evaluate your situation. Secure warmth and shelter. Seek out water and boil it. Stay put wait for rescue or when better prepared self rescue. Not all that bad advice for folks that hardly leave pavement.

Bear....... Well everybody remembers the run through the woods at night from a bear abandoning camp. The jump from a cliff into white water, also known as the mysteriously appearing life vest scene. The building a fire scene where the are sticks, camera looks away, there's fire.

Les Stroud goes out seven days with three cameras. Improvises tools, sets snares (the mouse in the desert, the rabbit in the B.C wilderness.

Bear goes out with a Camera crew for 3 days...........

I would rather listen to the Canadian.

*edited* I forgot to add Bear and the whole elephant poop for drinking water scene.

[Mac_Muz]

LOL, I thought it was my eyes, you mean to say they cut away the camera every time the want fire?

[creekside-angie]

I've seen both of those shows and also the one called "I shouldn't be alive" I don't watch them very often,but am not impressed w/any of them. My 13 year old daughter could do a better job!!At least she knows the wild vegetation thats safe to eat and what its good for!

By the way the camera guy is probably the one w/the lighter! ;D

[333]

Peace,

One would think with these shows having a season or two under their belt they would use the proceeds to create a better show, more informative, more real.

"Survivor Man" has got it the worst cause he has to film his shots and then go back and pickup his equipment, hes got to do things twice.

Although I do agree anyone can go a week with out, when they know they are going to be rescued at the end of the show.

My favorite was when he wasted his ammo in the desire to start a fire, thats smart...not.

333

[Funkhouser]

Give me the old Cherokee lady that knew all the edible stuff out in the woods on PBS over both of those guys anyday!

[clarkshomestead]

I agree to an extent that he's a Poke but... I like survivorman better than the Man vs Wild guy because I've seen the guy on M vs W eat a raw snake (salmonella) and drink water from the partialy digested stomach contents of a camel ( any number of dangerous pathogens). I've spent anight doubled over in agony cause I drank from what looked like a pristine spring. I also like him better because it shows him when he fails and he's alone. I spent 3 months in the woods living in a wicciup when I was 20 years old and dispite what you "know" the wild is the wild and I some times went days with no meat. My knowledge then was all books and I realized how much I realy DIDN'T know! Hell, it was a solid month of trial and error before my shelter could keep me dry in a decent rain. I'll also add that the first month was the hardest and certainly the first week. As weak as it may sound, the hardest part was being alone! You try to stay busy, God knows there is plenty to do but when you've lost 10 lbs. in 10 days motivation is hard to come by. I would have given up but I talked a BIG game before I started my little adventure and once every two weeks two of my friends would come out there to check on me. That was somthing HUGE to look forward to. I once caught a possum in camp and kept him under a milk crate I found on the river for two days and talked to him like Tom Hanks did to that stupid ball. But the fishing went bad due to rain and he became possum and Wild Mustard. Anyway I'm just defending the Survivorman guy a little cause when I see him fail at some of his endevors it reminds me of all my learning experiences.

[gardenfay]

I agree that I like Survivor Man WAY better than Man vs. Wild. At least on Survivor man the family can watch it and come up with things they would have done differently and maybe learn a little something.
On man vs wild; the few times we've watched it - all we do is sit there and say, "what a dumbsh*t!"

[edward_4576]

Both of them have their points; Les did do that one special on urban survival. After Katrina and some of the things I saw I had to hand it to him on just basic stuff. Imagine being surrounded by water and not being able to purify enough to drink, or how to start a fire with all the stuff in your house, even if it is wet?

The saying about flooding “turn around don’t drown!” In so many news stories you see these sheeple having to be rescued from flash floods and such it’s no wonder that FEMA upgraded the amount of supplies from 3 days to two weeks.

These two shows however are more for people that take preparedness seriously and those that have an interest. I can’t see the average sheeple setting down and watching it, for goodness sakes they might miss an episode of Sex in the City or Desperate Housewives.

Most of the time it’s only after the fact that people will start trying to be ready for the unexpected. These two shows have a very selective audience.

[Katrina-Sisu]

I love Survivorman, he is way more "true to life" than Man vs Wild.

Bear from Man vs Wild drinks his own pee...so yeah. :P

Here are some video links from Youtube that show Man vs Wild is a big bunch of whoopla.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acYExF4RRqE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UpSlpvb1is

Wikipedia link too on Bear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_vs_wild

[Katrina-Sisu]

And to add, I do believe that Survivorman gets his fair share of help from his crew too. I think he does less dumb<bleep> stunts that would get everyday average people killed.

Bear does some insane physically demanding stuff and makes it look easy. Most of your normal typical people would just roll off the cliff or get eaten by a mongoose. :D

Kat

[RazorBack]

I've got a bit of a different perspective.
I see Survivorman as being directed at poorly prepared people, being able to make do until someone comes and gets them. He's not teaching long term survival, he's teaching how to stay alive when expecting rescue.
I like how in most episodes he has a multitool (something a lot of couch potatoes have because they're "neat toys"), and some crap that "normal" people might have with them.
He does make a distinction of places where you just can't get along without some preparation (like the Labrador episode).
It isn't aimed at survivalists, hardcore campers and such, but at couch potatoes. He'll often (I think) NOT choose the BEST way of doing something, in favor of doing something the way a sokker mom could with little to no equipment.
IMO the message people who this is aimed at should get is :"Dang, I need to have more $#!^ with me!"

Man vs Wild isn't a survivor show, it's a show watching a guy go on adventures and have fun while getting paid for it. A lot of his stuff is out there, but then again, people have survived desert scenarios by drinking their own/another's/a camel's pee. . .

IIRC Lest Stroud did spend a whole year in the boreal forest with his wife, just after they were married, doing the primitive survival thing. I believe he knows what he's doing, and that's why I think he chooses the way he does thing for a reason, not just at random.

Bear Grylls was in the SAS. I'm sure he knows how to survive. Some of the stuff is dangerous (eating raw animals, drinking poop shakes, etc), but may keep you alive long enough to get to medical care.

Neither show is aimed at most of the people here. For that, pick up some of Ron Hood's videos.

[clarkshomestead]

Yea no doubt in my mind, he would kill himself in the wilderness (Bear).

[sheen_estevez]

Les Stroud did spend a whole year in the boreal forest with his wife, just after they were married, doing the primitive survival thing. I believe he knows what he's doing, and that's why I think he chooses the way he does thing for a reason, not just at random.


Also Les Stroud and his family live in the woods in Ontario off the grid, he has solar and wind to generate his power, rain catches for water, there was some links floating around the Net Les Stroud Off The Grid, 10 part series was a good watch, I'd cut some slack to him, he has some good points on his shows and he is not fake like the other clown

[TheUnboundOne]

Dear Forum Members,

I haven't yet seen Man Versus Wild so I can't make a judgement on Bear, but I have seen most of the Survivorman series. Les Stroud does have some good pointers, but I can also see where he could do much more and much better.

For example, in the desert stuck with a broke-down motorcycle. He did good to get the spokes and the metal scoop piece off of the wheels, as well as the seat cushion and the wires. That was a good bit of resourcefulness.

But I would have also checked out the motorcycle battery to see if it worked and looked for a dynamo attached to the motorcycle engine. If there was a dynamo, you have a magnet that you can use to scrape a wire or other ferrous piece of metal on 200 times in one direction to make a compass.

Or, if there's no dynamo attached to the engine, you could coil up a piece of wire, connect the ends to the battery terminals, and create an electromagnet to run the metal through to make your compass.

Also, after you make the compass, the battery could be used to spark tinder to make a fire, which would save you from exerting yourself in a hot desert.

Les could have also used desert sand and pebbles and a shirt sleeve to craft a filter for the water in cactus pulp, which he should have chopped out of a big cactus with the metal piece from his motorcycle.

Moreover, if I were Les Stroud and in the desert, I would have found a way to trick a stampede of those wild peccaries (the wild boars he was talking about) to fall over a cliff. That way, I would have wild pork for days, as well as skins to make clothing and shelter, bones to make tools, and sinews to make cordage. Needless to say, I don't have Les Stroud's silly, pioused scruples about dumb ani-mules that would kill you if they could.

One thing Les did that was absolutely dumb was to warn the audience about poison mushrooms...all the while eating a wild mushroom himself!

Lookit: If members of the American Mycological Association can die of poisoned mushrooms, that's a good sign that the novices shouldn't touch the things either. Even the edible ones don't have much nutrition anyway.

And, Les, buddy, pal...there are other kinds of shelters besides a lean-to! Build a tree-house one time, please.

[lostinthewoods]

I just watched the season one of survivor man. Interesting, all I can say is this just reinforced the boy scout motto for me. On my worst day I think (know) I'd be more prepared than this poor guy. ;D

Fun to watch though, some interesting stuff.

lost

[clarkshomestead]

Dear Forum Members,

I haven't yet seen Man Versus Wild so I can't make a judgement on Bear, but I have seen most of the Survivorman series. *Les Stroud does have some good pointers, but I can also see where he could do much more and much better.

For example, in the desert stuck with a broke-down motorcycle. *He did good to get the spokes and the metal scoop piece off of the wheels, as well as the seat cushion and the wires. *That was a good bit of resourcefulness. *

But I would have also checked out the motorcycle battery to see if it worked and looked for a dynamo attached to the motorcycle engine. *If there was a dynamo, you have a magnet that you can use to scrape a wire or other ferrous piece of metal on 200 times in one direction to make a compass. *

Or, if there's no dynamo attached to the engine, you could coil up a piece of wire, connect the ends to the battery terminals, and create an electromagnet to run the metal through to make your compass.

Also, after you make the compass, the battery could be used to spark tinder to make a fire, which would save you from exerting yourself in a hot desert.

Les could have also used desert sand and pebbles and a shirt sleeve to craft a filter for the water in cactus pulp, which he should have chopped out of a big cactus with the metal piece from his motorcycle.

Moreover, if I were Les Stroud and in the desert, I would have found a way to trick a stampede of those wild peccaries (the wild boars he was talking about) to fall over a cliff. *That way, I would have wild pork for days, as well as skins to make clothing and shelter, bones to make tools, and sinews to make cordage. *Needless to say, I don't have Les Stroud's silly, pioused scruples about dumb ani-mules that would kill you if they could.

One thing Les did that was absolutely dumb was to warn the audience about poison mushrooms...all the while eating a wild mushroom himself! *

Lookit: If members of the American Mycological Association can die of poisoned mushrooms, that's a good sign that the novices shouldn't touch the things either. *Even the edible ones don't have much nutrition anyway.

And, Les, buddy, pal...there are other kinds of shelters besides a lean-to! *Build a tree-house one time, please.
I agree there are many things that can be done but when you have america watching... killing alot of animals for "entertainment" is not a good idea. you have to remember the constraints of opinion and the fact that he is not in a true survival situation. Also with the dynamo compass thing for %#^$ sake just use the shadow dtick method especialy if you have no tool to disassemble the hunk of metal. But I'm not knocking your Ideas I like the way you think Bro!

[clarkshomestead]

I just watched the season one of survivor man. *Interesting, all I can say is this just reinforced the boy scout motto for me. *On my worst day I think (know) I'd be more prepared than this poor guy. ;D

Fun to watch though, some interesting stuff.

lostnot knock you either but i studied alot of books then years spent 3 months in the woods and realized that all the stuff in those books CAN work but .... lets just take trapping for instance if you smell like a human that hasn't showered for two weeks or you are setting rabbit snares on a beaver trail you are screwed! its all about trial and error or PLENTY of thought in all aspects of survival life. And if you dont use it.... you know.

[TheUnboundOne]

Dear Clarkhomestead,

Howdy, Clark! *You wrote:

I agree there are many things that can be done but when you have america watching... killing alot of animals for "entertainment" is not a good idea. you have to remember the constraints of opinion and the fact that he is not in a true survival situation.

You're right. *And I must admit, if I had to kill an animal, I would have a few scruples, even in a survival situation, and would want to kill it as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Also with the dynamo compass thing for %#^$ sake just use the shadow dtick method especialy if you have no tool to disassemble the hunk of metal. But I'm not knocking your Ideas I like the way you think Bro!

I forgot all about the shadow stick method. *Thanks for reminding me. *I like the way you think too! * ;D

'Course, when the Sun's not shining, if you just run the needle or ferrous metal along the surface of the dynamo, it should stick to the surface when you reach the magnet portion of the dynamo. *No disassembly required. *

I just now found this technique worked with a tiny toy motor, so it should also work with the big metal dynamo of a motorized vehicle as well. *I know for sure it works with car speakers too.

I love this Forum! *Everybody can learn something from somebody, and everybody can learn new things from trial and error also.

;D

[edward_4576]

There was a case recently where a couple were stranded in their vehicle and surviced for 11 days. *When they ran out of food they decided to walk out and they used Les's trick of converting the truck seats into snow shoes.

The guy said he saw it done on TV. *I guess if the show saves at least one life then it was worth it.