how the survival experts really survive...

Valid point. Can't argue that, Bushcrafter Anthony.

 

I think any of these TV survival guys can likely survive in the wilds better than the average person, even if on their shows they may not be the best example. Isn't Bear former SAS? I think that is serious level of training. He does have more fun than Les! Les is more realistic but the guy rarely eats or drinks anything significant.

 

I enjoy watching Bear. He's definitely more entertaining than most of the others, even if some of his stunts could prove to be a fatally bad decision for the average survivor. The thing that I find myself griping to the TV about while watching him is that he will wade chest high through a patch of cattails, even showing you how to move through them in the most efficient manner; and then will grab a water snake and eat it raw. He never pays any attention to the plant food sources that he is crushing under foot; going instead for those food choices that provide the greatest yuck factor - raw snakes, lizards, scorpions and spiders. His shows are good TV, but not always good survival.

 

Agreed. I took a survival course as a kid in Boy Scouts, and food sources, for you AND the game were stressed. Nuts, berries, fruits, carrots, onions, and many more plants grow wild. Finding them and recognizing them takes some practice, but well worth knowing.

 

You make a valid point. I part ways with Bear in the methodology he teaches, just seems way to 'frat-boy' and reckless. I'm more of a Ray Mears fan (probly cuz we'z lookalikes ).

 

I had to stop watching the show after he ate, raw carrion which had been left over from a kill (purportedly). I thought about parasites, salmonella, and 17 other nasty things, not to mention how tough it is to die of diarrheal dehydration or gut wrenching cramps. I new better than to do that of course but I thought about the armchair bushcrafters out there that didn't and might pay the price for following that example (as well as other cases of poor judgment).

 

Are you guys familiar with "Bush Tucker Man" (Les Hiddins)? If not, check him out on Youtube.

He's an Australian guy that is sort of the Aussie counterpart to Ray Mears who's forte seems to be foraging wild edibles (bush tucker) and he takes a very laid back and enjoy nature, and not be in a rush type attitude to survival very much like Mears does (as opposed to Grylls, who is more of a "your in a dire situation, now extricate as soon as possible" type approach).

Mears met up with Hiddins in one of the episodes where they discuss wild edibles, which was a great two-for-one treat to see both of them.

This is the episode that got me hooked:



I was particularly fascinated by the nature in Australia shown in this episode as much as by Hiddins laid back Mears-like approach. I like how it showed the otherwise bone dry 'outback' turns into a saturated wetland and everything in nature suddenly springs to life as if it were a rain forest for a few months of the year. Looks like it would be great to live out there during the wet season.

 

Yes! Thanks for the reminder. I did see one of his videos and really enjoyed it. I had intended to bookmark the site but forgot the guy's name.

 

Haha
Yeah, I've read some interviews with BG and Ray Mears a while back when they had a little fight and they both implied that they knew a bit or two about the others "survival techniques" and that the other shouldn't be bashing and so forth.
I don't know, I mean, it's entertainment and it shows some good stuff that might come in handy one day

 

[...I'd give more credence to the critics if the issue were who had the best wilderness living skills and could flourish long-term (weeks, months, or years) with nature being the only resource available to them, but for short to mid term survival situations, particularly physically demanding ones, I think he'd wax most of the other guys butts if there ever was a hypothetical contest between them.[/quote]



I'd actually pay money to see a two month long contest in a boreal region of Canada, Russia or one of the Nordic countries between Grylls, Stroud, Mears and maybe one or both of the guys on dual survival.
I'd schedule it for mid-September through mid-November. Each would get a thorough medical exam to establish a baseline and then another afterwards to determine who 'won'. Each would earn massive cred's just for making it through the two months.
That would be some d@mn good TV and some excellent educational opportunities.

 

I agree. Les makes me hope and pray that I never need to use what little i know in a 'situation' while Bear makes it look like an adventure vacation.

 

I wonder about how the camera crew powers their equipment, because wouldn't most power sources scare away the wildlife the 'survivors' need to eat?

 

My take on those kind of shows is just that, they are shows I guess, they are made to 1. Entertain and 2. Throw in a bit of education. But I might have been watching the wrong ones, I don't know.

 

Who was the pbs guy that did the wild foods? He died and was the brunt of many a joke... Then there was Tom Brown...

 

Yule Gibbons?
"Ever eat a pine tree? Some parts are edible..."

 

Thats the one!! Thanks.. Watched those shows all the time..

 

"Ever Eat a Pine Tree?" | Holly's Homestead


His name was "Euell Theophilus Gibbons"
Born September 8th, 1911, Died age 64, on December 29th, 1975

 

He's the one with the goldenrod and hickory nuts!

Christmas story
December 28, 2007 — monado
Not many people know that until recently, there was a tribe of killer monkeys living undetected in Greenwich Village, New York City.



To some extent, it was not surprising they escaped notice for so long. They had very odd sleeping habits, hibernating for 364 days out of every year (365 in leap years) and emerging from the caverns of the Village sewers only on Christmas Day.

Even so, one might have thought they could hardly help but cause talk, since they were enormous, ferocious, carnivorous, and tended (when awake) to be extremely hungry. Yet in Greenwich Village, of all places, they remained unnoticed until last year, when they were finally destroyed. And why did their victims not attract notice?

Everyone knows that Yule gibbons ate only nuts and fruits.


(Recycled from a Spider Robinson story, in which I believe it was told by a talking dog)"

 

I like the show naked and afraid. I find the nekkid part very entertaining. One thing the show does do is reinforce the importance of good shoes.