Bear Grylls Nosquito Shirt.

I like Craghoppers Nosquito brand shirts. They are lightweight, tough and durable. They are somewhat pricey though costing around $70 (this is the best internet price I've been able to find in the UK).

The same shirt has previously been marketed with the Bear Grylls moniker on the shirt at around $80. I can now get the Bear Grylls Nosquito shirt for around $50 in a sale (from a reliable internet store supplier in the UK, which I've used before).

Question - Do I buy the Bear Grylls shirt at $50 and save $20/shirt or buy the same Craghoppers shirt without the Bear Grylls moniker at $70?

http://www.craghoppers.com/CraghoppersSite/pages/home/default.asp?Rootctgry=BearGrylls

I wouldn't want to be seen with Bear's name on me for whatever reason.

Just hang an Electronic Hotel Room Key off of the pocket, and then it'll just be a weird joke... A joke that saved you money.

Seriously though, that small name tag is probably embroidered or printed. If embroidered you could pick out the stitching. If it's silkscreened sew a patch over it. If it bothers you that badly that is.

Well, while Bear Grylls is undoubtebly a fraud, having his logo on an outdoors shirt is still better than that of Ralph Lauren.

Moderator:
I was under impression that forum rules forbade personal attacks.

Describing Bear as a fraud is over the line. Please do bear in mind that you can be sued for Slander or Libel for such remarks.

You don't like him, fine. Your privilege. But bin the personal remarks.

Doth mine eyes deceive me or do I detect a Bear fan?

Its only slander/liable if its not true.

-Bill Liptak

Head to TK Max, they do a lot of Craghoppers stuff. I got a pair of Kiwi trousers and a microfleece for £20. Some Bear branded kit there as well.

As for the man himself, he has done a hell of a lot of things many on this forum would like to do, that was before he became a business. He wasn't always in it for the cash.

Yes & no.

Yes: because I think that he is exactly what he claims to be. The so-called allegations against him smack of a deliberate attempt, by an individual who committed what amounts to deliberate gross disloyalty, to smear him and destroy his credibility. I also think that he comes a lot closer to the spirit and intent of this site than Les Stroud does. Although I notice from another post on this forum that Les is starting to change his tune about how much gear you need.

No: because his style comes across as being a bit O.T.T. for some people. Exaggeration for emphasis not withstanding that is.

I also think that some members of this forum are being two faced about various matters.

Like:

It's quite acceptable for Ray Mears to market the Woodlore knife on his website but it's not acceptable for Bear to develop his own knife and market it. Why is that?

It's quite acceptable for Ray Mears and Les Stroud to write and market books. but it's not acceptable for Bear to do that. Why is that?

It's quite acceptable for Ray Mears and Les Stroud to support themselves off their effort's and to trade on their names. but it's not acceptable for Bear to do that. Again, why is that?

In other words, gentlemen, if your going to insist on "purity" have the grace to apply it across the board.

Have you seen the photos of some of these guys on ETS forum? If they had two faces, why on earth would they use the ones they do?

Seriously, though, I don't think there's all that much hypocracy involved. Bear and Les have very different styles, and I think it's OK to just like one and not the other. Les gets more cred for carrying his own camera gear alone without a support crew and for having a generally lower key style. Bear strikes a lot of us as a bit overblown and phony.

Jeff

I've said it before, if someone can sell an item with their name on it and they can get a higher price for that item because their name is on it, more power to them as long as their not hurting anyone.

Regarding Bear representing himself "as is", on numerous occasions there have been reports that he has misrepresented the danger in situations, has misrepresented the locales he's filming in, has stayed in hotels, used special effects and so on. And there's quite a bit of evidence that these "so-called allegations" are true and that's strait from the show's crew. Instead of taking on these attacks and denying them the producers and show's crew have admitted the truth behind them and in the end "Man vs. Wild" as a show has changed to include disclaimers, edited scenes, changed voiceovers and more. If these things affect his credibility then that's his own fault not some "disloyal" whistleblower's.

At first I hated "Man vs. Wild" because Bear is reckless, but now I cut him some slack because the show is less about "what to do in a survival situation" and more about "what crazy things will Bear do in this situation". It's "Bear Grylls vs. His Wild Side".

Still, if anyone asked me to suggest materials on Survival and Bushcraft I'd point to Les Stroud and Ray Mears works before I'd even think about Bear.

And yes. I admit fully that I like both Ray Mears and Les Stroud and respect them more as Survivalists and Bushcraftsmen (if that is a word). That's my preference. If I find out they've pulled some kind of fakery I'll respect them less and talk about it a lot.

That's my grace of purity and how it's applied across the board.

The whole premise of Survivorman is what to do if you get stuck in the wilderness without much gear. I really don't see much point of having a TV show where Les Stroud is basically just camping for a week.

I personally don't have a problem with any of them designing and hawking items. They are businessmen after all. Although I do have a problem with Bear's knife at 350£....over 700 USD. Little bit out of realistic reach for the average guy, compared to say, Doug Ritter's MK 3 at under 200 USD.

-Bill Liptak

.
+100

the $50 one of course....