Well, whether you think either of these superstars are right or wrong, I hope you test their advice before betting your lives on it.

Amen!

Echo that.

And Les' crew is a couple miles away. Bear's is a couple feet. *shrugs*

Les has a Satellite phone with him and is in contact with his crew at least once a day.

It's called viewers folks, the number of viewers affects the advertising revenue. A show where nothing goes wrong and there is no risk would be boring to most. There are reasons Bear Strips down, eats what he eats, and does what he does, they are people want to see it. Excitement sells the show. Good technique or bad, it sells the show.

Leigh
+100 on your post.

I wasn't aware the british islands extended primogeniture to 'survival experts.'Were this true, I would expect the peerage to recognise Lofty Wiseman, whose credentials are without debate and who books, and to an extent the very english Grey Owl's writings, and OH! this vedy bwitish guy named Baden-Powell who started in the UK a small boy's group, are the foundation Bear and Stroud and Mears all stand on.
So lets stop the Lord of the Flies tribalism about who's guru can beat up your guru.
This 'industry, or lifestyle, or whatever particular label it's many,many 'camps' come up with has one very poignant , seldom survived flaw: It you want to make a million dollars in survial, it's often best to start out with two million.
The survival industry 'pie' can only be cut up into so many wedges, regardless if it's a Mora or a TRACKER doing the cutting.
This is why everybody sells THE KNIFE and writes a book with endorsement from somebody famous for doing something utterly unrelated proclaiming them 'The world's greatest expert' and containing the same illustration of a brush shelter, the infamous solar still and runs around growling at any other popular 'experts' mere mention while scent marking the potential income producing customer base who sieze on personae or good P.R. with the same rational people buy toasters.
So, just like we all ultimately sleep in our own chosen sleeping bag; cold or warm- We all choose our gurus.
I'm going to bed. According to Carlos Castaneda, I should seek out my personal power spot for maximum energy. My animal spirit guide likes the spot by the furnace and far from his litter box,curled up by my left shoulder.
Everybody here DOES HAVE AN ANIMAL GUIDE? I have a booklet on the subject. just send $ 9.99 to ETS foundation + postage.
I even reproduced that brush shelter illustration.

Chris. +200

I am not knocking either one. To produce a show takes a crew. That is a pure fact, so them having a crew around is not an issue to me.
The big issue for me whether what they show works, or if it would help kill you.

As always, personal testing is required in a safe manner in a safe place.
There is no sense becoming a statistic because you were trying out a survival method.

I believe Man vs. Wild is only for entertainment and has very little to no survival information at all. Bear Grylls makes un necessary risks.

Survivorman has a lot more information.

Muleskinner

I emphasize to my Scouts and private clients that a lot of the things Bear Grylls does on his show are excellent examples of what NOT to do. In that, he is an excellent teacher.

I wish John Wiseman had a show! His book I have had, all these years, and STILL browse through it occasionally.
Me, I still think Bear is an idiot. Although, as others have mentioned; if it gets people outdoors, doing research, etc, then I am all for it. His new commercials, though, suck. although, he does poke fun at himself with them, and, for that I give him kudos.
I have nothing personal against the guy at all. Even his accomplishments, whether true, exagerrated, or downright wrong, dont really mean much to me. The recklessness of him does though; we here can distinguish what is valid and what is not; your average watcher cannot, BUT, may be intrigued enough to research further, and may even end up here .
If someone were to come to me & say "I did such-and-such, like Bear did on TV..." I would likely give them a medal for beating the odds....