My copy of Les Stroud’s SURVIVE! ULTIMATE EDITION w/ DVD finally arrived at my APO. For starters the quality of the printing and binding is top notch with the DVD in a jacket attached to the back cover. Last night I read the Introduction and the Chapter on Survival Kits, while the information covered in not new it does present it in a fresh way,I'm look forward to finishing reading it. Turning to the bonus DVD, I’ve watched all three seasons of Survivorman and would like to pass along that the DVD is composed entirely of new footage that appears to have been filmed well before Season One of Survivorman. In it Les survives one week of summer and one week of winter in the same general area of the Canadian arboreal forest.

While a little pricey SURVIVE! ULTIMATE EDITION is a worthwhile addition to your library.

Cheers,
W-W

Thank you for the update. I am a huge Stroud fan, as I believe that he is the real deal. I bought the non-ultimate version of Survive last year, and I love it. I also went onto www.half.com, and purchased all three years of Survivorman cheap. I'm going to start searching for the DVD you are describing. I actually watched three back to back episodes of Man vs. Wild this week, and I realized how much I miss Survivorman.

Byrd_Huntr,

Just to be clear the DVD is a bonus included with Survive! Ultimate Edition.

Cheers,
W-W

Just curious, How much did you dish out for it? I found one for around $34. Sound correct?

Yes, that is what I paid.

Cheers,
W-W

He can be entertaining and interesting, but I find some of what he does to be questionable. For instance, the script usually has him leaving the scene of where an incident occurs and trying to walk out. While that makes for more entertaining TV, its a questionable tactic in the real world. Mostly (but certainly not always) you are better off staying where you are and waiting for rescue. I will also grant that it would not make for a very informative TV show if he just built a campfire every show and waited to be rescued. There is also a bit of political correctness to the show that bugs me. But overall it is pretty entertaining and moderately informative, and I do watch it now and then, although I cannot say I have seen every episode, and it is doubtful I would buy the DVD set.

At least he does not do things that seem like he is trying to get himself killed like Bear does. I have gotten to the point where I can't even watch him anymore.

Yeah, Bear does some stupid, stupid things. But I guess you can do that when you have a crew following you and a hotel to go back to at night.
Don't get me wrong. I am sure he knows his stuff and some of the info he has is useful, but he just seems like a hollywood version of Les Stroud.

I found the DVD on Les Strouds website www.lesstroudonline.com. I would buy the Ultimate set that you described but I already have the book. The DVD is called "Stranded" with Les Stroud. It was 17.99 +S&H. Thanks again for the tip.

I have a lot of respect for Les, but I don't think he put a lot of thought into the book. The survival kit lists are very good but the small black and white photo of his kit is almost useless. I know most of use will know the gear he is discussing but I doubt a complete newbie would.

The knot section of the book is completely wrong, he shows a slipknot and calls it a bowline, you might as well go out an buy a dedicated book on knots than try to figure out how to tie the 3 or 4 knots he discusses.

I looked at the knots in my copy and the color photo definitely shows a Bowline. Recalling the jingle I learned in Boy Scouts, “The rabbit comes out of his hole around the tree and back down his hole.”

Cheers,
W-W