As far as the knife goes I have seen him use at least two different blades. One was a folder and the other was a fixed blade. Neither of them were very well suited to survival related tasks however. I will not get into my personal views about the show except to say "NEVER DO ANYTHING HE DOES!".

I dislike (perhaps hate) this "Bear" guy, I think that in time, he is going to cost lives, in attempt to emmulate his antics.
At the same time, I must also damn Les Stroud,for the "walking out" format, he does it well,....but that doesen't bring momma's "average" children home..does it?
Most on this fourm seem to Bow to Stroud, Ok but why ?
I remember when some were tossing him under the buss, for just cause , but he countered with one post and you all became Stroud "prophets". <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />
I understand tossing Bear under the buss, and I'll go right aloung with you , but dammit he should have a bit of company--if not to the uliimate destination <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

My son loves both of these shows, so I turn the silly antics of both into learning experiences. "OK son, when Bear jumped off that 20 foot cliff instead of going around, what would happen to him if he had broken his leg?"

Even my 6 year old (who would rather jump off a cliff then go around!) now yells at the TV when one of the "survival experts" does something that defies common sense.

I remember when I was 9 the first time I saw Ray Mears. I loved those programs.
The next week I got into a 'survival'-situation (see my bio)

Since then I've been hooked... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I've said it before.... Bear does some idiotic things but, c'mon, it;s a comedy show for crying out loud! There isn't any reason for anybody, anywhere, to worry about whether his show will cause "someone", "somewhere" to hurt themselves. Boneheads are going to hurt themselves, with or without Bear Grylls.

I, for one, am tired of people worrying about my personal safety... worrying so much that inane laws and ordinances are passed making sure that "I" don't hurt "myself". Hey, if I want to drive away from McDonalds with a cup of hot coffee between my legs, that's my business. The fact that McDonald's now has to do everything short of putting a frappin NEON SIGN on their coffee cups to hopefully avoid a lawsuit is a direct result of people "worrying" about whether Bear Grylls will "cause" somebody to do something stupid.

To me, his show is entertaining. I'd love to have a thread where, every week, I could post things along with the rest of you like "Did you see him run down that canyon? What a slopehead!"..... but what would be the point? He's having fun. It's Hollywood.

...And, I'm surely not going to trash Stroud. He works too hard at trying to show what it would be like to be stranded in his situations. I'm going to continue to watch both of those shows..... and by God, I'm going to love it! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One problem with the show is that "Bear" (ex-British special forces) does things that would kill a 50 yr old who is not in as good shape as he is. This guy did one show in the snow without gloves. In another, he floats down a river submerged in 40 degree water. I don't think that the average person could do that without getting hypothermic.

It may be a comedy for you, me, and the rest of this forum, because we know better, but many if not most people who watch this show do not. Remember people are being told that he is an experienced survival expert, and they specifically say in the intro that he will teach you how to survive. And if you don't realize that the show is staged and probably scripted, then what he accomplishes actually seems very impressive(i.e. catching animals almost instantly, always finding gourmet meals with little effort, and always finding exactly what he needs within a few feet from him, etc.)

While most of the viewers watch the show for entertainment and will never use any survival skills, they do beleive they are being shown good survival skills, which is part of the reason it is entertaining. Eventually someone who has seen this show will probably be in a survival situation, and if they remember something on the show, they would probably try to use it.
The fact is, there are some good survival techniques in the show, but often he doesn't explain them enough for a lay person to replicate, and by making it all look ridiculously easy, I think many people would give up after realizing that using them in real life is nothing like how it is depicted on the show.

Of course worst of all are his reckless antics, pointlessly risking his life numerous times per episode. What I'm trying to say with this long winded rant, is that plently of people take him seriously because of the way the show is presented, and that is very irresponsible of both him and the producers.

I really hate this guy, and as mean as it may be, I really hope he hurts himself making a show. Maybe then more viewers will realize what a reckless moron he is and disregard his advice.

I watch it and Survivorman for entertainment. Plus if I am not outside and someone else is, it entertains me that way too.

Even my five year old asks me if that is the guy that does dumb and dangerous stuff. Then we talk about what we shouldn't do in that situation and also about what was good.

Believe it or not, there are some good parts. I noticed in one episode, don't remember which, I got a glance at his watch and noticed he had a Breitling with PLB. Good for him.

My daughter and I cracked up when he peed on his shirt to wrap it around his head and face. Especially after he came out of some water. My daughter laughed so hard, she even drew a picture of it, then it was my turn to LMAO. Um, I don't think I can post the picture though. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Barnelli-Jones,
Thank you very much. You helped me.