Okay, so i know there are some mixed opinions about the two mainstream "survival shows" Man vs. Wild and Survivorman. Some love or hate one or the other or both. I have seen people bash Bear both in posts and in signatures for sleeping in a hotel and doing dangerous stuff just for the sake of danger. I agree he does some unnessesary stuff. But still before you insult him for being an foolhardy risk taker, let me see you go out and do the things he does, and then and only then can you say anything and be taken seriously. Oh and I still havent seen any legit proof that he sayed in a hotel, so if you have it bring it forward..........
Adventureboy

Bear Grylls has been debated ad nauseam on this forum and other forums around the net so why start a new round of bickering here and now that will not reveal anything that has not been said 1000's of time before...

Musing, as an aside:

Growing up, one of the hardest things to come to terms with was the reluctant realization that the people I admired most, my shining heroes, were in fact all too human. Imperfect, flawed, human, too like me, too like the dull and plodding work-a-day adults I saw around me. Debts and paychecks, booze, politics and pettiness.

For a time, after that hit home fully, I said, "I have no heroes." Meaning, there was no noble example to inspire me; none was worthy. That was a dark place, a hard and empty place. Empty pedestals.

But as time passed, and I dealt with the ongoing stuff of life, the thousand, plodding, petty and essential details, I slowly came to admire my heroes once again, in a more three-dimensional way. Despite their obvious flaws, despite the BS of money and paychecks and politics, they had accomplished things I enjoyed and admired. I take from them the best of what they had to offer; and I endeavour to build on their sound foundations, those that weather the test of the years. And I have forgiven them for being imperfect and plodding and human, like me.

Just musing; just my $0.02. FWIW.

I agree, as well. I have stated my opinion before and if I get all excited it will be bad for the old ticker, and, gee, it will just be a mess.

BTW, I have a background which does qualify me to criticize the subject - more than four decades of field archaeology, combined with caving, and climbing over that same period, 400 plus SAR operations varying in duration from five minutes to two weeks +(I was actually featured on ABC's national news broadcast back in 1981 during one of the more intricate of these), as well as a fair amount of boating, kayaking, and scuba diving. Oh, I almost forgot, military as well, including a tour of nine months in Korea (during which I mostly served coffee and cupcakes in the shape of the 1st Cav insignia to visiting brass -- what a joke). I am certainly not unique or unusual on this forum; there are many with very impressive credentials.

What does frustrate me is that during my active time in SAR, we had an active and successful program teaching the rudiments of outdoor safety to any willing group - it wasn't all field ops, and now we have this stuff spewing from the tube.

Actually, anyone with a brain is fully qualified to catch the many whoppers perpetrated by current TV programming.

Rant over. Time to calm down and take my meds....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7304617.stm



I can't afford the exotic locations, special effects or camera crew.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBmhNA7JME4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UpSlpvb1is

Very Well Done!Them Highlanders dont Mess Around!

Sorry Adventureboy, you just lost me. Your argument doesn't make sense. I don't need to do something foolhardy or dangerous to know that it is. Good judgement and common sense don't needed to be gained by trial and error - at least not by me.

I think the heart of the Bear issues comes down to asking yourself what's survival versus what's adventure. I really like his new book, and am even reading it with my kids. Man vs. Wild is a different story. We watch that too. It's a fun show but IMO, it's an adventure show that shows some great survival stuff along the way, not the other way around. We're naive if we think we can or should do everything he does on that show just because he gets out at the end.

Example? When he climbed that train bridge in his urban survival show, even my seven year old asked why he didn't just walk under it to the other side. And when the train came along and he had no escape except to outrun it or jump 100 feet to his death? That's the stuff of pure adventure, not smart survival.

EDIT: I started the thread about Bear's book to discuss the book. I gave a nod to the debate about the controversy surrounding him, not to start the debate again, but to stop it from sidetracking to discussion about the book. We've got a tendancy to do that around here.

As Mom said " If all your friends jump off a bridge, are you going to jump too?"

I wouldn't do half the stuff Bear does, as I don't have a support staff to bail me out should I do something really stupid and get hurt.

I've been cold/wet/tired/hungry and lost, all at the same time, I don't want or need to do it again.

Thanks but no thanks. Half the stuff Bear does is for dramatic effect. Once in a while you get a nugget of info you can use.