Bear Gryll's

He's at it again folks. I see he has a new television series on July 28. Has anyone heard about this yet? Anyone have any opinions on it? The sad part is I'm sure I'll watch it hoping to learn a new technique, maybe even two.

Nope this news to me.
Thanks
Lee

"Bear Grylls has a new TV show? Better drink my own urine."

It looks like it might be interesting. It seems like it'll be more of an analysis of real-world experiences, with interviews of the actual survivors.

Then again, I do like Bear Grylls as a TV personality and tend to enjoy what I've seen from him. Heck, I've even overcome my original criticisms to appreciate Man vs Wild.

Denis, No. You were doing so well. Lol jk. I prefer Cody, he's more interesting and laid back.

Lol.

I find a cold beer a better beverage of choice than my own urine while watching television, but hey, to each their own.

I'd like to see Bear and Cody starring on Dual Survival. I doubt it would last more than three episodes but it would be amusing I'm sure.

I don't. Only thing Cody has ever convinced me of is going equipment heavy. This Just-A-Knife -And-Mother-Nature-Will-Provide nonsense is a great way to get you self prominently mentioned in the next Darwin Awards. If I'm dropped in it I'd rather be in Bear's company than Codys.
Hopefully this new series might save a few lives by demonstrating what not to do, and the merits of a spot of prior preparation.

Hopefully it will be better than the last farce of his that I watched. Get Out Alive was a combination Fear Factor (eating gross things) and Survivor (Throwing people who weren't bright enough to read a survival manual before going on the show, then whining about how hard it was and how hungry and cold they were). JMHO of course.But to each his own,I still prefer Cody. I certainly respect your preference for Bear.

To each his own but I strongly disagree! A friend of mine went to Lundin's school many years ago well before he became famous. The education my buddy got was staggering in it's breadth and depth. Bear in mind my friend is probably about 1/20 as good as Cody but just what he learned in three months is pretty mind boggling. Contrary to what you see on DS Lundin does not advocate parachuting into the north woods with just a Speedo! He does encourage people to carry survival items with them. But knowledge is lighter than gear and can't be lost in an emergency. You can't carry enough if you don't have any knowledge. Best of all is great knowledge and good gear.

Carry on!

I really enjoyed Get Out Alive. I do like competition-style shows and consider this to be one of the best I've seen. I especially liked the concept of having an outside judge that determined who went home as opposed to the traditional "tribal council" style we're used to from most shows. That eliminated a lot of the drama these types of shows are known for (i.e., the game wasn't overly social) and allowed them to focus more on the tasks themselves.

It also looked like a lot of fun .

Denis

You raise some valid points.
Still,in get out alive he was rotating assignments, which is good, but none of them had the slightest idea what they were doing. Remember the "Sandwich" shelter which were simply folding a tarp in half and inserting the bag which resulted in wet sleeping bags? I don't recall a lot of sun or time to dry them out? The guy who jumped fully clothed into the water to retrieve a deer and others had to give up clothing for him? Or that they weren't bright enough to take the wrapper off the hexamine bars to to light them with fire steels? Would it have killed the producers to send them for a one day crash course. I must admit that I am no Cody, but I didn't learn one thing from that series. This is, of course, JMHO, and I do enjoy a good spirited debate.

Oh, don't get me wrong, some of the contestants definitely left something to be desired & spectacularly under-performed at times (some you mentioned ... I'm also thinking of that time when the "shelter" consisted of a stack of sticks surrounding their sleeping area!). Like you, I can't imagine going into something like that game without studying up on a thing or two.

I also wasn't clear how much instruction they received from the show, at times it seemed like they just weren't doing what they were shown/told, but I could be remembering that wrong (or just reading too much into what was said).

Actually, as an aside, this reminds me that Les Stroud did a web-based survival contest and I believe all the contestants got 1 week of instruction with Les in preparation. I recall thinking that in itself would make entering worth while. I never got around to watching it ... but it looks like the competition is done & has aired: SOS Island. I'll have to remember to check it out.

So, while the players weren't without fault, I thought Get Out Alive was a good game .

I don't remember the stick shelter, I guess that was to keep the angry bunnies out lol. I agree I would enter the contest for a weeks training. As far as I could tell none of them had any training or experience on Get Out Alive. I think they just applied and were selected by the lowest common denominator, whereas on survivor they try to balance who is moist attractive while being politically correct and balanced in demographics. I still don't know much about Les Stroud but his name keeps coming up so I'll have to check him out.

Les Stroud has been around for a long time. Les doesn't do stupid. He's definitely worth the time to watch his shows.

I seem to recall they thought it would be a good wind-break and that would be enough to keep them warm with their sleeping bags (I don't think it was!).


Les Stroud is the guy who started the whole survival show ball rolling and is, arguably, one of the best TV survival guys (if not the best). His original show, Survivorman, has him alone for 7 days in the wilderness with just his cameras & a very limited amount of gear. He's definitely the real deal ... and a fellow Canuck . I recommend checking out his works.

Sounds good. I will check him out. I've ordered one of his books. Thanks.

Wildman
I'll be checking him out.
Thanks

I suggest also Ray Mears' work. His work is survival oriented (both books and BBC shows). Some lean toward history lessons, others survival in various locales. All are well done.

I enjoy both Les Stroud and Ray Mears. I prefer Mears' books over Stroud but YMMV. The information is similar.

The rest, not so much since they seem to emphasize means of winning a Darwin Award. Most shows seem to emphasize ways of EXPENDING calories, not the more boring conservation of effort. Glissading down a mountain? Learning how to REASSEMBLE a raft like Lego? Survival in a hotel?

Let's not forget the way the make up artist skillfully applies mud to bears face Yee. I also notice that Bear s using all his officially licensed gear on his show.

This guy is going to be the cause of some young viewer getting hurt or worse with his stupid antics. Using a deer antler for a rappel anchor...PLEASE!!!

I wouldn't mind if Bear nuked himself rappelling on a deer antler, but please don't take out Ben Stiller in the process. Ben's funny!

Given the "insurance" and "safety" excuses when he was caught rebuilding a Lego raft and secretly wearing a PFD, I suspect there was a real anchor hidden just beyond camera view. Alternatively, camera tricks can make all sorts of things possible. I would need a James Randi/Uri Geller type investigation before believing a thing.

"Bear Grylls and the crew receive support when they are in potentially life-threatening situations, as required by health and safety regulations."

"The programme explicitly does not claim that presenter Bear Grylls' experience is one of unaided solo survival. For example, he often directly addresses the production team, including the cameraman, making it clear he is receiving an element of back-up."

New controversy.

Trademark Row

Given the facts as known, it isn't clear that Mr. Grylls' lawyers are NOT in the right. Bear Grylls is well known in England. This is a small British company owned by Owen Senior (not Bear Senior or Senior Bear).

I do not have the google skills to find the company website to look at the sales pitch.

The sale of a knife with a logo "Bear Blades. Steel. Strength. Utility" could certainly be construed as a product tied to the reputation of Bear Grylls.

IMHO that would make it even worse. With that sort of thing, people trying it might get seriously injured. Creating illusions is OK for magicians but not for a "survival" show. and even with magicians some tricks might kill you if you don´t know the secret.

Exactly what I'm talking about. I have a 12 year old grandson who watches every survival show around. He thinks he's the next Cody Lundin. The way he interprets some of these shows scares the crap out of me. If I had a quarter for every time I've corrected his thinking about things, I could take the whole gang here out for a very nice dinner... including the bar tab!

Actually Mr Grylls lawyers really don't have a leg to stand on, especially if they haven't sent all the other registered trademark owners similar desist letters who ACTUALLY own the 'Bear' trademark.

Bear Grylls Company I believe does not produce knives.

His lawyers should perhaps start here;



Eddie Grylls does own the 'BG Bear Grylls' and the 'Bear Grylls' Trademarks.

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/t-find.htm

Edit - To be fair to Eddie, the first he probably knew about was probably the lawyers bull er bill for £5000 for writing the letter by the IP rights specialist at the firm.

From the reviews I've read, Bear Grylls is a name you've heard that you find stamped on somewhat marginal products. If I made a decent product I don't think I'd want mine being confused with Bears stuff. I see the "Bear" name and I think "Walmart quality"

You mean the sales items (they actually generally tend to be OK for the price), where you unpick the logo...

Don't forget Bear Archery Note the ® behind Bear®? It's a registered trademark that goes back a couple years before me, let alone Grylls.

Good to Go:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-28737337

I have a problem with his dangerous stunts. If i was in a survival situation I'd backtrack and look for a safer way down than all the jumping and back flips Bear does. And jumping in water in what looks to be cool conditions is just asking for hypothermia IMHO. I saw a Bear Grylls pack at wally world and it was a hundred bucks. Next to it was one very similar in style, much better made, abit larger and with a hydration bladder for sixty. I guess the name really does ad forty bucks.

1) Bear Grylls products are not "marginal" as you put. The quality is as good as, and in many respects superior to other products on the market.
2) Bear, like many successful buisnessmen, has serious problems with third partys trying to exploit his name and image to their own advantage. That means that his legal team has to adopt a very aggressive policy towards anyone using the name "Bear" on a like product. Occasionally that means that someone who is using the term "Bear" in a lawful enterprise going to get an unwelcome letter. That's unfortunate but understandable. It is obvious that on this occasion Bear has looked at the facts, determined that Bear Knives is not engaged in misconduct and taken the appropriate action.

If that is true, they made a fairly poor business decision to market his stuff through Walmart, and have Walmart as a main sponsor of his current TV show. You may not have Walmart stores in the UK, but here in the US they do not have a reputation for selling quality stuff. Yes, you can occasionally find a decent product there, and if you do, it will sell for a price lower than probably anywhere else.

But there is a lot of complete junk in Walmarts. They are well known for striking deals with manufacturers, getting the manufacturers highly dependent on Walmart sales (they are a very big distributer), then turning around and telling those manufactures to make things cheaper and cheaper to hit a Walmart price-point. They've kind of got the manufacturers in their grasp, because those manufacturers have gotten so dependent on sales through Walmart that they don't want to, or can't, give up that revenue stream. You find some manufacturers that have two lines of seemingly identical merchandise, the regular stuff, and the Walmart stuff. The Walmart stuff is much worse quality.

Google "Walmart vs. Vlassic", or "Walmart vs. Snapper" if you want to read up on it. The two links below are samples of the kind of stuff you will find:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bac_1342681195

http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-who-said-no-wal-mart

Selling through Walmart, let alone having them be your primary sponser, may be the death knell for your company, or the cause behind your products going from a quality reputation to a trash reputation. Walmart is huge, and very popular for two main demographics: Lower income shoppers, and shoppers in search of a "bargain". That is not necessarily bad, but that is their targeted audience. You don't find folks looking for higher end stuff in a Walmart. No offense intended towards Walmart - I go there occasionally. For example, I like their "bargains" on the K-cups for my Keurig coffee maker. Those things are so horrendously overpriced at normal retail that I'm not overly concerned about Walmart putting those manufacturers in their place, price-wise.

You also find BG items at REI, an enterprise which does not sell junk. My understanding is that much of BGs line is made by Gerber, who mostly makes decent, although not super high end, gear. Will we see, or are we seeing, divergent BG products?

Fascinating - it's like witnessing the evolution of a new species......

I have two BG items, both bought from amazon. The short parang is excellent - light and a good chopper as long as you're not trying to bring down a tree. His firestarting tool works fine; just a little too big for my taste.

I hate to even wade into the whole Bear Grylls issue! He's probably a nice fellow and to have completed the training that he has I'm sure he has a lot of knowledge. But the way he portrays survival strikes me as downright dangerous and reckless. As for his product lines, I suppose they're okay for what they are better options are available for the money. Personally I think Gerber quality has fallen dramatically over the last couple decades, and a lot of the issues revolve around offshoring production of much/most of their stuff to China. It's possible to make great products in China if you set your mind to it, but that's almost never the goal of offshoring; in nearly every case they do it cut costs. It's probably a waste of time to bemoan this since that ship sailed years ago. Many competitors also make their products in China.

Personally I'd rather have Doug's PSP than the corresponding entry level kit by BG. Just looking at his products, both the manufacturing and construction and contents list, it strikes me that many of them are gimmicky more than useful.

On the other hand, his popularity probably encourages folks to study survival and buy his items. You're certainly better off with BG survival gear than having no gear at all!

I've watched a few episodes of Bear's latest show. The one where he takes celebrities out on a weekend adventure. While the show is fairly stupid and contrived (that pretty much goes for ALL shows on TV nowadays), Bear does appear to be a very friendly and likable guy. The show is entertaining. But it's not a vehicle for learning survival skills, much of what goes on there is more likely to get you killed than rescued. But it's still entertaining to a degree, and Bear does appear to be a nice guy.

I would like to see a "the making of..." episode of one of his shows, an episode that shows the cameramen and other support that is around when he is filming. They did a show like that with Dual Survival, and while I knew there were other people around during the episodes, I guess I never realized just how many folks were right there with them during filming. The chances of getting yourself into a bad situation with no hope for assistance were about zero, despite the shows attempts to portray exactly that.

Here in Canada, MEC (equivalent to REI) also sells Bear Gryll's gear. MEC is known for not selling junk so there is some probable merit in their decision to carry this line of product.

Not a fan of BG in any manner, so no affiliation with him or MEC.

I have a couple of Gerber LSTs from the 80's. I have used them and survived to tell the tale....They work just fine when space and weight are important, but you need a cutting tool.

I also have a Gerber Ultra Infinity light - small, dependable, reasonably rugged, with good run time. I actually prefer it to the earlier versions made by CMG, mostly because it sports a more advanced LED.

My experience with Gerber stuff is that they work well enough, butt they definitely don't qualify as bling or man jewelry. What that they have made is "crap" and why?

I went to the Bear Grylls UK Shop and was quite surprised by the premium pricing.

http://www.beargryllsstore.com/uk/

£35 for a 1 ltr Bear Grylss litre Canteen - Osprey 58 Pattern Canteen can be had for £10
£59 for Bear Grylls BearPac20 Day Pack - A Quechua Forclaz 20 can be had for £10

Must be because everything is 'Extreme'

A UK version of Dual Survival featuring Raymond and Edward may well be on the cards. An Early pre-production publicity photo is shown below... Without any commercial product placements

Yup, same reason an item with the word "tactical" in it's name seems to get a similar markup. If it's tactical or extreme it MUST be better ... right?

I have a Goretex Jacket called an Extrem 7000 from Berghaus. Bought it about 20 years ago.. Excellent piece of gear. Says made in the UK, so it now really shows its age.

As it happens, us benighted barbarians who have the misfortune not to be from the land of the free and the brave have heard of Walmart. For some reason they do not have stores in the UK. I believe that reason has something to do with their employment practices?
As for the pricepoint thing that's normal practice amongst big box retailers.

You two behave yourselves. This is supposed to be a friendly discussion. Lets not get personal, please. Thanks.

I believe that is quite clearly stated at the beginning of each episode.

I like Bear, and would love to hang out with him one weekend.

His TV shows are entertainment, not a DIY series or documentary.

I'll watch it on the DVR if I am bored.

Bear seems likable, but he sure seems to fnd an awful lot of dead anmals laying convently next to trail. And what is it with him and rappelling? The average lost hiker isn't going to have ropes, harnesses, carabiners, descenders etc on them. Though the show certainly allowed him to push his line of products. I just wish it had had more interestng people on there. Tom Arnolds constant whine had my teeth on edge and Deon Sanders had me ashamed to be a male. Also I fnd his constantly jumping of cliffs into water to be bad advice for anyone relying on that show for survival advice. Besides the fact you will be soaked and could becoming hypothermic, how do you know what lurks under the surface? Boulders, ships ribs or other sharp impaling items come to mind. t was mildly entertainng but took very little away from it. JMHO.

Rappelling is a great TV visual. Producers find it irresistible.