I did find it curious that many participants invested little effort in building a solid shelter. Only one of them attempted to build a log cabin but gave up soon due to a very strange reason (not being able to find proper clay for an indoor stove?!).

One of the guys was even camping in a plain tarp tent situated right at the shoreline in what seemed like a dangerously exposed place for a long-term campsite. In fact, I was amazed that his shelter wasn't blown away by the wind but somehow it made it through a bad storm.

In general, I would've expected the participants to accomplish more within that time frame but I suspect the horrendous weather and lack of food simply sapped their strength. Also, the filming must've taken a lot of effort that could have been spent on tasks more conducive to actual survival. But hey, it is a TV show.

Another thing I noticed - at least three guys tapped out due to being "stalked" (more like spooked) by a bear or cougar. The same participants were also clearly upset about the lack of a firearm, even though they were issued bear spray and flares. The way it seemed to me they simply could not handle the thought of being out in bear country without a firearm, the idea being ingrained so deeply that they were basically programmed to fail from start.

Which IMHO was a flawed approach. Admittedly, it's easy to sit in front of the computer and analyze other people's decisions with the benefit of hindsight. However, relying on any single item so much that simply not having it at hand is enough to make you give up doesn't strike me as the right attitude in a survival situation.

I can see how a firearm would be a powerful asset if used for hunting (though then again, many participants brought along their bows and arrows but never had a chance to use them). As far as protection against predators though I'm not sure a firearm would give those guys much more than a psychological sense of security if push came to shove. It looked as if some of them never even camped in bear country before, neglecting to follow such basic rules as camping well off the trails and storing food away from the shelter. Anyway, the other participants did just fine without a gun and the hostile wildlife didn't seem to bother them much.