Bear Grylls...Man vs. NOT so wild?

Bear reminds me of WWE wrestling. Interesting to watch, but it always seemed fake to me. Les is the man.

Sorry folks, but I don't think survivorman is much better. Supposedly he is by himself but he talks about how he has to detour 2 miles around a lake, wasting precious time, and then there is a shot of him on the other side of the lake. what, did he film himself two miles hike away and come back to get his camera?
I was also watching his earlier Sonoran desert show where he was looking for food and couldn't find anything to eat while sitting next to a prickly pear cactus. Which is not only edible, but a staple of the native Americans and is even used in modern cuisine, as jelly, and juice. You just take the spines off and roast it. I don't have to be a survival expert to know that.

He also camped out in the washes. which is some of the worst spots to camp because that is where all the dangerous critters like to live. Most of the critters live in the washes or pass through because it is the only place for shade.

I did learn one thing though, that you can't get good water out of a barrel cactus.

Though I'm not there to see it, I understand that Les will go to great lengths to get transition and background shots in his videos of a particular survival episode, even to the point of walking half-way around a lake.

He's put himself in more uncomfortable positions than just having to backtrack a couple miles, and it's clearly on camera that he's suffering.

So I think you can rest easy that what you see is what you get with Les. Of course, he's not perfect, missing that food opportunity, but that only makes the show a bit more suspenseful.

Originally posted by Badge01
Though I'm not there to see it, I understand that Les will go to great lengths to get transition and background shots in his videos of a particular survival episode, even to the point of walking half-way around a lake.

He's put himself in more uncomfortable positions than just having to backtrack a couple miles, and it's clearly on camera that he's suffering.

So I think you can rest easy that what you see is what you get with Les. Of course, he's not perfect, missing that food opportunity, but that only makes the show a bit more suspenseful.

But in this episode he was getting desparate to find his way out of the woods. He hadn't had food for days. Now, if I was literally starving, and lost, and couldn't find the road, I would forget about taking a 4 mile hike to just get a "shot" and shrug it off and keep going.

Of course, it could have been editing from a scene across a stream or something I would guess.

Stumbled across this lil video today. Figured some people might get a kick out of it. I'm sure some of you may have seen it as it is a month or so old.

reply to post by Prove_it



Heheh...you don't REALLY believe that Ray Mears guy lives on swamp lichen for weeks on end and still manges to stay overwieght, do you? Hollywood is always make-believe...

J.

I personally LOVE the show! Really always was very skeptical of the camera crew b/c originally they said he was ALONE, however never thought he'd be staying in motels! That makes me feel like a loser believing the "night footage" where he says how cold he is and how he can't sleep. Wonder what the truth is?

reply to post by jimbo999


who exactlly are you talking about?

i dont recall saying anything about anyone named Ray?

Originally posted by Prove_it
reply to post by jimbo999

 

who exactlly are you talking about?

i dont recall saying anything about anyone named Ray?

Ray Mears, British guy who knows what hes talking about when he talks about survival (look him up), but yes you didn't say anything about him.

i have seen quite a bit of "man vs wild" and i never thought it was supposed to be realistic to the bone -- the man is simply trying to show you tricks/skills for certain situations. i agree that some of the things he shows are not for just anyone -- some of the stunts require certain physical qualities that not everybody has. and i must have watched a different show cause one of the things stuck in my head from this show is "stay dry" -- sometimes though you need to make a choice between staying dry and continuing to move and reach a safer place. people really need a reality check with their own reality -- taking everything shown on tv (especially a show) for "reality?!!!! i think people who do that need a wake up call.
"man vs wild" -- is both entertaining and useful. anything one learns from anywhere/anyone one needs to re-evaluate and apply to their own body & mind. the show develops common sense (or informed intuition) for survival, which if you are ever in a situation like this is what you need most.
hats off to all people who dare. for real (not on the couch in front of the tv).

reply to post by Sinsear


sinsear, ya beat me to it, i saw this video a few weeks back and i was looking for it for the sole purpose of this thread. good work!
spike d.

Well it would seem from this that Les isnt always alone.

At the end you can hear the camerman laughing with him.

OK, so dont know how to embed the video, here is a link Camera man laughing at Les.

[edit on 17-10-2007 by cavscout]

I have inside information about this.

I went camping last year in in Moab, Utah. It was a lodge and disc golf park out in the middle of nowhere. It was called Camelot Lodge because it was the only place in North America where you could get a camel ride. It has since changed hands and is now called Base Camp. The previous owner, who still manages the place I think, is a hard core mountain man himself. In fact, he is a wise survivalist who was a big-time animal trainer in Hollywood (and stunt double, he plays Micheal J Fox's stunt double in Back tot he Future 3 because it was his bear that chased him out of the cave). Anyway! This guy said he had to remove basket number 17 (that basket 17 as in disc golf basket 17) to get a shot of Bear "in the wild", he also said he put the eggs in the nest for Bear to climb up to, and they heated up a flat rock with a camp stove so Bear could fry an egg on it. At then end of the episode it shows Bear walking up to a building, which is the lodge at Camelot, mmm, I mean, Base Camp. Bascialy, the entire show is a fraud.

[edit on 17-10-2007 by pluckynoonez]

reply to post by nixie_nox


He does. Its a pain, and it takes so much longer, but he does talk about that being a pain. He gets the time-elapse shots for dramatic effect. Les Stroud is where its at. He teaches you how to drink your own pee safely, while Bear, doesnt.

You People are a bunch of dummies, don't be so serious about the BEAR. If anyone is stupid enough to actually do some of these things and get themselves hurt, then has anyone thought maybe they deserve it.This guy is entertaining and really fun to watch. I for one hope the show stays running, it beats the hell out of watching some of the other crap on TV today. THANKS BEAR!! Thomas

reply to post by Prove_it

I'm so pleased it's not just me ... I can't stand the man ... everything about him makes my teeth itch, and I can usually see some good in most people.

Give me Ray Meares any day of the week, he's respectful of his surroundings ... Gryls is just a (oops, forgot we can't use swear here), who rips the heads of unfortunate creatures just because he can ... not because he needs to. As for drinking the liquid from elephant dung ... well, nuff said !

Woody

Bear Grills is not a cheater. Do you want to know what is cheating? BRINGING A CAR FILLED WITH FOOD!!! (survivorman!). And come on, what if you need to survive MORE than a week? Anybody could do that, you dont need food or water for a week. Les Stroud is more of a cheater than anyone. He is not the survivorman, he is the campingman!