Bear Grylls is an idiot.

[abjonesiii]

let me preface this by saying I have spent a substantial amount of time in the back country. I enjoy my job, i have a good wife, audio is incredible, but my first love is mother nature. I hike, climb, raft, canoe, you name it outdoors and I've done. I am an Eagle Scout, have had thorough training in survival, and started an outdoors program at my university which i ran for my entire time there as a student, my main focus being teaching wilderness survival. and nothing and i mean NOTHING i have ever seen an expert do, hear off, read about, be educated on, or try for myself in no way resembles the tv ratings gimmicks and blatant ignorance that Bear Grylls demonstrates on a regular basis. ... inhale..... exhale.... ahhhh that felt better.

I don't do as much as i use to but at least once a year i head out for a 3 or 4 day camping trip with no gear. no tent, no sleeping bag, no matches, nothing but a small bag of food. ( it is very risky to eat things in the woods even for someone experienced, so many good plants look so similar to bad plants that a quick mistaken identity could spell disaster, scavenging food is an emergency only skill, not a weekend hobby)

During the last two episodes I've seen of Man vs Wild with Mr Grylls he has gotten into water in sub freezing temperatures. To a real survivalist getting wet when its cold is the Kiss of Death, forget it game over. but maybe Bear doesn't have to obey that rule because he's that good... possible but what knocked me over the edge is i saw him strip down to his skinnys, break through some ice in a river and say "now I'm going to jump in this river and swim to the other side UNDER the ice. Then when i reach the other side I'm going to break through the ice again and climb out." holly crap, I don't even really know where to start. This crap shouldn't even be on TV because it teaches the mindless drones at home that its ok to do. Its NOT, NOT NOT NOT NOT .

I do like Survivorman, Lee Stroud seems to me, from my experiences, to be the real deal. Bear Grylls however is either a complete and udder idiot or a fake.

sorry, thats really been bugging me and I needed to get that off my chest

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I don't watch the show but I did catch part of an episode that he went into freezing water on purpose. I don't know squat about survival techniques but even I know that's a serious no no.

 

[adwilk]

While his stunts seem a bit ridiculous at times, his credentials speak pretty loud. The episode with the freezing water was to show a what if, knowing that most people caught in that situation couldn't have survived, he put his money where his mouth is and showed how to react in that situation. Stupid? Yeah, but its not like he doesn't have an out if something goes terribly wrong. I think his program is plenty informational and entertaining. Of course you shouldnt try it at home, a lot like most of the programming on that channel.

 

[jostenmeat]

I do like Survivorman, Lee Stroud seems to me, from my experiences, to be the real deal. Bear Grylls however is either a complete and udder idiot or a fake.

Well, Lee Stroud had to film what he was doing. Obviously with Bear, someone else is filming. That means there is someone there to help.

The most impressive thing to me about Bear is what he'll eat!!!

He'll drink his own piss. He'll eat maggots, camel chit, live frogs, anything. I want to see him go on Fear Factor, and put Ken Jennings 74 game Jeopardy streak to shame.

Even raw goat testicles.

 

[lsiberian]

let me preface this by saying I have spent a substantial amount of time in the back country. I enjoy my job, i have a good wife, audio is incredible, but my first love is mother nature. I hike, climb, raft, canoe, you name it outdoors and I've done. I am an Eagle Scout, have had thorough training in survival, and started an outdoors program at my university which i ran for my entire time there as a student, my main focus being teaching wilderness survival. and nothing and i mean NOTHING i have ever seen an expert do, hear off, read about, be educated on, or try for myself in no way resembles the tv ratings gimmicks and blatant ignorance that Bear Grylls demonstrates on a regular basis. ... inhale..... exhale.... ahhhh that felt better.

I don't do as much as i use to but at least once a year i head out for a 3 or 4 day camping trip with no gear. no tent, no sleeping bag, no matches, nothing but a small bag of food. ( it is very risky to eat things in the woods even for someone experienced, so many good plants look so similar to bad plants that a quick mistaken identity could spell disaster, scavenging food is an emergency only skill, not a weekend hobby)

During the last two episodes I've seen of Man vs Wild with Mr Grylls he has gotten into water in sub freezing temperatures. To a real survivalist getting wet when its cold is the Kiss of Death, forget it game over. but maybe Bear doesn't have to obey that rule because he's that good... possible but what knocked me over the edge is i saw him strip down to his skinnys, break through some ice in a river and say "now I'm going to jump in this river and swim to the other side UNDER the ice. Then when i reach the other side I'm going to break through the ice again and climb out." holly crap, I don't even really know where to start. This crap shouldn't even be on TV because it teaches the mindless drones at home that its ok to do. Its NOT, NOT NOT NOT NOT .

I do like Survivorman, Lee Stroud seems to me, from my experiences, to be the real deal. Bear Grylls however is either a complete and udder idiot or a fake.

sorry, thats really been bugging me and I needed to get that off my chest

Bear was British special forces so maybe dismissing him quickly is a bad idea. FYI swimming in cold water is entirely possible if you know how to handle yourself. I don't recommend it for most people, but with proper breathing and technique a person can survive in cold water for a good portion of time. Eventually most people will break unless they are just insanely trained.

If your wet it's better to strip as wet clothes will cool you faster than your naked body.

Lee Stroud is the crazy man in my opinion.

 

[darien87]

The most impressive thing to me about Bear is what he'll eat!!!

He'll drink his own piss. He'll eat maggots, camel chit, live frogs, anything. I want to see him go on Fear Factor, and put Ken Jennings 74 game Jeopardy streak to shame.

Even raw goat testicles.

I like Survivorman and Man vs. Wild. I don't know if either one has taught me anything that I could use in the wild. But I can't even remember the last time I went camping.

Remember the one where Bear at that cow eye?!?!? Jelly squirted out of his mouth, it was disgusting!!!

 

[lsiberian]

I like Survivorman and Man vs. Wild. I don't know if either one has taught me anything that I could use in the wild. But I can't even remember the last time I went camping.

Remember the one where Bear at that cow eye?!?!? Jelly squirted out of his mouth, it was disgusting!!!

I liked the one where survivorman turned his piss into water.

 

[krzywica]

Jelly squirted out of his mouth, it was disgusting!!!

That wasn't jelly man.

 

[Matt34]

Lee is the man, check out his 4 part video on youtube where he and his family built a completely self sufficant home in the middle of nowhere, Canada.

That man lives what he preaches.

 

[Rickster71]

what knocked me over the edge is i saw him strip down to his skinnys,

Well in that case, you can count Adam & Alex as his two newest fans.

 

[Wafflesomd]

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

Bear sucks IMO.

Survivor man is by far the better show.

 

[lsiberian]

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

Bear sucks IMO.

Survivor man is by far the better show.

take it easy people are way too critical of Bear. Cut the guy some slack.

 

[ragged]

Thank you, thank you thank for this post. Bears' show is fake @#$%! All camera hype. I don't care if he was British special forces, what he does on his show is all hype.

LES STROUD IS THA MAN!

 

[Matt34]

Lee is the man, check out his 4 part video on youtube where he and his family built a completely self sufficant home in the middle of nowhere, Canada.

That man lives what he preaches.

Now that I'm not on my blackberry. Here is the series I was talking about, called Off the Grid...and it's broke down into seven parts on youtube. It's worth a watch if this kind of stuff interests you.

 

[Alex2507]

sorry, thats really been bugging me and I needed to get that off my chest

That's what we're here for.

I don't know squat about survival techniques ...

I know how to call room service. That's huge.

Even raw goat testicles.

With hot sauce they alright.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I also find Alaskan king crab fishing to look very dangerous but it is fun to watch on TV and I like to eat King Crab.

I have first hand experience with the dangers of outdoor living and adaption for survival. Once, when I was traveling for work, I got to my Hotel at the Westin and they had doubled booked. I tried to pull some strings but they just had no rooms available. I had to stay a whole night at the Sheraton. I could not get the tempurature of the room right and ended up really cold in the middle of the night. I was able to overcome this by placing several pillows on top of me. It was rough but I made it through the night. I woke up feeling strong that I had overcome all that was thrown at me. I marched right into the batroom and made my own coffee!

 

[Rickster71]

I also find Alaskan king crab fishing to look very dangerous but it is fun to watch on TV and I like to eat King Crab.

I have first hand experience with the dangers of outdoor living and adaption for survival. Once, when I was traveling for work, I got to my Hotel at the Westin and they had doubled booked. I tried to pull some strings but they just had no rooms available. I had to stay a whole night at the Sheraton. I could not get the tempurature of the room right and ended up really cold in the middle of the night. I was able to overcome this by placing several pillows on top of me. It was rough but I made it through the night. I woke up feeling strong that I had overcome all that was thrown at me. I marched right into the batroom and made my own coffee!

Just by the fact you didn't have one of those foil 'space blankets, but instead used pillows; tells me you're not a true survivalists.
Maybe if you put some ice cubes in the bathtub and swam end to end.

I'm sorry, but it just sounds like you're exaggerating!
Dude, I've made coffee...maybe not in a bathroom...but still. I'm just sayin.

 

[NicolasKL]

Lee is the man, check out his 4 part video on youtube where he and his family built a completely self sufficant home in the middle of nowhere, Canada.

That man lives what he preaches.

If its the same video that I saw on the green channel it was more like "watch Lee watch contractors build him a completely self sufficient home."

 

[Audioholics]

I do like Survivorman, Lee Stroud seems to me, from my experiences, to be the real deal. Bear Grylls however is either a complete and udder idiot or a fake

Seriously? Cause I have the complete opposite view. Survivorman, with his matrix pan shots and glamour angles seems to be more about him looking cool and being a filmographer (of his favorite subject, himself).

Remember that snake episode where he wrestled the fake anaconda while the camera strobed all around him doing freeze frames... omg I almost died laughing.

Bear at least has SAS experience and admits that he consults locally before each show. The reason he jumps into ice is to demo (as I recall he clearly stated in that episode) what to do if you FELL in... He's not advocating jumping in. He's also not dumb enough to demo falling in with your clothes on since he'd die... lol.

Bear is cool, but it's still ultimately television.

 

[Biggiesized]

I dig Bear for his accent.

I love when he says "vit-ta-mins and minerals" among other things with a British accent.