Survivorman & Man Vs Wild

Discovery channel has two survival shows, at first this seems rather odd but they are very distinct (though even after noting that it still seems odd).

I saw Man vs Wild first and my first impression was that the show was decent, it was the high alps episode and the host made and used prussiks with parachord and dug a decent snow cave. I understood his decisions and agreed with him.

The first time I saw survivor man, it was the Costa Rican Juggle episode and I was disturbed that after building a decent shelter on the beach the host set off into the jungle and got lost. It was not as good of a first impression.

I was not really watching either but those were my first impressions. My friend Avi was talking to me one day about them though and pointed out that the host (Les Stroud) of Survivorman carries all the camera gear and shoots the show as well as hosting it. He also mentioned some that Man vs Wild had been criticized and accusations had been made that the host (Bear Grylls) did not stay in his survival shelters but built them and then slept in tents or even motels with the camera crew. I have watched more of both recently with a more discriminating eye and have changed my opinion.

Man vs Wild: Bear Grylls is a britt with an army background (though it was as a reserve and the lt cmdr rank mentioned sometime turns out to to be honorary) he is fairly charismatic and likable as a host. His advise is often addressing a worst case scenario and not the situation he is actually in. He eats and drinks things seemingly without discretion (including bugs, live fish, his own urine, etc) and he vamps for the camera by doing things like wearing his boxers as a hat after talking about the energy that can be lost when you have your head exposed. I think he is somewhat reckless, particularly in the Patagonia episode when he chose to tumble down a steep hill that he could have made a careful decent of and then building a "raft" to cross a lake he could have walked around in less time and ending up wet in a place where being wet could prove fatal. The show has petty good TV value but don't trust it if you are stranded in the wilderness. I do not watch the show often.

Suriviorman: Les Stroud is canadian and a wilderness enthusiast, he has held a guild license for many year. He is not as good looking as Grylls but is much more down to earth. His shows are self filmed, if you think about it this means he walks ever step twice ( once to set the camera and once to get recorder) and is still showing off for the camera much of the time. His show is always based on the goal of spending seven days in the situation and meeting his extraction crew at a given spot. I like that he always starts off looking at his resources, what is in his pockets and how did he get stranded. He generally cannibalizes a vehicle to start with, often using gasoline and the battery to start the fire he then tends and carries. His resources are realistic and I approve.

Les spends a lot of time talking about psychology and physiology, the importance of attitude and sleep, how long you can go without food, which I like and agree with. He also explains his decision making process generally influenced by weather and resources, I have disagreed with him (most notably Costa Rica mentioned above) but he always has his safety in mind above TV value, and will change things if he feels they are no longer prudent (in a recent episode he was trying to keep his arm in a splint to simulate an injury but took it out because it was becoming an impediment to his safety) He also shows in his Labrador episode, his safety crew coming into where he is and calling off his shoot because they felt a change in weather created to great a risk. Lastly I like that the majority of his shows are in north america. I find this show to be the much more practical of the two and would rather be stranded in the wilderness with Les , than Bear any day.