Anyone here watch Survivorman

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Greg

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
4,335
259
Pembrokeshire
Mike Harlos said:
Hi,

I generally get a kick out of the Survivorman shows, and must admit he has much more courage and skill than I have to put himself in such situations alone.

My one main concern is that a primary premise of many of the shows is to "go somewhere" (ie. meet his pick-up crew at a destination), while it may be better to stay put. The Costa Rica episode comes to mind, where he is stranded on the coast, in a nice spot near fresh water and with a pretty good shelter, and decides to trek into the jungle. If I recall correctly, he then is delighted to find running water, as he can follow it to the shore (full circle).

I realize it would be boring to simply have him stay in one place (they'd have to rename the show "Camping Man"), but it would perhaps be good to point out the situations where others might do things differently.

In one episode he is dropped by a frozen lake with the wreckage of an aeroplane that had actually crashed there for real, so apart from his usual must have bits of kit he only had what was left of the wreckage to use for the week.
He stayed there the whole time.
In another episode he was stranded in an area of wetlands in which he also stayed put for the week doing various bits and pieces to survive until he was picked up.
 
May 25, 2006
504
7
35
Canada
www.freewebs.com
The man who is my mentor, was the man who Les learned under. If you ever hear him mention his "Survival Guru", it's my "Grandfather". Les was a severe student, he forced himself to practise constantly on his traps and bow drill. He's one of the best my mentor ever instructed (excluding his staff and "grandsons" :lmao: ).

Les started as an editor at MUCH Music. Which is a Canadian version of Mtv. So you can see already that he was based in film making and entertainment.

Les is a very good outdoorsman, but you gotta remember, this is tv. I'm sure Bear Gryllis is alot different off camera. Les has to think of the money, and the show.

There are dozens of things he does on Survivorman that I disagree with, the number one mistake, is he always tries to walk out of his situation. Which is the biggest mistake, you NEVER try to escape the woods!

But hell.. the majority of his fans wouldn't watch him if he's just sitting there, saying; "well it's day 6.. and I am still here... tending the fire... gathering wood... the shelter is still.. there.. .and the food is still... umm... edible... so... ummm...yeah..", now would they?
 
May 25, 2006
504
7
35
Canada
www.freewebs.com
Greg said:
In one episode he is dropped by a frozen lake with the wreckage of an aeroplane that had actually crashed there for real, so apart from his usual must have bits of kit he only had what was left of the wreckage to use for the week.
He stayed there the whole time.
In another episode he was stranded in an area of wetlands in which he also stayed put for the week doing various bits and pieces to survive until he was picked up.



Actually both episodes he tried walking out.
 

Greg

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
4,335
259
Pembrokeshire
OzaawaaMigiziNini said:
The man who is my mentor, was the man who Les learned under. If you ever hear him mention his "Survival Guru", it's my "Grandfather". Les was a severe student, he forced himself to practise constantly on his traps and bow drill. He's one of the best my mentor ever instructed (excluding his staff and "grandsons" :lmao: ).

Les started as an editor at MUCH Music. Which is a Canadian version of Mtv. So you can see already that he was based in film making and entertainment.

Les is a very good outdoorsman, but you gotta remember, this is tv. I'm sure Bear Gryllis is alot different off camera. Les has to think of the money, and the show.

There are dozens of things he does on Survivorman that I disagree with, the number one mistake, is he always tries to walk out of his situation. Which is the biggest mistake, you NEVER try to escape the woods!

But hell.. the majority of his fans wouldn't watch him if he's just sitting there, saying; "well it's day 6.. and I am still here... tending the fire... gathering wood... the shelter is still.. there.. .and the food is still... umm... edible... so... ummm...yeah..", now would they?

Wow,:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:
 

oldsoldier

Forager
Jan 29, 2007
239
1
53
MA
I enjoy watching Les as well. As I only have basic cable, I have to wait until the episodes are either available online, or come to the discovery channel. They had a marathon on last friday, which I gladly watched. Should have taped it though....oh well.
 
I downloaded the series from some dubious site because the name caught my eye and the fact that it is American so the chances are it will be never shown own British tv (it's not very mainstream) unless it's sky. I watched the episode where he dumps himself in the Arctic circle with the bare minimum as usual although he was allowed to take a little seal meat and blubber and his crew also insisted that he took a rifle as he was in prime polar bear territory. It's a good show, he does highlight the problems of survival in those conditions but he said the hardest thing of all was the cameras, setting them up, going back for them, carrying them etc. There is an episode as well where he panics during the night because he thinks he heard a bear or moose but to be fair i would as well. :theyareon
 

Voivode

Forager
Oct 24, 2006
204
5
48
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Nomad_Of_Soul said:
I downloaded the series from some dubious site because the name caught my eye and the fact that it is American ...

Ahem. He and the program are in fact not American. He is Canadian, and produced the program for Canadian television. That is all.
 
Apologies to you sir i said American cos i thought it was first shown on American tv (Discovery) he also dis a documentary called off the grid which is worth a look, he and his family set up home miles from electric etc, try to live the good life with all the ups and downs that come with trying.
 

Minotaur

Native
Apr 27, 2005
1,600
232
Birmingham
I really like the program.

I agree that there are cringe worthy moments, but then again Ray had his bow shotting slow mo!

The thing that really works about it is you see him with blisters on his hands from fire driling i.e struggling to get things to workl. It is an interesting tv program.
 

MitchelHicks

Forager
Aug 29, 2006
154
0
36
London
So what style do you guys prefer then being dropped off and having to survive or going to the place with a reason and to meet someone?

I know that the BBC told Ray Mears that they wanted to drop him off in the middle of know where and see him survive but he declined and chose to do the format like in Bushcraft Survival and Extreme Survival.
 

Greg

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
4,335
259
Pembrokeshire
MitchelHicks said:
So what style do you guys prefer then being dropped off and having to survive or going to the place with a reason and to meet someone?

I know that the BBC told Ray Mears that they wanted to drop him off in the middle of know where and see him survive but he declined and chose to do the format like in Bushcraft Survival and Extreme Survival.

I like a bit of both really, I even enjoyed the 'Hunting Chris Ryan' program. Where he was dropped in the middle of nowhere, in various parts of the world, in an escape and evasion type role and he has to make it to an RV to be rescued whilst being chased by a hunter force. Its more of a military orientated program but he uses survival skills during his evasion.
For those of you who don't know who Chris Ryan is, he is the member of the SAS patrol Bravo Two Zero that escaped to Syria during the first Gulf War after the patrol was compromised and had to evade capture by the Iraqis.:cool:
 

Voivode

Forager
Oct 24, 2006
204
5
48
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Nomad_Of_Soul said:
Apologies to you sir i said American cos i thought it was first shown on American tv (Discovery) he also dis a documentary called off the grid which is worth a look, he and his family set up home miles from electric etc, try to live the good life with all the ups and downs that come with trying.

No worries, and I'm not trying to be a jerk about Americans, but I thought it was an important distinction.

I've only seen a portion of 'Off the Grid' and enjoyed it. He did another one called 'Snowshoes and Solitude', where him and his wife spend a year in the Ontario bush attempting to live with only native technology. That was a good program, and highlights how hard life can be especially without a community.
 

Broke

Member
Mar 20, 2007
40
0
50
Okinawa, Japan
No offense taken!!! ;)

Sorry to bring up something a few days dead! I love the show. I bought the Season 1 DVD and watch it regularly. He's the reason I initially got into all this. When I brought up the topic of Survivorman in the car forum I frequent, one of the two Canadians there piped up and said his elementary school is the school that gave him his harmonica (which he mentions by name in the show). That guy gained instant famedom in my eyes, hahahaha.

Greg, as a former US Marine, I'm interested in the "Hunting Chris Ryan" show you mentioned. I'm in the process of reading the US Army's lengthy survival and evasion manual, FM 3-05.70--600+ pages! Is this a regularly-occuring show, or a one-time deal?

Well it's past midnight here, so I'm off to bed!
 

Matt Weir

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jun 22, 2006
2,880
2
52
Tyldesley, Lancashire.
Broke said:
Greg, as a former US Marine, I'm interested in the "Hunting Chris Ryan" show you mentioned. I'm in the process of reading the US Army's lengthy survival and evasion manual, FM 3-05.70--600+ pages! Is this a regularly-occuring show, or a one-time deal?

I've just finished reading the book on that series. Pretty good in general with some decent info and although it is a survival guide it's pretty bushcrafty throughout.
 

Greg

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
4,335
259
Pembrokeshire
Broke said:
No offense taken!!! ;)

Sorry to bring up something a few days dead! I love the show. I bought the Season 1 DVD and watch it regularly. He's the reason I initially got into all this. When I brought up the topic of Survivorman in the car forum I frequent, one of the two Canadians there piped up and said his elementary school is the school that gave him his harmonica (which he mentions by name in the show). That guy gained instant famedom in my eyes, hahahaha.

Greg, as a former US Marine, I'm interested in the "Hunting Chris Ryan" show you mentioned. I'm in the process of reading the US Army's lengthy survival and evasion manual, FM 3-05.70--600+ pages! Is this a regularly-occuring show, or a one-time deal?

Well it's past midnight here, so I'm off to bed!

It was a one off series which I haven't seen re-advertised yet!
I think, but am not completely sure, that you can by the series on DVD!
I will have a look around and get back to you.:cool:
 

DaveBoon

Member
Nov 23, 2012
30
0
Cheltenham
Apologies for dragging up an ancient thread, but only recently got into Survivorman, having been raised on Ray Mears. I have watched a little bit of Bear Grylls, but find his shows all a bit too stressful (more extreme survival than bushcraft really), and find Ray a bit too gentle and well .... rambling (sorry, that's probably almost blasphemous around here! ;) ). However, I really really like Survivorman. I love the fact that it feels a lot more real and raw than Ray, and that he makes mistakes and quite often fails (especially at fishing & hunting). If you just watched Ray, you'd think you could go off into the wild for 6 months and it'd be a piece of p*ss. Watch one Survivorman episode and you'll be wanting to do a LOT of practise before you take one step out of your garden! I like his raw annoyance when things don't work out and his genuine joy when they do (normally after a successful firelight). I'm not sure you'd learn as much watching this as watching Ray, but for me, there's something about it that just makes me yearn to get out there and "go wild".
 

calgarychef

Forager
May 19, 2011
168
1
woking
Well Les is my hero and I agree with what most folks have already said except for the walking out bit. Whenever I've seen an episode where Les walks out he's VERY careful to explain that walking out is only something that should be done when you haven't got a choice such as being lost when no one else knows about you being gone etc.
 

shortymcsteve

Forager
Jan 8, 2011
152
0
Hamilton, Scotland
Oh wow, this is more than 5 and a half years old!
Funny enough i just started watching Les Stroud and i found that he has his own youtube channel. He uploaded 2 episodes for people to watch only 3 weeks ago. I think these are the first episodes he ever made? Some of his other shows i found hard to get into, got a little boring at some parts and the editing is also not my favorite. I would love to see more Ray Mears again soon, he needs another show. The idea of Ray going out into the wild with only a few tools would make an interesting show i think, we would be able to see all the skills he teaches put into practice. Too bad he said no.

[VIDEO=youtube;0GQ6pE3An-Y]www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GQ6pE3An-Y[/VIDEO]
[video=youtube;fCzVo6kgsTk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCzVo6kgsTk[/video]
 

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