Survivorman vs Man vs Wild
Funny, I was thinking about these two shows and the difference between Survivorman and Man vs Wild when I saw someone mentioned Les Stroud and Bear Grylls in the comment section of the Alaska Experiment post.
I like both Survivorman and Man vs Wild.
Bear Grylls and Man vs Wild
Any way you cut it, Bear Grylls is one tough hombre. Ex British Special Forces and climbed Mount Everest when he was 23. One of the youngest Brits to do so. That's after he broke his back in a training exercise with the British Special Forces.
The main reason I watch Bear Grylls and Man vs Wild is for entertainment. Just watching his facial expressions when eating something disgusting sends me over the edge laughing my butt off. Or some of the stuff he tries that doesn't work, like building a bamboo ladder to get across that Ecuadoran river. He pushes it over and when it hits the other side it busted to pieces. That was too funny.
I do pick up some survival tips from his show although they are few and far between.
Bear has been criticized for staging some of the scenes in his show. Personally, I don't know a "reality" type show out there that doesn't have staged scenes and that includes "Deadliest Catch".
So what if he slept in a motel or at campground. It's obvious if you watch the show the dude doesn't get into all those situations on a 7 day outing.
I do think he's a bit dramatic. I mean, I don't think there was a real reason to strip off all his clothes and swim that Siberian river in the dead of Winter. I also don't think it's necessary to show him eating everything he comes across raw. But I do understand that this creates buzz which creates viewers who tune in to see what he's going to eat next.
Here are some Bear Grylls truisms I just love. All done with that British accent while making a grimace.
- "God that's horrible"
- "I have no idea what this is going to taste like"
- "It's like an explosion of puss in my mouth"
- "It taste like a Sausage casing filled with baby poop"
I also laugh at the way he says "Vitamins". It's more like "Vetimens".
Les Stroud Survivorman
To me, Les Stroud is more like the average Joe. There's no doubt he could not win an endurance or physical test against Bear Grylls. The dude just doesn't have enough lead in his pants! But I bet both could get out alive if they got lost in Montana hunting Elk. And at the end of the day when you're lost in the woods, that's what counts.
Survivorman is a lot more dramatic than Man vs Wild if you ask me. Take for example the episode I watched today with Les on the African Plains. If he said "Black Mamba" once, he must have said it a hundred or more times! Black Mamba this, Black Mamba that...
Geez, okay Les, we get it, there are snakes in the grass!
I also like the fact that Les pretty much cooks most of his food. That's a plus for me. I'm not sure how many of us would eat a Yak's eye raw or a giant grub worm raw.
I also like the fact that Les Stroud tapes his episodes himself. Not that I have anything against taking a camera crew along like Bear Grylls does. We get to see a lot more stunts out of Bear because of the Camera crew. Makes you wonder what you're missing on Survivorman.
Les also takes along things that a normal person would and employs them in his week long survival outing. Some of the stuff he makes is pretty crude and I wonder if it would work, but none the less, he does go about trying to show us how to use what we have. After watching him smash up an old VCR camera, I knew then what I needed to do with my old RCA Video camera!
It's TV, Don't Take It Serious Dude!
As I said earlier, both these shows are over the top in one way or another. I think most of us who spend any amount of time in the woods put more in our "Survival kit" than these two guys do. I've never seen either one whip out fishing line, hook or sinker. Or even aluminum foil!
The people I know carry enough things in their Survival kits to get them through if they get lost, plus most know how to use the kit. Even if I'm hunting or fishing close by, I always carry a little pouch with waterproof matches and some line and other goodies to help me if I have to spend a night in the woods. You just never know!
As for the two shows above, remember, at the end of the day it's still TV and they can edit a lot for a show. Don't take either one very serious, they're meant for entertainment and selling commercials.
If you want to learn real Survival skills, join one of those Survival Schools. If you want to sit back and be entertained, watch Survivorman and Man vs Wild!
Filed Under Outdoor TV Shows | 13 Comments
Tagged With bear grylls, les stroud, man vs wild, survival, survivalist, survivorman
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13 Responses to “Survivorman vs Man vs Wild”
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These posts about tv are really cool. I have to go with Survivorman between the two shows. Survivorman seems more authentic to me. And as you said, I relate better to Les. Not that I really relate to either because I would probably not make it through a few hours of what they do. Both shows are fun to wacth.
I’ve been in the US Army for 16 years. Can’t say what I’ve done, but I now teach SERE (Survival Escape Resist and Evasion) to troops going all over the world. MVW is legit! Bear teaches more on the Evasion from the enemy techniques. These techniques are however not the way to go for all isolated personnel situations. That’s what the Army call’s it by the way, Isolated Solder Guidance (ISG). As far as Bear receiving food and water off camera? Who cares??? As long as he keeps ripping the heads off snakes with his teeth when they say “ACTION” I’m good. Again if you’re on a camping trip and family knows you are on a camping trip and you can’t make it back, then yes you would hang out and wait…If you think they can find you.
As far as entertainment…the survivor man makes me laugh my ass off!!!!!!!!!!!!! Other than that, they should take that junk of the air.
If you’re weak?… than MVW is not for you, and you shouldn’t be outdoors anyway.
Les seems more authentic. Indeed, he relates better to the “average Joe” (six-pack Joe, Joe the plumber or any other Palin’s Joe). Of course you have more action with Bear (jumping, running and so on). This is because if something happens to him, someone would take care of him. Les has to manage not get hurt and survive at the same time. If not… it might be the end. So… if you want scripted action… go nuts for Bear. If you want some reality… Les is the winner.
Don-
I watch both- gotta admit, I find entertainment in both BUT there is a TON of BAD info being given out by Mr. Bear- like jumping in Class 3-5 water to get to civilization when there really is no need other than the wow factor.
Les does seem to be more of the average Joe and gives a bit more practical advice as opposed to a ” dogs are on my trail and I better run like hell” attitude of Gryllis. Both would be good allies when the chips were down.
BTW- if Joe the deer hunter took everything in the woods he has been told he needs by the outdoor media and advertisers, he’s need a lot more than a daypack….. JMO
Denny
There’s a reason Les looks tired on his show and Bear seems to have all the energy in the world. It’s because Les is trying to survive. While Bear is trying to make television show.
If you think running around in your back yard. Pretending to be Rambo, Is actually how someone would survive. Than I suggest watch Man Vs Wild.
Now if you are not a pussy and want to know what it really takes to survive in the wilderness. Than your only choice should be Survivorman.
Survivorman sux.watched one episode and it was boring.
I watch both but prefer SurvivorMan for sure. It’s more realistic without a camera crew following him. I don’t ever see Bear the next morning looking like he didn’t get any sleep because of the wild animals around him.
I love ur movments in every survival.really its an incredible achivment.oh god bless him more & more
So basically, Man vs Wild = good entertainment, and Survivorman = real f’ing surviving.
I’m so sick of so called reality shows being re-enacted for example southern fried stings or operation repo. I won’t watch them. And when I see man vs wild guy in a scene he has a nice white shirt on and next he looks like he’s been dragged behind a Mack truck through a few mud holes. So what happened did this tremendous athlete fall down a hill? No, his crew that follows him around while filming cut, fixed him spot of tea fetched him a scone and had the make up crew step in and dirty him up. That’s what happened. And that is horse crap! Look them both up on Wikipedia. Man v wild has tons of fake stuff and survivor man does not
I like both shows but I have to tip my hat to Survivorman. Only because when Les Stroud is out for a week, he only eats what you see. In a sense, he IS surviving on each episode. Bear eats and drinks with his camera crew which is why he always has so much energy throughout the week. Both show what you should do along with a few tricks if you find yourself stranded. The difference is, Les is actually doing it while Bear is showing you how to do it!
I don’t enjoy Les Stroud as much as I do Bear Grylls. I am 8 yrs old and I DO like to play Rambo in the backyard. I like to see Bear demonstrate his survival skills. I would like to see a competition between these two men.
bear grylls is awesome thats rirght i said it oh yea