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Big-TDI-Guy

macrumors 68030
Jan 11, 2007
2,606
13
Bears approach to wilderness survival is down-right idiotic. He's great for the cameras, and his show, I'm sure. Reality? Without a support and medical crew close at hand - it really shortens ones shelf life.

Les is much more realistic, and I find his show more enjoyable.

I miss the show "going tribal" - that one was entertaining while it was on.
 

jaydub

macrumors 6502a
Jan 12, 2006
798
2
If I want to be entertained - Bear Grylls.

If I want to fall asleep - Les Stroud.

People love to gripe about Bear staying in hotels and whatnot - they have said without exception at the beginning of the show that many of the things he does are presented to him to show how to survive. He's still a bad ass - you don't get to be among the youngest men to climb Mount Everest if you're concerned about staying in posh hotels.
 

mcarnes

macrumors 68000
Mar 14, 2004
1,928
0
USA! USA!
"That was definitely not to be repeated" in exhausted british voice.

Bear has the better show. But I like them both.
 

iJon

macrumors 604
Feb 7, 2002
6,586
229
Despite what happens on the show I still think Bear is the more bada**. If you were to put them in both real world situations I think Bear would fair better. Remember, he is former British SAS. That is excellent training he has received.
 

rhsgolfer33

macrumors 6502a
Jan 6, 2006
881
1
Despite what happens on the show I still think Bear is the more bada**. If you were to put them in both real world situations I think Bear would fair better. Remember, he is former British SAS. That is excellent training he has received.

Not to mention that what ended his SAS career was a parachuting accident that almost paralyzed him. Pretty soon after recovering he climbed Everest. He is a pretty amazing guy, strong as all get out and must have balls the size of an ox. You wouldn't catch me climbing up or down waterfalls without a safety rope.

I think Bear is a little more entertaining, but for real survival value and what you should actually do, Survivor Man gets the win. They are both pretty crazy.
 

echeck

macrumors 68000
Apr 20, 2004
1,831
21
Boise, Idaho
I agree that Surviverman is more "real worldly" what with it just being him out there with a couple cameras. But with that said, give me Bear over Les any day of the week. I just can't stand Les as a host. He makes the show absolutely un-bear-able (Ha!). But seriously, he's incredibly annoying.

I also agree that Bear is definitely more of a bad*ss. His personal story is inspiring, and he's a MUCH better host.
 

RamblinWreck

macrumors regular
Jul 4, 2008
182
0
Love em both but I too am in the Bear Grylls camp. His show from week to week puts him in more diverse settings. This keeps it entertaining for me. Not to mention a little more going on as far as action goes too.
 

Leto-Parallels

macrumors member
Nov 7, 2008
48
0
I don't care if Bear Grylls is spending the night at the Hilton and eating Quiznos subs in between takes, Man vs. Wild is still an awesome show. The guy keeps the pace of the show moving quickly the entire time, and it still remains educational for the most part, despite the huge deal the commercials make over him eating weird stuff like grubs, spiders and sheep intestines.

Now I also have great respect for Les Stroud, but Survivorman can get extremely dull. I once watched an episode where the guy drove to the middle of nowhere in his truck and slept in the driver seat for three days... drinking from a large supply of water he had in the back. Then he kind of just griped the whole time about not feeling very good.

He also complains a bit too much about having to set up the equipment himself, because he never brings a camera crew.
 

Counterfit

macrumors G3
Aug 20, 2003
8,195
0
sitting on your shoulder
Thats because hes really living out there 90% on his own. (sometimes he has a rescue crew he can radio in just in case)
He always has a safety crew, but they've only been involved once, and then an SAR team had to get him in another show.
i love how bear teaches people what they should do in the situations they are given. Either way, quality television.

Bear teaches you what NOT to do. "Oh, I'm going to jump into that pool of water down there, even though I don't know how deep it is, or if there are any rocks." "I need to get to the other side of this lake in Patagonia, so I'm going to build a ****** little raft that's going to fall apart halfway across." etc. etc.

Bear Grylls is a complete idiot. I could go on and on with all the stupid things he has done. But the one that sticks out with me is when he builds a bridge out of sticks and when he puts it down over the river it snaps. I don't know why he didn't let it down carefully.

He constantly puts does things that, in real survival situations, would put you at substantial risk for major injury or hypothermia, both of which can easily lead to death.

I know you were joking, but if Bear and Les were stranded together, I think it'd be Bear doing the eating...

Bear would probably do something stupid and hurt himself.
 

Keebler

macrumors 68030
Jun 20, 2005
2,960
207
Canada
i prefer survivorman. seems more realistic and everything Les does is geared towards survival (except for his band :)

He also just helped finish 'survivorman kids' which will be on tv march or later next year. they took a bunch of teens into the bush similar to how he does it.

one of the girls we hunt with was involved. she won't (and can't) say how she did, but she's not a typical girlie girl so I'm thinking she did great (she's already harvested 6 deer in 3 years of hunting). she's outdoors all the way.
 
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