So, Naked and Afraid

[RichardR]

I haven't watched any television in years, but I'm guessing they "blurred out" the naughty bits eh? Anyway yea naked wouldn't be the best way to wander through a wilderness setting, between all of the bug bites, bramble thorns, and poison oak, ivy, sumac etc it'll be a full time job trying to maintain body temp in cooler climates.

All of the spare clothing in our packs is the water resistant rip-stop stuff from Stearns, well all except our spare pairs of boots, skivvies & socks, it's great stuff, a bit expensive but the weight savings in the packs is well worth it, the weather/water-resistance is just a bonus IMHO.

I suggest getting the kind with the poly-netted inner-lining, instead of the more comfortable cotton inner-linning, once that cotton inner-liner gets sweaty or drenched in a down-pour it sort of clings to you the whole time & gets annoying until it dries back out.

[Mister L]

I thought it was a show about bitching and wining, there are at lease 2 camera guys, 2 sound men and a producer, and medic's with them. They are not in any danger but just have to look for food and water, and if they can't find any they will not die. Don't believe anything on TV.

[JAB]

Not a fan of Man vs Wild BUT the man WAS former SAS and that ain't exactly a walk in the park(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9837238/The-SAS-a-very-special-force.html). He also fell just under 5000 ft with a ripped parachute during a training exercise from what I've read, if the damage had been even slightly greater he would've been in a wheel chair.

 

Oh, I respect Grylls' personal badassery, physical strength and abilities.  I just think of him as more of an extreme wilderness adventurer/thrill seeker, not really a 'survivalist' in any way that could practically be adapted by the average person.  I mean, sure, a guy who has trained to parachute into remote areas and conditioned his body against the elements could probably do just fine jumping off of a waterfall into the pool, below, if the fall presented an obstacle to his journey.  I, on the other hand, could expect to break a leg (if not my neck) and die either from the fall or from the hypothermia experienced when my broken leg made it impossible to get out of the cold water.  An ex-special forces thrill seeker probably could cross a deep gorge by going hand-over-hand across a tree limb or something.  I, on the other hand, would be treated to a long fall ending with a sudden 'splat'.  In other words, trying to keep up with him in a survival situation would get me killed.  It would be like me saying to John Rambo, "Hey, let's go hiking, sometime."

 

Stroud, on the other hand - while undoubtedly 'tougher' than your average person - is not 'superhuman', appears to be genuinely trying to hone survival skills rather than thrill seeking and generally did not take unnecessary risks on his show and cautioned others against doing so.  He certainly wasn't 'timid' about doing what had to be done but was a lot more practical about the risks of injury in a survival situation and realizing that such risks should be avoided when possible.

Edited August 13, 2013 by JAB

[jcj]

Not a fan of Man vs Wild BUT the man WAS former SAS and that ain't exactly a walk in the park(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9837238/The-SAS-a-very-special-force.html). He also fell just under 5000 ft with a ripped parachute during a training exercise from what I've read, if the damage had been even slightly greater he would've been in a wheel chair.

Stroud, on the other hand - while undoubtedly 'tougher' than your average person - is not 'superhuman', appears to be genuinely trying to hone survival skills rather than thrill seeking and generally did not take unnecessary risks on his show and cautioned others against doing so. He certainly wasn't 'timid' about doing what had to be done but was a lot more practical about the risks of injury in a survival situation and realizing that such risks should be avoided when possible.

Not sure about Grylls, but Stroud is a very genuine and humble guy in person. Had the pleasure of meeting him last year.

[oddprimer]

here's the truth and BS about the show:

 

The truth is that it is national geographic for this generation. You get to see a naked girl!

 

The BS part is that it gets edited hard. If it is going to get ratings it has to be watchable. I'm not sure it succeeds on that count. 

 

Here's the hardest part of all to grasp: most of them would adapt. They would live for a year, two years, whatever. 21 days is a short amount of time when it comes to survival. The stuff they are hesitant to do on the show for food would become really easy on day 45. By day 90 it has become a tradition. 

 

That said, it is all such perfect fakery. You are putting people in a situation that they would never, ever be in if it wasn't the show. I'd be more interested in a show where people had to live in downtown Detroit with only a lighter and sparkplug. 

[whitewolf001]

here's the truth and BS about the show:

 

The truth is that it is national geographic for this generation. You get to see a naked girl!

 

The BS part is that it gets edited hard. If it is going to get ratings it has to be watchable. I'm not sure it succeeds on that count. 

 

Here's the hardest part of all to grasp: most of them would adapt. They would live for a year, two years, whatever. 21 days is a short amount of time when it comes to survival. The stuff they are hesitant to do on the show for food would become really easy on day 45. By day 90 it has become a tradition. 

 

That said, it is all such perfect fakery. You are putting people in a situation that they would never, ever be in if it wasn't the show. I'd be more interested in a show where people had to live in downtown Detroit with only a lighter and sparkplug. 

They had one in the 80's, it was pretty hot for a while...

 

 

 

Oh, I respect Grylls' personal badassery, physical strength and abilities.  I just think of him as more of an extreme wilderness adventurer/thrill seeker, not really a 'survivalist' in any way that could practically be adapted by the average person.  I mean, sure, a guy who has trained to parachute into remote areas and conditioned his body against the elements could probably do just fine jumping off of a waterfall into the pool, below, if the fall presented an obstacle to his journey.  I, on the other hand, could expect to break a leg (if not my neck) and die either from the fall or from the hypothermia experienced when my broken leg made it impossible to get out of the cold water.  An ex-special forces thrill seeker probably could cross a deep gorge by going hand-over-hand across a tree limb or something.  I, on the other hand, would be treated to a long fall ending with a sudden 'splat'.  In other words, trying to keep up with him in a survival situation would get me killed.  It would be like me saying to John Rambo, "Hey, let's go hiking, sometime."

 

Stroud, on the other hand - while undoubtedly 'tougher' than your average person - is not 'superhuman', appears to be genuinely trying to hone survival skills rather than thrill seeking and generally did not take unnecessary risks on his show and cautioned others against doing so.  He certainly wasn't 'timid' about doing what had to be done but was a lot more practical about the risks of injury in a survival situation and realizing that such risks should be avoided when possible.

Without a doubt, agreed.

Edited August 14, 2013 by whitewolf001

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

I watched a  film with Les and his wife trying to get off the grid.. was pretty interesting. I could NOT do what he does or most of them do as far as survival. I am spoiled and a comfort creature..