Les Stroud Versus Bear Grylls

[c.d.]

Do you watch these survival gurus? I watch both shows and like both guys but I prefer Les. Bear does things that would probably get 99% of most people killed wheareas Les just basically tries to stay alive. Plus Bear has a back up crew with him. You can see Les get lonely and depressed which is a big factor in survival situations.

I have to give credit to Bear for eating the grosset stuff like a fish eyeball and squeezing water out of elephant dung. The last episode I watched he gave himself an enema while floating on a raft no less. Now that's impressive.

So do you have a favorite? I also heard that Ray Mears (who is from England) is the real McCoy but I have not seen any of his programs.

c.d.

[The Good Michael]

Les is so much better. He is the real McCoy and I think Bear is just a hobbyist who likes to eat weird things on camera.

Mike

[c.d.]

I love reading the heated debate on the Internet that this question produces.

c.d.

[The Good Michael]

Bear's show is more entertaining because they create drama, but that is because there is a crew there. They often try something to see if they can do it, then they do it as if they are being reckless.

Les is alone and he, as you said, shows that it's tough to be alone worrying about everything yourself. He has to film himself going somewhere and then he has to go back and get the camera. His job is way tougher.

Mike

[Adam Went]

Well i've actually just watch both Les and Bear's TV shows from the Australian outback (one in Victoria, one in the Northern Territory) within about a week of each other, and on that basis, I totally agree with the other opinions already posted here - that is that Les is the "better" of the two as far as showing you how to survive goes.

Bear's show seems to be more of an entertainment show which almost takes things beyond the realms of possibility at times, whereas Les focuses on common situations and how to survive those. Bear was of course trained as an SAS soldier so that might explain some of his more outlandish adventures....

Cheers,
Adam.

[ChainzCooper]

Bear's show is fake. He has a camera and emergency crew standing by if things go haywire. Les on the other hand was all alone and filming by himself in extremely dangerous situations. He almost had to hit the panic button in Kalahari when he almost passed out in 120 degree weather. Les Stroud all the way and its not even close.
Jordan

[Steve S]

Both are fun,but Mears is the Guv'ner............Fully available on YouTube.......

[c.d.]

I wouldn't call Bear's show fake. Yes, he has a camera crew with him and a support crew but he is still doing very dangerous activities. That aspect is not fake.

c.d.

[ChainzCooper]

You're supposed to be a survivalist but have a crew right there with you in case something goes wrong? That'd be like the Police shadowing Dog Chapman on every bounty he went on. So I'll take Les Stroud all day
Jordan

[quasar]

Bear is not a fake in the same sence that WWE wrestlers are not fake. They do put thier bodies through extreme exertion and pain. However, WWE wrestling is coreographed. In the same way, Bear's adventures are coreographed. Someone is only a fake if you are prepared to go up to thier face and tell them they are.

I do question his psycological state though. I have seen him eat animal feacies, camels stomach contents and regergitated food.

[ChainzCooper]

Never said he was fake as a person I've never met the guy but the portrayal of him being a survivalist is not real. Otherwise known as fake. Just one last thing, didn't he get caught staying at hotels on these survival missions awhile back?
Jordan

[c.d.]

I just saw an episode where Bear was in the jungles of Belize. He slipped on some wet rocks and almost went into a rapids. He really struggled to pull himself back up. Said a bad word in the process. You could tell he was shaken up. He also killed and ate a boa constrictor.

He has hard core credentials as a survival instructor.

c.d.