i dont think bear would have much of a problem with that (unless he made the wrong decision on what to wear -pants or shorts, in a rainy weekend and he got sweat in his eyes). from what i have read about him he seems to have a pretty good resume.
His resume includes his SAS service where he managed to break his back during the training. I believe he is actually Reserve SAS. I know he also climbed Everest, etc.
I have no problem with his show being pitched for what it is, entertainment. I haven’t watched it since getting the flavor the first season. But jumping off of cliffs into unknown waters which is something even a trained stuntman wouldn't do without knowing what they were jumping into is just plain entertaining because of its foolhardiness.
I have no doubt he is strong, skilled, brave and smart. My problem with him is twofold. First, while I might find it amusing to wager on what limb he will have bent or broke, or what parasite he may have picked up as a form a entertainment. It is not legitimate survival skills that he is actually teaching.
And believe me, he is teaching. While in a combat situation (SERE) some of the things he might be doing may have some legitimate need. But as survival techniques they are foolhardy and in particular people should be taught they want to minimize their risk in a survival situation. The last thing you need to do in a survival situation is to compound the problem with illness or injury and to make yourself more difficult to find by continually moving. Second, at least as a courtesy to real survival specialists
and his audience he should at the end of the show have a real expert come on and explain that if you want to die, try doing what Bear does but what you really should be doing is making/finding shelter, staying put, preparing to signal, getting water, conserving energy etc. Even if you decide that you must walk out you don’t do it by climbing under glaciers and jumping off of cliffs or swinging across ravines by vines. If you want pure entertainment, watch Bear. If you want a little less entertainment but a lot more useful knowledge, Les Stroud is much closer to the real deal in my opinion and unlike Bears show, Les is not describing and showing things that is likely to kill his target audience if they attempt them. And he is actually out in the bush that he appears to be in, and he is alone, and he is carrying all his own crap including the cameras, and what knowledge he doesn’t possess in his current skill set about survival, which is considerable, he then seeks out local experts to find out appropriate techniques and teach them to the audience.
My nickels worth,
Keith
