Ray Mears vs Bear Grylls

Zulu

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Opposed to this we've got a chubby, floppy haired dude who makes great wild mushroom soup

...who has about 10 books published on survivalism & bush craft, is used by the government as an expert in tracking, and, was proved in fire. He was in an actual helicopter crash, survived, aided injured crew, and got everyone rescued. In real life.
Don't be too quick to dismiss.

leggit

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

If I was to decide which of these men would be more useful in a survival situation I would base it on their expiriences and credentials and not on whether or not their TV show is dramatised.

Bear Grylls was in the Special Forces Reserve (not quite the SAS but not to be sniffed at), he was the youngest person ever to climb Everest, which he did after severly injuring his back after a parachuting accident. He's crossed the Atlantic in a rubber dinghy, jet-skiied around the UK etc....

Opposed to this we've got a chubby, floppy haired dude who makes great wild mushroom soup. But please, continue to make moronic comments about piss-drinking

Bull****, he was the youngest Briton to climb everest which he isn't anymore. Now stop spouting crap while Ray makes me some nettle soup served in a bowl he made out of a cats ear all while fighting a tribe of indians with his judo prowess and hypnotic khaki shorts dancing

Bear now only holds one place in the guinness book of records for most amount of urine ever drank in one sitting (for cats ear bowl fulls, 12)

jet-skiing around the UK???? That doesn't really sound that bad-ass???

squadro

remember bear wandering into the railway tunnel in the malaysian jungle just as the 7-25 express from kuala lampar was due only for him to make it out just in time to avoid a catastrophe closely followed by the cameraman.came in handy for me once with the 8-40 to waterford. Ray who ate all the pies mears is the go to man.:)

--Kaiser--

Zulu wrote: »

...who has about 10 books published on survivalism & bush craft, is used by the government as an expert in tracking, and, was proved in fire. He was in an actual helicopter crash, survived, aided injured crew, and got everyone rescued. In real life.
Don't be too quick to dismiss.

Fair enough.
And likewise

murphm45

kieranfitz wrote: »

Yeah, during some secret squirrel mission that he can't talk about, which is odd since 23 SAS(R) are green roll only.

Eh not quite, he was doing it himself with some mates in South Africa. his paracute got tangled and he don't deploy his reserve (which somewhat ironically is what broke his back when he landed).

Maybe you should try and check your fact before making smart comments!

there also seems to be a lot of 23 SAS bashing going down. I'd be surprised if everyone knocking it would be able to get in (you know given how its "not the proper SAS" and all). keep in mind it was originally designed for "retired" soldiers (e.g. ex royal marines paras etc) who wanted to be the best ... but on a part time basis, and from what i can gather selection is no different from "normal" SAS selection.

discus

It's fairly different to regular SAS selection, actually. I was in a certain part of Wales on exercise sometime earlier this year, while SAS selection was ongoing. From what I heard, it doesn't cover everything the full timers do.

BengaLover

Bear..MMMMMM....

Somnus

Out of those two choices it's Ray hands down for me. The guy is a master of his craft. He knows how to live in the wild. Not just survive. A true legend.

I am a massive fan of Les Stroud (aka Survivorman) though. I think his show has the best format. 7 days (10 in his new series ) in the wild in a reality based situation, eg. lost hiking, mountain biking etc.
Great skills, mix of materials you might have plus things from scratch. And a realistic side of his show is that not everything works. Shows that the element of luck to getting by in the wild.
Oh and by the way f*ck cameramen. Les films the whole week himself. Guy
is a machine. Cannot wait for his new series.

PS I this guys youtube channel has all the current Survivorman series and a few Ray Mears ones.

PM me for it if the link get's removed due to the new regs.

Capt'n Midnight

dfx- wrote: »

By which time, Mr. Grylls is swimming through white water rapids to get down the river 10 miles nearer to safety. But we've spent our time making a bow and arrow..

or you could be stuck one foot below the surface


don't forget the bystander effect, someone who has made it to the edge of a city might not get the same help as someone who is in the middle of the wilderness


in almost all survival situations you stay put and await rescue
if you have to move you don't take unnecessary risks

Guy:Incognito

Has the Bear Grylls video been posted yet where he carefully makes his way across a treacherous hole int he ground, then it cuts to some guys home video where he's in the same spot, zooms out and the hole ends about 20 feet to the left, he could have just walked around it. There was a road a few hundred meters away too with cars goign up and down, not exactly stranded in the wilderness.

EDIT. This one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UpSlpvb1is

2nd edit, seems it has, heres another

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBmhNA7JME4

Capt'n Midnight

http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8671928318/m/9861996858/p/2

Not too long ago, Backpacker Magazine (www.backpacker.com) put out a special SURVIVAL issue, and one of the articles was named (can you guess it?) A Dozen Ways To Die. It's about the most common ways people manage to die in the backcountry - 12 of them.

I was not surprised that animal attack was not in the top 10, but I was surprised that hypothermia wasn't #1.

In order of their degree of fatality:

#1 - Unprotected falls. People either climb higher than their ability allows for a safe ascent or descent, or they try descending a face that is too steep and dangerous

#2 - Drowning. This usually occurs on "frozen" lakes and whitewater rivers.

#3 - Heart attack.

#4 - Hypothermia. Also known as exposure. I was surprised this wasn't #1. It doesn't require freezing temps - only temps in the 50s, with wet and windy conditions contributing. Wearing cotton clothing (jeans, sweatshirt, etc.) can exacerbate this condition. It's best to keep yourself warm & dry instead of having to get yourself warm and dry.

#5 - Heat stress

#6 - Lightning. I'm surprised this isn't listed as a threat more often on this show. I'm much more afraid of lightning than bears or mountain lions

#7 - Avalanche. I believe Colorado leads the nation in avalanche deaths every year. Just poking the snow with a ski pole is NOT an adequate test for avalanche conditions.

#8 - Suicide

#9 - Flash flood

#10 - Insects

#11 - Snakes & spiders

#12 - Predators, including alligators, mountain lions, and bears

OK it's US centric but emulating Bear is more likely to get you killed in most if not all of these situations.

people yak on about how fit and agile Bear is forgetting that results may vary if you aren't of the same physical caliber


It's been pointed out that the mercury/gemini/apollo astronauts were the calmest people ever, the sort that wouldn't even blink if you discharged a gun just behind them. Gung ho is not a long term survival trait in situations where getting a scratch means it'll become infected or where long term planning is needed.

the purple tin

dfx- wrote: »

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach..

One of them was in the reserves, one of them teaches them..:pac:

Ray is not a soldier, he was never in the military.
He is a bushcraft/survival and tracking expert. He has devoted his whole life to it (been doing it since he was a child) and that's why the military want him to teach their troops. He is the best man for the job.

Both on a plane, plane crashes in the back-arse of nowhere.

A: Who would survive the longest in the wilderness if the other had died?

B: Who would you wager on in a knife fight hours after the plane crash?

C: Who would you wager on in a knife fight 6 months after the plane crash?

Who would have made his knife first?

Discuss.

Sindri

A bear would kill both of them before any of that happened

KeithM89_old

Merged.

John Doe1

Deleted User wrote: »

Both on a plane, plane crashes in the back-arse of nowhere.

A: Who would survive the longest in the wilderness if the other had died?

B: Who would you wager on in a knife fight hours after the plane crash?

C: Who would you wager on in a knife fight 6 months after the plane crash?

Who would have made his knife first?

Discuss.

A. Bear Grylls, he survived west donegal therefore can survive anywhere
B.Why would there be a knife fight?
C.Eh?
D. Go to bed

the purple tin

Deleted User wrote: »

Both on a plane, plane crashes in the back-arse of nowhere.

A: Who would survive the longest in the wilderness if the other had died?

B: Who would you wager on in a knife fight hours after the plane crash?

C: Who would you wager on in a knife fight 6 months after the plane crash?

Who would have made his knife first?

Discuss.

I think you're looking for Tommy-Lee Jones in "The Hunted" OP.

RussellTuring

Deleted User wrote: »

Both on a plane, plane crashes in the back-arse of nowhere.

A: Who would survive the longest in the wilderness if the other had died?

If one of them died, I think it's fairly obvious that the one remaining would survive longer.

sanbrafyffe

remember lads ray mears is british.so we know whos gonna win

kylith

Both on a plane, plane crashes in the back-arse of nowhere.

A: Who would survive the longest in the wilderness?
Mears would survive longer, much better sustainable bushcraft.
B: Who would you wager on in a knife fight hours after the plane crash?
Grylls. He's got the speed advantage.
C: Who would you wager on in a knife fight 6 months after the plane crash?
Mears. Grylls would have lost his speed advantage from infection due to eating raw eyeballs and the like.
Who would have made his knife first?
Well, they both would be travelling with knives, but assuming they were lost in the crash my money's on Mears. He looks like the type of guy who knows a thing or two about smelting/flint knapping.

Icepick

Les Stroud, actually