Man vs. Wild Disc 1 Collection 1

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Originally broadcast on the Discovery Channel in 2006.
European Alps -- Sierra Nevada -- Alaskan Mountain Range -- African savannah -- Everglades.
Bear Grylls.
With little more than the clothes on his back, survival expert Bear Grylls goes toe-to-toe with some of Earth's toughest, most remote environments. Face sweltering desert temperatures, icy, raging rivers and hungry predators as he fights for survival.
DVD, region 1, widescreen (1.78:1, enhanced) presentation; Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Mixed Bag submitted by KeithMc on January 24, 2013, 11:23am This survival series involves a single person, suddenly dropped into various environments (eg bail out of a plane), and wishing to "get back to civilization fast". Unlike some films in the genre, for safety he is accompanied (off screen) by a film and safety crew to relieve him of many of the filming duties. As expected he also used (off screen) local expert advisers, and some of the scenarios encountered were deliberately set up to illustrate various survival principles in each environment.

Among survivalists, Bear Grylls is a controversial person.

On the positive side, many of the techniques he shows are extremely valuable for a single person to use when unexpectedly caught out in a number of different wild environments, and so this video is very informative. Techniques like getting oneself out of a bog trap, using a knotted parachute cord as a safety device on glaciers to save you from hidden crevasse falls, how to use tree crossings to keep away from alligators, and some of his "quick found meals" were all great. For those, I recommend watching this video. I also liked his "We're not here to live, so let's get the heck out of here fast" attitude.

But on the other hand, as may be expected from a Special Forces kind of guy, he tends to be very aggressive and high risk taking. Many of the stunts he attempted were extremely risky or requires physical skills and boldness (like sliding down a steep jungle waterfall, crossing a canyon on a rope, drinking unboiled water, walking "alone" in the open anywhere near African predators, hiking in bright daylight in dehydration risk areas before securing water, etc). As expected in these films, some of his food and water sources were appropriately rated "ewwww", but some may harbor diseases. So whenever possible, if you aren't planning on boiling or cooking more conservative strategies to deal with those issues should probably be sought out.

It is also vital to keep your priorities straight (the "STOP" principle). True, taking a FEW risks to quickly leave bad areas may be important, but I lost count of the number of things he did that could have easily gone horribly wrong (or may have been addressed in the wrong order). As he said, even one twisted ankle, infected cut, or illness when alone in the wild could prevent travel and prove fatal, so many of the things shown made for great entertainment, but in reality should only be attempted as a last resort.

In my opinion, there were also a number of missed opportunities in some of his scenarios that may be commonly encountered. Dealing with leaches when traveling in swamps, or even making a few basic weapons or traps to provide food or turn the tables on local predators that may hunt you while moving or camping overnight would have greatly enhanced many of his scenarios.

But my biggest challenge is getting past that you may not have his basic equipment list "that he always carries on his person". What are the chances if you bailed out of a plane and were stranded in the middle of the Everglades you'd be equipped with a big switchblade hunting knife, a water bottle, a metal cup to boil water and a metal match flint striker? (Especially today, when many of those items would be stripped from you at the airport.) Showing what you should do without one (or all) of them in a damp environment would have been highly informative. I feel the "Dual Survival" video series better handles those issues.

So... I'd recommend this one for interesting ideas and entertainment value. But if your true goal is to learn what to do "if suddenly caught out in the wild", I would also watch a wide range of other authors' videos as well, to get a more balanced view of the topic.