Thread: Best survival show on TV, "Man vs. Wild" or "Survivorman"?

What do you think is the best survival show on TV, "Man vs. Wild" or "Survivorman"? I think "Survivorman" is better because Les Stroud does everything on the show by himself, surviving on what little gear he has available and from what he can scrounge from his environment. He also does his own camera work. Bear Grylls on "Man vs. Wild" has a whole team to help him and he shows off too much. He also gets in situations most of us wouldn't be in and does some stupid things like eating fish raw from a river he refers to as a "parasite laden river".

lol Bear is disgusting...disemboweling a camel for water when stranded in a desert? Poor camel...i don't think i would go that far...bad surviving technique demonstrated....

i love the discovery channel and natgeo

Survivorman easily is the better show. They throw that guy in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of cameras and a sack. He has to setup everything and watch his own back. I like the info Bear Grylls dishes out and his personality, but you gotta give it up for Les cause he has the tougher role.

I know I am late to this thread, but I absolutely have to chime in on this one. The answer is... neither one. The best survival series by far is Dual Survival with Dave Canterbury and Cody Lundin. I realize that this show did not exist when this thread began, but this is my update none the less.

Between "Man vs. Wild" and "Survivorman"? I like things about each and dislike things about each... but I have to lean toward Man vs. Wild. Yes, Les does film and do everything on his own, which is great... but he is simply a bit too much of an "ideologue" for me. He has gotten worse as of late. His newer show "Beyond Survival" is not even about survival anymore. It is about primitive cultures that are dying. Isn't that kind of the antithesis of survival? And... Les simply "survives" in place for 7 days. He doesn't actually work toward any sort of rescue, which is a key component to survival.

Bear demonstrates some things that could get many of us non-special forces types killed, but he actually persists toward rescue. He demonstrates a lot of good practical survival stuff, assuming you are able to sift through the sensational entertainment oriented stuff. From everything I've read, Bear is a really great guy. Not that Les is not, but he seems a bit more "self-righteous" to me. More of an "ideologue" than Bear. Just not my preference. Bear seems much more genuine to me.

Neither show in my opinion are the best when it comes to practical survival information, but both are entertaining. I guess the one last thing that separates these two shows is... Les'sshow took too much of a toll on him (his own words). He may have shot all of his own footage and did everything completely on his own... but not anymore. It was too hard on him. Bear is still making episodes. Les is not.

Never really seen survivorman but have always been a huge fan of Bear Grylls. That man is TOUGH, he's also recently started his own clothing + gear line and I've yet to try them but reviews are full of praises!