Survivorman’s Les Stroud and Man vs. Wild’s Bear Grylls both set out into the wilderness every episode to test their skills and educate us on survivalism. Both men have their strengths and weaknesses as both survivalists and tv show hosts. Who is the better survivor? Which is the better show? Let’s break it down..
Survivorman: Les Stroud
Man vs. Wild: Bear Grylls
In order to fully evaluate both shows and both stars, this competition is divided into four categories: Realism, Charisma/Sex Appeal, Who would win in a fight? and Survival Skills. Each will be evaluated with regards to the given criteria and there will be one winner per category, no ties.
Survivorman:
Les Stroud tackles the wilderness each week, by himself. That is, he ventures forth completely alone and without a film crew. This means he has to carry the cameras, set them up and film himself. Then, he has to go back and get the cameras after filming himself hiking off into the wild. That’s a huge pain in the ass.
Man Vs. Wild:
Right off the bat, we need to address the recent allegations that Bear has been less than honest while he’s been playing “survivor”. An ex-consultant for the show recently came forth to point out that while the show gives the impression Bear is sleeping in makeshift lean-tos every night, he has actually been staying in hotels while shooting episodes. Then there’s this video..
While the accusations against Bear are still unconfirmed, this video pretty much clinches it. Survivorman is more “real” than Man Vs. Wild.
Conclusion: Stroud is “real”, while Grylls is not.
Survivorman Les Stroud
Survivorman:
While Les can occasionally offer an engaging commentary on survival skills, he’s definitely hurting in the charisma area. This may be due to the perpective of the show, as he is almost exclusively filmed by a still camera (carefully balanced on a nearby rock, no doubt). But at times Les can be somewhat less than exciting during the episodes (read: he’s boring). Plus, he complains about having to carry the cameras around in EVERY episode (we get it, Les).
As far as “sex appeal” goes, there is none. He’s balding and in his mid-forties. Les really looks like that uncle nobody talks about.
Man Vs. Wild:
At times, Bear’s British accent can be awesome and at other times it’s severly annoying. That being said, Bear remains a interesting conversationalist and he usually isn’t boring. Plus, this guy has a story for everything.
For the “sex appeal” portion of this category, I asked our “Sex Appeal Consultant” to chime in on who’s hot and who’s not.
“I’d rather be with Bear Grylls after he crawled through a muddy bog than with a freshly-showered Les Stroud”
- Ms. Worm
Conclusion: At a party, Bear would be lots of fun and get chicks. Les doesn’t get invited to parties.
Man Vs. Wild Bear Grylls
Survivorman:
He’s a survival enthusiast, so he’s probably healthy and fit. But he went to college to study music, meaning he’s a hippie-type who probably smoked alot of pot in school. He plays folk music too which is kinda wimpy.
Man Vs. Wild:
Bear spent three years in the UK Special Forces as a Sabre soldier. Unarmed combat was part of his training. He has a black belt in Karate.
He’s also twelve years younger than Les.
Conclusion: Bear would beat the snot out of Les.
Man Vs. Wild Bear Grylls
Man Vs. Wild:
Conclusion: Pretty close call, but I have to give it to Bear as he communicates his expertise in many different ways.
Man Vs. Wild Bear Grylls
It was inevitable. Despite the recent allegations, Bear stills comes through as the #1 guy. He’s younger, better qualified and much more entertaining than Les. Watching Man Vs. Wild is always a fun experience, while Surviorman can be downright dull at times. Don’t get me wrong, Survivorman is a great show, but Man Vs. Wild is even better!
What Bear has to say regarding the recent allegations…
Re: the recent press accusations of motels and stagings in the show that have been doing the rounds, all I can say is they don’t always tell the full story, but that’s life and part of being in the public eye I guess
Man Vs’ Wild is currently filming its next season in HD. Discovery and Channel 4 will include a disclaimer at the start of the show so there’s no confusion.
Bear Grylls doesn’t need to survive but rather survive needs to Bear Grylls.
It’s a well known fact that in the event of nucleuar holocaust two things would survive; cockroaches and Bear Grylls, aftwards Bear would simply eat the cockroaches for protein.
Bear Grylls has died twice but managed to survive and escape heaven each time.
When in the Alps, Bear Grylls used pine needles and moss to build a shelter that received a 5-star rating and subsequently put surrounding ski resorts out of business. When asked to comment, Grylls dived into a frozen lake and reappeared completely dry with three rainbow trout.
In 2005 he led a team of five British men on the first unassisted crossing of the North Atlantic Arctic Ocean, in an open rigid inflatable boat. Bear Grylls simply tied the boat to a rope around his waist and toed the raft. Icerbergs, sharks, and storms were too afraid to get in his way. (Fact: Bear Gryllz actually did cross the Northern Atlantic Ocean in a raft)
On the last episode of Man vs. Wild, Bear Grylls defeats Wild.
Sources:
Bear Grylls (wikipedia.com)
Bear’s Blog
Bear Grylls official site
Grylls’ thrills bogus: expert (nypost.com)
Video Of Bear Grylls Being A Great Big Phony (linkognito.com)
So What! Bear Grylls Stays In Hotels, He’s Still The Biggest Badass on Earth (coedmagazine.com)
Survivorman official site
Les Stroud (wikipedia.com)
Les Stroud’s official site
Les Stroud’s blog
Les Stroud Vs. Bear Grylls Discovery Channel forums
More Movies and Television
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[copyright 2008 Wormbrain.com.]
August 26th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
neither of these shows is a “reality” show. Both are edited and contrived to a point.
August 27th, 2007 at 7:10 am
They both drink peepee so they both lose
August 27th, 2007 at 9:22 am
bear is a fag
August 27th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
This was a nail biter of a battle, well done! And thank you for the props good sir!
September 5th, 2007 at 11:06 am
les would fuck bear up, bear is a pussy and a fake….screw bear , les for life bitch
September 13th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Jut thinking on this, Man vs. Wild, I’ve heard, is a poser… I think Survivorman is pretty cool though.
September 23rd, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I feel that the allegations were a complete turn-off to man vs. wild for myself and thus, the show should be disqualified when comparing the two. Score one for Les from me.
September 28th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
very, very thorough and i can’t agree with you more about your overall assessment between the two survivor doods. though les is more of a realist when it comes to survival out in desolate regions, bear has more style, excitement, and interesting things to say. i still enjoy watching less, but bear is really da man!
September 29th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
yup, they are fake “reality” show, they just wants to gain viewership!
October 11th, 2007 at 2:36 am
Oh, please. Having studied with survivalists (SERE) and experienced many survival situations, my vote goes with Les Stroud.
Les is authentic; no camera crew, no amenities, no cheating. He knows his craft and imparts knowledge in memorable ways.
There are unique survival modes in each episode, and Les performs them multiple times for two very good reasons: no camera crew, and repetition will help us, the viewers, recall the skills.
Only the young and immature judge sex appeal and charisma on the basis of 12-hour stubble. Intellect and authenticity are sexier, by far. Add a wicked sense of humor and it’s a complete package.
As for Bear (what kind of name is that for a man?), one more face lift and his ears will touch. Sorry, but I wouldn’t trust him to get me out of a 7/11 parking lot, let alone a survival situation.
October 13th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
hey, where the hell are you?
October 21st, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Bear Grylls son’s name is “Marmaduke”. That’s just a cruel thing to do to a kid, in my opinion.
If I had known just that one fact earlier, this contest might have gone a different way!
October 27th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Oh Please, who would want to watch a show that can’t pass the test ! I’d rather watch a show and maybe learn something, than to watch a show-off pretend to be somebody ! Give me a break. Bear is a LOSER !!!!!!!! Give me the over the hill hippie any day !!! BTW I’m 49
November 22nd, 2007 at 1:59 am
Who cares, Bear Grylls is awesome. Les Stroud is at times a clueless hillbilly spending 10 minutes trying to make a fire, seeming to want to live in the environment forever. Bear uses better techniques to get out of the environment and get help. I would rather spend a week out surviving with Bear Grylls than 1 hour with Les Stroud.
November 27th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Hail to Bear! Any man who will gut and sleep inside the carcass of a rotting camel has my vote. Oh, and that sexy accent doesn’t hurt.
December 9th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Both are good escapism shows. Pitting one against other will always be suject to speculation but I’d submit that your criteria is flawed by using the four categories that you do. ‘Realism’ is fine, but ‘charisma/sex appeal’? Keep in mind the shows we’re talking about here deal with survival, not sex appeal or charisma in the wilds. Stamina or mental toughness might better serve the criterion. And ‘who would win a fight between each other’? What does that have to do with an individual’s will or skill to survive? Wouldn’t how either one could survive a wild animal attack be a more poignant category? Finally, ’survival skills’ is good.
Again, I like both shows they make you stop and think and put yourself in the host’s shoes. I think Bear goes a little over the top for sensationalism-sake by eating things live when he has the capability of cooking them. In one scene we see him showing us how to make a fire then in the next eating something disgusting, RAW! Les, on the other hand, routinely spares his watcher gutting procedures and obvious titillating-only scenes.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:08 am
bitch please. BEAR GRYLLS WILL KILL LES STROUD. hes more or less a GOD. Les stroud has a vagina, but bears got balls. Nuf said hoes.keep it white everyone.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:10 am
Bear is the manliest person alive. Him staging scenes happened once, so for all the people dissing him for staging scenes, you can go fuck yourself. Also, for the les lovers out there, i hope you realize that with a push of a button, he can have instant help from a crew producing the show. He also stays in the same place for a bunch of days with cans of pop and a fricken canoo. Wow thats surviving. Bear actually does shit like climb down 500 foot cliffs, drink liquids from elephant shit, and kills a bunnies with a fuckin stick!!!! In a gladitorial death match between Bear and les, it would take Bear 5 seconds to take out les. Bear also has balls, something les doesn’t. BEAR RULES!!!!!!!
December 28th, 2007 at 1:10 am
BEAR IS LIKE A CHINESE EMPORER, HE SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE GOD, AND CAN FUCK ANYONE HE WANTS UP THE ANAL HOLE WITH EASE. has anyone noticed how close les is to the word lesbian, hence he has no noticeable ball-sac of any kind. So that means he should seriously stop assuming he is a male being. If there are any bear fans out here, or should i say GOD fans, u can not say that at anytime, u have not seen bear do something or even seen a picture of him and said HOLY FUCKING SHIT FUCKS, THAT MAN IS A FUCKING GOD. because he is, and i think that if anyone gets in his way, even a drunk baby, they will die a terrible death of pain, suffering, and hell to the second power. there is a big difference between a normal person pissing, les pissing, and bear grylls pissing. u know what it is??? its that when normal people piss, its because they just saw bear grylls, when les pisses, its because he just saw bear grylls and he pissing out of his vagina, but when bear pisses, hes just pissing excellence. SO FUCK LES, AND ROCK ON BEAR. (p.s., its pwn time)
December 28th, 2007 at 1:11 am
les stroud is a crazy, crowing, candian, pussy-ass bitch.
January 1st, 2008 at 10:00 pm
omgggg, y would u want les w/e his name is! so WAT if i was bear i would do the same things, he is still TEACHING u the thinggggs! GOD hes stil eating the things, still DRInking the things, he still TEACHING u the things wat do u think he is superman?! god i bet ud do the same things as him as well! so i would NOT be talking so why dont u shut up and be happy hes even bothering, so bear all the way and i bet your name aint better.
November 15th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
This isn’t even worth writing about; Bear is so far superior to Les, they can’t be compared.
Sure, Les is alone (sort of, his support camp is generally a mile or two away) and that adds an element Bear doesnt have, but what makes what he is doing anymore realistic than the situations Bear finds/places himself in.
Every episode I watch of Survivorman pisses me off. If Les isn’t cutting himself, starting his shelter on fire or wasting his time on some ancient-indian trap that rarely, if ever works; he’s complaining about the weight of his camera equipment and the added work invovled with filming himself ( the very element that gives him any edge). Les isn’t surviving; he’s just not dying.