A few months ago a little boy in Utah had to spend the night alone in the woods after getting lost and then running off through the woods tearing up his only protection from the elements along the way. Bear Grylls received the credit after the boy was found the next day despite the fact that everything the boy learned from the show was wrong and if he had simply “hugged a tree” he likely would have been found before dark. That story was everywhere, sadly this one will probably go unnoticed.

As for Stroud and Wardle, I couldn’t agree more. Sadly many people disagree and even sadder still is the fact that the majority of those that do are young people. Loser, whiner and wimp are some common (albeit not nearly the worst) names that I’ve heard used to describe both men by kids who are using Bear’s BS as a measuring stick. They see Bear charging though the bush, blasting through every obstacle in his way; his traps always work, he gets soaked to the bone with no ill effect, he’s always full of energy and when something does go wrong, like when he cut his finger in Vietnam and had to be evacuated back to GB to get it fixed, that just gets cut out and most people are none the wiser.

That’s why I’m so passionate about this. It isn’t even so much about Bear as it is about the people like Stroud, Wardle and Mears. Guys who are out there showing people what it’s really like and not only do they get overshadowed by Grylls, they get put down because of him. Probably the worst part is that there’s going to be a whole generation of Bear Grylls wannabes heading out into the woods. Won’t that be fun? Thank God I stay as far into the backcountry as I can get.

I suppose I’ve hijacked your article enough, thanks for allowing me to vent.

I apologize Bob, I didn’t mean to go off on a rant here but the Outside article just annoyed me to no end and they apparently don’t share your integrity and are not interested in hearing any feedback or in all likelihood don’t want to take the chance that some of that feedback might be negative.

It would be nice for a change to read an article about Bear that starts out with the phrase “Wait a minute” and then asks some serious questions about what this guy is saying. For example it took me 5 minutes to discover that he filmed his Siberia at the end of November and the average temp where he was at that time of the year is 10-20 degrees ABOVE zero but on his website he claims the temps were 30-40 degrees BELOW zero. We barely saw his breath and his face never got red so obviously it wasn’t anywhere near that cold. Why isn’t anyone else scratching their heads and asking these questions?

The bottom line is the guy will do and say anything to make himself look like a stud so he can sell a book. It’s just a shame when you think about all of the class acts out there who get overshadowed by a gloryhound like Grylls.

Another thing that makes a successful con man is the set up man, in Bears case apparently that is his camera man Simon Reay who says this in the article-“ A hundred percent of what you see him do on the show is the first take” Oh really? Then why don’t we see a cameraman when they show multiple angles? In one show Bear jumps off a cliff and the camera comes up behind him as he goes over the edge. Then they cut to a side shot showing him falling into the water but there is no camera man behind him as he jumps. So how exactly do they do that in one take?

Grylls has an exciting and entertaining show but I just can’t respect someone who lies to my face in order to sell books and make money. If the BS were limited to the show I’d look the other way, it is TV after all. But to tell the same lies on his website and in interviews is just messed up. Too bad more people don’t see him for what he really is so their money and admiration could be directed towards someone who actually deserves it.