university prez, lost in a swamp drinks own urine to survive.

[MicroBalrog]

You don't seem to have a grasp of the situation.

BG passes his antics off as appropriate in a SURVIVAL situation.  Intentionally making yourself hypothermic? 

Oh, no, no, I do.

It is a semi-fictionalized TV show. Anybody who thinks a man that is being filmed by multiple camera crews is 'surviving' anything is downright mad, or stupid. Anybody who thinks he can learn actual survival techniques from such a show is downright mad, or stupid.

But the show does make an important point: in a survival situation, you will often end up doing things that are unhealthy or dangerous, that you would not do in a non-survival situation, because they'd be too dangerous.

In the day to day world, I would never, ever consider making my own explosive charge and setting it off in the house in which I live. I would never consider conducting amateur eye surgery. I would not consider drinking saltwater. These are dangerous things - but a survival expert should correctly point out that sometimes it is appropriate to do them.

If you hesitate at the moment of truth, and not do something because it seems 'dangerous' or 'icky' or 'unhealthy' when it desperately needs to be done, you will die.

[280plus]

I flip right through all of it and have no idea who Bear wtf is. 

Did watch some dude once sliding down a crevasse waterfall chute thing in a glacier once. I didn't really think it was all that smart. What if you get to sliding and all there was at the end was a nice deep pool of water? Nice knowin' ya! Kind of like being a bug in one of those pitcher type flytrap plants. 

[Jamisjockey]

But the show does make an important point: in a survival situation, you will often end up doing things that are unhealthy or dangerous, that you would not do in a non-survival situation, because they'd be too dangerous.

Actually, that is the worst point he could make in the show. 
You, sir, are wrong.
While drinking your own piss a few times might be fine, most of his idiotic antics are a STUPID IDEA when you don't have the full support of a rescue team and are really, truely lost. 
If you are not sure when you might be rescued, or when you might affect self-rescue, taking risks and making unhealthy or dangerous choices can KILL YOU. 
It all seems nice and neat in an hour on the tube from our living room couch. 

[280plus]

Its always a very good idea to let a few people know what your plans are and when you should be back. Ask the kid who cut his arm off.

[MicroBalrog]

If you are not sure when you might be rescued, or when you might affect self-rescue, taking risks and making unhealthy or dangerous choices can KILL YOU. 

Yes, that is sort of the point of taking risks. It can kill you, but sometimes doing something that CAN kill you is better than doing something that will certainly kill you.

[Lanius]

People who get lost deserve to drink their own urine.
I mean, is it so flipping hard to check your watch and keep walking in one direction for hours? Eventually, if you picked the right direction, you will hit a road.

The boy scouts troop I was once in did this to 15-yr old teenage kids.. around midnight, they were blindfolded and driven, then lead deep into the woods, and given a lamp, a photocopied map and matches, but in a sealed bag. Most of them marched the 15-30 kms back to the camp without ever resorting to use the map, or the light. Worst thing that could happen to them was being chased by gypsies for some miles.

If the sky's clear, even a dolt can find polaris. And if it's not ...well.. there's still the moon and the watches. Also, settlements tend to produce a glow which can be seen from afar.

[Jamisjockey]

Yes, that is sort of the point of taking risks. It can kill you, but sometimes doing something that CAN kill you is better than doing something that will certainly kill you.

Like cutting one's arm off when there is no hope of rescue? 

Thats a whole *expletive deleted*it load different than the risks BG takes.  Running parkour style through the moab desert? Nothing like wasting your energy and hydration. Have you ever been in south Utah? Jumping into the rapids of a 40 degree river? Yeah, nevermind if you go a mile downstream you're likely to find a calm pool to cross.  Have you ever been out of the raft in a rapid in a 40 degree river? 

The sort of risks one might take might be calculated risks.  BG doesn't take calcuated risks, he does what on the surface looks like stupid acts. Now, he's got a camera crew, a sat phone, and a rescue helo on standby.  Get your jeep stuck on a trail 40 miles into the backcountry where nobody's been in years?  Sink your sailboat off a deserted pacific island in the middle of a monsoon?  You've got none of the things at your disposal that BG has behind the scenes.  A calculated risk is one thing.  A stupid risk?  Yeah, dying of a compound fracture in a slot canyon somewhere, or drowning in a freezing rapid because you hit your head?  *expletive deleted*ck that.

[280plus]

I've sum 30 minutes in 52* water. It was like getting a reverse brain freeze. I had to keep my head out of the water to keep it from aching. 40* water? no thanks...

[Bigjake]

Like cutting one's arm off when there is no hope of rescue? 

Thats a whole *expletive deleted* load different than the risks BG takes.  Running parkour style through the moab desert? Nothing like wasting your energy and hydration. Have you ever been in south Utah? Jumping into the rapids of a 40 degree river? Yeah, nevermind if you go a mile downstream you're likely to find a calm pool to cross.  Have you ever been out of the raft in a rapid in a 40 degree river? 

The sort of risks one might take might be calculated risks.  BG doesn't take calcuated risks, he does what on the surface looks like stupid acts. Now, he's got a camera crew, a sat phone, and a rescue helo on standby.  Get your jeep stuck on a trail 40 miles into the backcountry where nobody's been in years?  Sink your sailboat off a deserted pacific island in the middle of a monsoon?  You've got none of the things at your disposal that BG has behind the scenes.  A calculated risk is one thing.  A stupid risk?  Yeah, dying of a compound fracture in a slot canyon somewhere, or drowning in a freezing rapid because you hit your head?  *expletive deleted* that.

Perfect synopsis of that show. 

Gotta wonder how many people actually take the stupid *expletive deleted*it he does seriously.

[41magsnub]

REI kinda does, or at least thinks they can sell crap in his name.  I was in there today and walked past a display of BG edition Gerber knives.

[Perd Hapley]

REI kinda does, or at least thinks they can sell crap in his name.  I was in there today and walked past a display of BG edition Gerber knives.

Those are sold just about everywhere now.

[MicroBalrog]

Those are sold just about everywhere now.

Seen a pile of BG gear in 'outdoor supply' stores in Ireland.

[KD5NRH]

Seen a pile of BG gear in 'outdoor supply' stores in Ireland.

Did they have the signature model hydration system?
http://5z8.info/twitterhack_d7d7kc_instant-purchase