Forget American Idol and all the clones that came after, in this age of crap tv that’s filled with reality shows. Last night I caught episode episode 6 / season 2 of Man vs Wild and I think it was last week I was lucky enough (I never seem to know when it’s on) to catch the ‘Behind the scenes” episode of Survivorman - the one that recaps the entire season’s treks.

Have you been watching? In both shows the main characters Les Stroud and Bear Grylls shows viewers how to cope in different situations if you’re stranded in some remote and hostile location. After last nights episode of Born Survivor it had me thinking… if I had to choose one of these fellas to be with in a situation where I depended on their skills, who would I choose? They both seem to know what they’re doing, although Bear Grylls seem to be more physical due to his military background. However, when you consider that not only does Les survive in his shows… he does all the friggin taping. He carries around a bunch of cameras and is ACTUALLY left stranded.

Tune in to these two shows… you’ll see what I mean.

Man vs. Wild, also called Born Survivor: Bear Grylls, is a survival television series hosted by Bear Grylls, on the Discovery Channel in the United States and Australia, and on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.

In the show, Grylls both demonstrates and narrates techniques for wilderness survival. Throughout each episode, Bear also tells about successful and failed survivals in the area he is in.

Survivorman is a reality television program broadcast in Canada on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), and in the United States on The Discovery Channel and The Science Channel. Host Les Stroud must survive for seven days in various remote locales with little or no food, water, or equipment. He is dropped off with his clothes, a pair of cases for his camera equipment, his “trusty” harmonica, and a multi-tool. Usually, he also has random bits of everyday items that a stranded person in the given area might be likely to possess. He also carries a satellite phone for use in an emergency.

In each episode Stroud places himself in a unique survival situation. The show is meant to demonstrate how one might survive alone in a remote location with minimal supplies until being rescued. Finding food, water, and materials to make fire and shelter pose the main challenges of each episode.

Who would I choose? Les Stroud gets my vote!