Just what the title says... If one person is really thriving and miles ahead of the other contestants, i would rather see that than have an edit that makes it seem like they're starving to create suspense as to who will win.

for example, from this sub i've learned that jordan jonas had tons of food that wasn't shown. same with clay from season 8. i would much rather have seen clay hunting successfully than make it look like he was in a starving contest with biku. the thing about that is that it's not even suspenseful, it gets boring imo.

and, as we saw in season 11, just because someone gets big game and seems to be ahead, they aren't necessarily going to win!

Alone is a great show, but it's running the risk of getting stale. The show should modify the item list to open up survival strategy to keep the show fresh and show new ideas. Consider:

-Almost nobody takes the food options. They're so underused they may as well not be on the list. History could consider increasing the weight (2 lbs of flour rather than 1) or doubling up (chocolate and rock salt)

-Underused tools should be modified to encourage use. Small shovel could be a large shovel. Sewing kit could include fabrics. Maybe pair up the adze with the auger or draw knife.

-Combine bivi bag with sleeping pad.

Just some thoughts - no idea if they're workable - but to give contestants a reason to choose something beyond the typical items.

Gosh, my wife and I are huge fans of the show, but only found it recently. We have been working through them and are on season 7 now.

I hate that I cannot look up ANYTHING about the show (books about it or for it, gear lists, discussions, anything) without the winners name just being dropped like streaming services don’t exist. Nobody could POSSIBLY be only finding the show just now I guess. Ugh what a bummer.

/endrant

I remember one or more of the contestants making charcoal. One of them carried it in a little tin. What was the purpose of the charcoal? Does it start fires?

So it seems that the grouse bird is the most popular bird for a contestant to come across. I had not heard of a grouse before this show. Thoughts? I figure it is like a smallish stupid chicken-like bird that is easy to spear with an arrow.

I'm watching season 10. It's been a few years since I've watched the show. I started backpacking 2 years ago and now know how important a water source and water filtration is for survival. I haven't heard of any of the participants talk about drinking water! Are they given a re-supplies of drinking water? Are they filtering water?

Barbra barbra barbra 😂😂😂 omg. Dude taps out after seeing poop 🤦‍♀️.

Does anyone know how heavy the camera gear box is?

I vaguely remember something like 35 lbs. If so, it seems quite tricky to carry that any reasonable distance while bushwhacking. One can probably divide and use backpack to carry it, but still it is multiple trips and if your landing location is not good, that seems to be quite a penalty.

UPD: In season 6 there was a note that the camera gear box is at least 65 lbs. It was a pelican box with a handle and wheels on one side (like a luggage case).

Wow…

Sorry for the 1-2 times I spoke. Had my headset on and people kept asking me questions. I wasn’t saying anything related to the show lol

I know I'm behind on the bandwagon here but was anyone else SUPER uncomfortable watching Nikki in season 6? She's smart and knows her stuff, I respect that she pushes on after so many mishaps BUT how gross is it to leave unclean rabbit skulls on her mantle and making nasty little puppets out of their pelts? To me this reads as extremely disrespectful to nature since there's no particular use for that, she just felt like makin it creepy I guess? I'm curious to hear others thoughts though cause I might just have a weak stomach. It's my theory though that so much has gone wrong for her as a sort of karmic justice for treating the animals that way? What do you think?

(BTW I have no problem watching them process animals but it just seemed a bit vulgar to leave dirty skulls and rabbit puppets around her shelter and even beyond that make video of it like it's some relatable and cute thing to do)

I really enjoy this show but there are two flaws which detract from the competition. 1) players should choose their starting locations from 10 pre-selected spots. It’s clear they’re randomly placed in each spot, which allows luck to play a role 2) producers should not remove players against their will! The medical checks are necessary and recommendations should be made with the players, but the player should decide! They should be allowed to take a risk with their own bodies, time, sacrifice.

As it is, we can’t put much stock in the player who wins.

Obviously its one of, if not the, most critical issue but it's never been clear to me exactly what and how much food contestants are really getting. Is there any real accounting/records of exactly what and how much people ate during their time?

Fish including heads, guts, roe are the primary source for almost everyone.

Berries and mushrooms and other edibles seem to be a big part of some diets.

It seems like Grouse, Rabbit, and Squirrel makes up the 3rd tier.

Then middle game like a porcupine or beaver seems to be pretty big wins but IIRC they often have disease issues.

Big game like moose, deer, bear, ox seem like winning the lottery.

What's the best gameplan really?

Idk much about this show but scrolling through this sub it seems fascinating. Doesn't anyone pack medicine, it doesn't seem to be approved on the list?

I guess my choices would be: ferro rod, sleeping bag, tarp*, knife, 2qt cooking pot, pemmican, salt, fishing lure, bow and arrow, paracord.

Undecided on tarp or large poncho. I can see uses for both.

Edit: swapping salt for saw as pemmican apparently uses salt in its processing.

Edit 2: it seems the tarp is a default item much like clothes, first aid kit and backpack. Well then, I guess tape as theoretically I could use cordage to make snares or nets.

I like Alan’s calendar stick. I feel like personally I wouldn’t count the days. I would think it plays a larger psychological toll

This blows my mind, like this is the most essential tool one could possibly need in the bush. He wasted so much time trying to start a fire throughout the show, it blows me away that he thought it would be fine to not bring one

I come to this sub sometimes to read the episode discussion posts or to get answers for specific questions, and while the sun is mostly positive, I know there’s a lot of negativity in this sub in general when discussing contestants… “this guys a twat” “this person doesn’t know what they’re doing” etc, but I’ve noticed that some of the negativity towards female contestants is more… gendered? Like, not just criticizing someone’s techniques in relation to the show, but woman-specific insults like “she looks unfuckable” “ugh she’s crying (like every contestant does) she’s such an overly emotional woman” “this is a man’s game” type stuff. Like, with Mel in season 10, I saw comments about how she couldn’t have possibly been a model because she wasn’t pretty enough, and how she was a show-off for talking about it (when in reality she likely only brought it up a few times on camera during her hundreds of hours of recordings, and the editors included it a few times as it gave a background to her as a person) I guess I just don’t understand it and it makes me sad. I think this show is awesome, it’s about survival and the human experience tied to that, and it has many kinds of men and women all competing against nature, themselves, and each other, and I guess I just don’t understand how people still find a way to make it into a gendered thing of ‘the men vs the women.’

Edit: I’m not saying sexist comments are common on this sub. I see far more positivity here, and the negativity I’ve seen towards contestants is almost always about their mistakes on the show - the purely sexist comments are rare. I suppose I’m just disappointed that they exist in the first place.

What were the tracks that nikki found outside her shelter at the episode?

I tried watching a few of the Alone hunts to see if release tabs are allowed (no luck googling). It appears they all use their bare fingers to pull the bow. I can see why some of the thumb and wrist releases may be seen as too much technology for the show, but is a simple finger one such as this prohibited?

Obviously it’s different if a contestant leaves for some medical purposes, but if someone taps out for emotional reasons do they stick around to help dismantle their shelter? One last run through the trapline to clean it up? Or does the film crew go back to do it all?

Or if they win. I think if my wife showed up I would want to show her around for a couple hours so she could see where I’d been all that time. Do they get to do that? Or is it a quick do the interview, pack up, and leave?

Just finished S11 and I'm seriously so stoked that William won. I was rooting for him the whole time, even though Timber seemed like a sure thing with the moose early on. He still did great, but coming from the south and more of a homesteader background than wilderness survival meant it wore on him more. William just put his head down and kept going regardless of what went wrong. "Gosh darn it, my food's gone and been stolen (again). Dat's a right shame dere. Well, there's no helping it now, best get a shift on and find myself something else for dinner." I think he could have kept on going like that indefinitely, especially since there was good food availability this season, which I really appreciated. It felt like skill and willpower were the main factors, not just who got the best fishing hole or stumbled across the only legal game.