Survivorman Season 7 Review: 35 Years Of Survival And I'm Still Learning

."Survivorman" is a Canadian show that originally aired on the Discovery/Science Channels in the US. It has 8 seasons and includes several specials. Some seasons were previously on NetFlix but have since disappeared. Season 5 is currently on Hulu. Seasons 4-7 are now available on Amazon Prime. The rest are around $10 season/$2 per episode or listed but currently unavailable.

"Survivorman" follows Les Stroud as he survives in the wilderness for 7-10 day stretches with little food, water or other supplies. Les Stroud travels by himself without a camera crew.

Les' honest, non sensationalized approach to survival has made him my favorite in the genre. See my previous reviews here See the "Survivorman" website: here

The episodes in season 7 are as follows. And as is typical with Discovery produced shows, the order of the episodes may vary. There are several "Suvivorman: Legends" episodes. In these, Les traces the steps of someone who was lost in the wilderness to see what enabled the person to survive (or in some cases perish).

Challenged By The Master- fan challenge- Les shows a new survivalist (Joe) the ropes. It's obviously not as easy as Les makes it look on TV.
Transylvania- Part 1- This two parter takes place in Transylvanian Alps in Romania. Les finds an old cabin and lots of logging raods but it's obvious no one has been in the area for some time. Les faces a scary moment when he goes down a bank and ends up on a cliff's edge. He gets back to safety but confesses that even after doing this for 35 years, he's still learning. Les later simulates being stranded with a broken leg. He sets off a GPS tracker to demonstrate how a world class search and rescue team (called the Salvamont) can locate him.
Transylvania- Part 2- see above.
Oregon-Les shares the real life story of how the Conne family was lost in the Oregon woods for six days. The Connes were taking a day trip to pick mushrooms and got lost. They then suffered several injuries which made it very hard for them to continue. The father had a back injury, the mother was hypothermic, and the son had a sprained ankle. They had very few skills but what kept them going was their love for each other and the will to survive. Les illustrates how taking a few items along during what you think is a day trip can make all the difference. A trash bag and small emergency blanket keep the three from freezing at night.
India- Les spends time in the Himalayans in north India. The area is inhabited by man eating tigers as well as elephants, leopards, territorial honey bees, wild boar, and the black mamba snake. This location is so dangerous they had armed guards nearby... just in case. A Royal Bengal Tiger in the area had killed 21 people and eaten the last six. Yikes! Les does his zones assessment. He has a small neck knife, a sickle, a small survival kit, fire gel, a lighter, a teapot, some herbs, etc. Interestingly the locals have given him what looks like a Halloween mask. The idea is you put it on the back of your head and if a tiger tries to sneak up from behind they will be afraid when they see the face Does that really work?. He also brought along a Lifestraw to filter water for drinking. Who knew elephant dung is excellent fire tender?
Two In The Tropics (Tonga)- Les and his friend Bob are stranded on a tropical island. Les says the five components of survival are: 1. The will to live; 2. Having a survival kit, 3. Your personal skill set, 4. Your physical conditioning; and 5. Luck. People dont often think about it but much of survival just comes down to luck. This is especially true when marooned on an island. Will they be able to get on the island or be blocked by insurmountable cliffs? Will there be vegetation and animals? Will there be a reasonably comfortable place to sleep? Will rescuers be able to track down those stranded?
Lost Park Trails (Patagonia)- Les retraces the route of hiker Laurenzo Emanuel Santos who in 2012 died in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile. Santos was an experienced hiker but several factors seem to have led to his unfortunate death. He pushed himself to complete the trail in a shorter period of time than recommended. He ignored warnings that a bad storm was coming. He ended up in white out conditions ABOVE the tree line (which makes it even worse). Hikers finally found his body a year later a short distance off a path. Santos' story is a cautionary tale of how a few bad decisions can have catastrophic results.