First man out with Ed Stafford - S1

I got word from one of the pimp minions about a show called "First man out" with Ed Stafford. I have seen a few of  Eds show about adventure travel and survival. I like them for the most part, and Stafford seems like a good cat.

Anyhoo, this show featured Matt Graham in Mongolia and John Hudson in Northern India. I worked with both of these dudes on season one of a TV show called "Dude you're screwed" AKA "Survive that" outside of the USA. This show also has an episode with EJ Snyder in Thailand.

I Have never met EJ face to face, but I have talked to him on the phone, and chatted online several times over the years. Ironically I was even present when Tim Smith of the Jack Mountain bushcraft school in Maine interviewed EJ for his first TV appearance on Naked and Afraid. Long story short, Matt, John and EJ are decent guys. So is Ed for that matter.

Lets break down Matts episode in Mongolia a bit. Typical of Matt he shows up in his bush hippy garb and home made sandals - trivia fact; Matt makes his sandals from riding lawn mower tires. He was also sporting his trademark broken machete as his tool of choice for the trek.This particular knife is now Matts signature blade. I was told by Matt that its simply a machete (Tramontina?) that he broke while camping in Baja, or Hawaii, I cant remember now. He also said he carved down the rubber handle to fit his hand better, fucked it up, so he had to wrap it with leather...true story.

Ok, back to Mongolia - Ed and Matt light out across the edge of the desert, Im not sure its the Gobi, but saying so is good for the TV cool factor. I lived in Mongolia where I worked as a teacher for 2 years. I know that country pretty well.

Personally I think the show was divided up, and filmed in different locations then edited to look like it was shot over a few days. Ok,, so, Matt runs down into a valley, good idea. Why? because that is where the water is at, as well as raw materials for survival. In Matts case he also wants materials to construct an Atlatl and darts.

Matt follows the 4 basics of survival; 1. shelter - he makes a tipi type leanto shelter, 2. water finds it in the area. 3. fire - Matt makes fire using the bow and drill method. Excellent idea due to the available resources in the area, ie., willow, aspen, larch. there may even be sub alpine fir, I didnt notice any in the frame. 4. food - nothing, tighten your belt.

Matt constructs his signature weapon - the Atlatl and some darts, grabs a hunk of Ice for drinking water then takes off across the desert. blah,blah, Matt beats Ed to the finish.

Next; Hudson in India.

John and Ed are dropped off somewhere in the Himalayas, Hudson looks to be packing his usual Swiss army knife ( I dont know the model ). I remember on the DYS shoot he always favored this type of blade. I like a SAK myself, especially one with a saw and scissors.

These 2 poor bastards are in the Himalayas during monsoon season, and the skies open up on them. They are both soaked to the bone, it looks miserable. Both men find a cave like over hang for shelter and ride out a miserable night. If they actually spent the entire night out there they had to me near hypothermic by the early AM.

day 2 - finds our explorers searching for food, water and a route. watching and listening to Ed eat that little snake was a bit nauseating. Hudson made a sling shot and killed a mountain crow. You dont actually see John make fire, but you do see him attempt to make fire ; he prepares tinder, has a piece of a file ( I assume is for throwing sparks ), and a bit of rag soaked in fuel. They flash to Hudson throwing sparks with 2 stones on to his bit of rag. then flash to Ed making a friction fire, then back to Hudson sitting around a cheery blaze.

Knowing how TV works, I doubt John actually made a fire on his own, due to the conditions and camera pressure. Im not saying he cannot make fire in that method, but for the sake of time on TV Im about 90% sure he had some assistance.

Once again, blah,blah,blah. Ed beats Hudson to the finish. story over. It was actually good to see Hudson again even though it was on TV. I would personally like to see John do more on screen stuff.

EJ AKA "Ogre" in Thailand;

Chiang mai province,Thailand. I know it well. I have maintained a residence there since 2006. I also know the Mountains well, and am friends with the Blacksmiths, tool makers, and Knife makers in the CM area. Watching EJ on this episode was like being back home.

I noticed that he and Ed both carried the typical Thai style jungle found in that region. I dont like the wooden handle style these cats carried because the handle always come off. They are only burned in the glued with a pitch type resin. If you look close you will see that the blade EJ is using loses its handle after a short time.

I learned how to make these knives by my blacksmithing mentor Saijung Kaipo in Northern Thailand. The handles are usually construction grade hard bamboo. Personally, I prefer the hollow handle type.

Ok, back to the jungle. These 2 pimps boogey through the woods, EJ eats some banana tree, and collects some to eat along the way. Ed searches for a way down a steep slope. They continue to trek, looking for routs to the river. Ed digs a sump for water, EJ stops to look for wood grubs, then breaks the handle off his knife.

EJ finds and kills a snake, makes a fire with a bamboo fire saw, dines in regal splendor. Ed meanwhile sneaks around EJ, Blah,Blah,Blah, beats him to the finish thereby becoming the First man out in 2 episodes. All in all, I like this show. Hell Bells , I would even consider doing an episode myself if Ed had the balls to ask me. I doubt he ever would though because Im afraid he wouldnt like having his limey ass kicked by an old man.

See you pimps on the trail!