man vs. wild is more like a show giving context to survival tips. he’s there with a camera crew and often does unnecessary things simply to demonstrate how they’re done. once he made a fire without the use of his flint. another time he did not eat a snake even though it was the only food he found because it was endangered (he said if it was life and death, you should eat it).

there’s no promise of authenticity in man vs. wild, so i don’t understand what the big deal is. even survivor man chooses what items he takes with him to match the conditions…it’s television!

As for it being as plotted out and prepared as you suspect, I don’t think there is necessarily anything that suggests that. I’m not saying it’s not possible, just that there’s no evidence to indicate either way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m skeptical about most things too, but in this case (where it doesn’t really matter much either way), I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt until something indicates otherwise.

From watching it I think the show is cool but I think the entire show is plotted out including what he’s going to eat and where he’s going to stay and what he’s going to jump off of and items he uses in the show are most likely propped, like the wire he used for the compass.