Using a life jacket in the river
From BearWiki
Confirmed: Bear wears a life jacket in the river in the Rockies.
Bear takes off his jacket, and there is no life preserver underneath his sweatshirt. He walks to the river, and there clearly is. He floats up to the edge of the river, it's on. He gets out of the river, looking all exhausted as though he just got out of the river, and it's gone.
In an interview, Bear admitted to using a life jacket:[1]
stealther: What do you have to say to people who claim you used a flotation vest instead of your backpack when you rode down the river in your previous show?
Bear: That was the first show I did, and health and safety insisted if I wanted to get in that river with those rapids, I had to wear a thin flotation device for one particular shot. After that show, I told the producers if I'm going to do it, I need to do it on my terms, i.e. no vest. And the rest of the series, they've allowed me to do it all my way.
[edit] Analysis
Oppose: Bear did state that he wouldn't do this sort of thing again.
- Support: Of course, the evidence clearly points against that being the case -- using a climbing harness, having a diver check for sharks, and so on.
Support: Not only did Bear wear a life jacket in the river, in complete contradiction of the narrative, but they went through somewhat extensive lengths to hide it.
Neutral: I wonder if Bear also had on a wetsuit as well. There's a black collar visible in shots while he's in the water, but no other black clothing of any kind worn otherwise. Given the temp of the water (and other documented deceptiveness) this would not surprise me.
Support: Confirmed by Ron Hood (acting as a consultant for the pilot episode) "He was wearing a wetsuit and float vest and got out every couple of minutes to warm up" [2]
