The WORST episodes of Ed Stafford: First Man Out

Every episode of Ed Stafford: First Man Out ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Ed Stafford: First Man Out!

Expect blood, tears and heart-in-mouth action as explorer Ed Stafford takes on the best explorers in the world in a battle across Discovery's screens in order to be the First Man Out - a show in which survival is only half the battle.

Last Updated: 2/2/2026Network: Discovery Channel (UK)Status: Continuing

6.29

7 votes

#1 - Ed vs Hakim Isler

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/20/2020

Ed takes on ex-PSYOPS marine and real-life ninja, Hakim Isler, in the Zoige Marshes of Sichuan Province. The unforgiving wetland tests their willpower to the max.

6.83

6 votes

#2 - Ed vs Xinlei Wu

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/27/2020

Ed faces former French Foreign Legion desert specialist, Xinlei Wu, in the Aksai Desert of north-west China. They encounter huge sand dunes and rock-valley mazes.

Watch Now:Amazon

7.00

10 votes

#3 - Ed vs Matt Graham (Grudge Match)

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/12/2023

Ed invites ultramarathon runner Matt Graham back to see if Ed can reclaim his pride after Matt left him in his dust in Mongolia's Gobi Desert.

7.00

10 votes

#4 - Ed vs Matt Wright

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/21/2020

Ed challenges Matt "The Juggernaut" Wright in the Wanshan Archipelago off the coast of southern China. They race to secure islands that can provide raft-building materials but storms come in and Ed has to face his fear of deep water.

7.19

16 votes

#5 - Palau

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/28/2019

Ed Stafford goes up against primitive skills expert Cat Bigney in a race across the stunning but deadly island paradise of Palau in the South Pacific.

7.27

15 votes

#6 - Ed vs Josh James

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/13/2020

Ed takes on the `Kiwi bushman', Josh James, in the Three Parallel Rivers plateau of Yunnan Province. Josh draws on his Maori-heritage to make fire in the mountains.

Watch Now:Apple TV

7.33

3 votes

#7 - Behind the Scenes

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/23/2023

TBC

7.36

14 votes

#8 - Ed Vs Ky Furneaux

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/7/2020

Ed neemt het in de Zoige-moerassen in de Chinese provincie Sichuan op tegen ex-PSYOPS-marinier Hakim Isler. In de moerassen wordt hun wilskracht danig op de proef gesteld.

7.50

4 votes

#9 - Ed vs Sun Lingye

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/2/2023

Ed Stafford tests his body's ultimate limits as he races against medic and ultra-marathon runner Sun Lingye across the arduous mountain terrains of Taiwan.

Watch Now:Amazon

7.52

31 votes

#10 - Mongolia

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/14/2019

Mongolia's Gobi desert is the setting for the ultimate survival race as Ed Stafford is paired against survival supremo and famed endurance athlete Matt Graham.

7.64

14 votes

#11 - Ed vs Will Lord

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/6/2020

Ed faces his old bushcraft teacher, Will Lord, in Bashan, central China. Both without a knife, they must navigate huge cliffs and Asia's largest bamboo forest.

Watch Now:Amazon

7.67

9 votes

#12 - Ed vs Donny Dust

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/19/2023

Ed Stafford is joined by Donny Dust, a former US Marine intelligence officer and primitive skills expert, in a race across the wild Amazon jungle.

7.91

22 votes

#13 - Thailand

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/21/2019

Ed Stafford risks life and limb as he races through the harsh Thai jungles against ex-military survival legend EJ Snyder.

7.94

17 votes

#14 - India

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/7/2019

Ed Stafford has bitten off more than he thinks he can chew by racing serving Royal Air Force survival instructor John Hudson across the top of the monster mountains of the Himalayas.

Watch Now:Amazon

8.04

28 votes

#15 - Kazakhstan

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/7/2019

Ed Stafford finds himself marooned in a never-ending natural maze as he flies to Kazakhstan to take on ex-South Korean special forces soldier Khen Rhee.

Watch Now:Amazon

8.16

31 votes

#16 - Borneo

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/31/2019

Ed Stafford challenges ultra-fit ex-Marine and ropes expert Aldo Kane to race across the tangled wilds of Borneo's mangrove swamps.

Watch Now:Apple TV

8.25

4 votes

#17 - Ed vs Ness Knight

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/16/2023

Valley of the Gods - Ed Stafford goes up against his son's godmother, Ness Knight, a renowned explorer and survival specialist, across the deadly Valley of the Gods

Watch Now:Amazon

8.40

5 votes

#18 - Ed vs Max Djenohan

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/26/2023

Ed Stafford risks his life facing off Max Djenohan, a young elite fighter on a quest to test his own capabilities, in Northern Kenya's volcanic barrier.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

8.50

4 votes

#19 - Ed vs The Wild Twins

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/9/2023

Ed Stafford competes against two challengers, Amber and Serena Shine, in Kenya's Rift Valley where they discover all sorts of wild animals blocking their path.