Who Is Larry Roberts from Alone? Every Season, Explained

Spoiler note: this covers how his runs on Alone seasons 2 and 5 ended.

Larry Roberts is one of the franchise's original near-winners, and one of a small group of contestants with two full runs on the board. He first appeared on Alone season 2 at age 44, dropped near Quatsino on northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He's from Rush City, Minnesota, and he lasted 64 days, finishing 2nd and leaving after hunger and a mental breakdown wore him down. Four seasons later he returned at 46 for season 5, the "Redemption" season in Mongolia's Selenge Province, where he finished 3rd at 41 days, this time tapping out because he missed his family.

His record across both seasons

Season	Location	Age	Placement	Days	Exit reason
Season 2	Vancouver Island, BC	44	2nd of 10	64	Hunger and mental breakdown
Season 5	Selenge Province, Mongolia	46	3rd of 10	41	Missed his family

That's 105 total days across two seasons, with two podium finishes and no win. Season 5's cast was made up entirely of returning contestants, so a 3rd-place run there came against a field that had all been through the grinder before. The winner of that season was Sam Larson, another season-2-era alum who overhauled his kit between runs and lasted 60 days in Mongolia. Roberts' own season 2 total of 64 days is longer than that winning number, which is the kind of cross-season trivia that shows how much outcomes depend on who else is on the map.

What he carried

Roberts is one of the contestants with a fully sourced season 2 gear list on his contestant page: an LT Wright Genesis Scandi knife, a 26 inch Husqvarna axe, a 21 inch Bob Dustrude Quick Buck saw, a 2-quart pot, a ferro rod, a gill net, fishing line and hooks, paracord, a sleeping bag, and food rations. It's a textbook coastal BC loadout, heavy on fishing and wood processing. For season 5 our records only capture one item, an L.T. Wright "Gen 6" knife, so he stayed loyal to the same knife maker across both runs; see his season 5 page.

Where he is now

As of mid-2026, Roberts is reported to be back in Minnesota working as a union electrician, the same trade he had before the show, while teaching survival classes on the side and posting instructional videos to a long-running YouTube channel. Coverage of him over the years also mentions articles written for a self-reliance magazine and a reported acting turn in an independent survival film inspired by experiences like his Alone runs. Local reporting has quoted him planning an eventual retirement from electrical work to focus on teaching and travel with his wife.

Why his story matters

Roberts is the archetype of the almost-winner: 64 days on season 2 would have won several other seasons outright. His two runs also make a clean case study in how exits differ. The first ended when body and mind gave out; the second ended by choice, with him healthy enough to keep going but clear that the prize wasn't worth more days away from family. Our winners page shows how close his numbers sit to the champions' day counts, and our Alone rules explainer covers why lasting the second-longest earns exactly nothing.