Camping Gear for the Fun of it!

Game Talk The Drawing Board
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So I was thinking of what could be excellent in game as rare items. Items in question could be found in sports stores. Country stores. Dead sport corpses(seen them in game in groups oddly enough) and on zombies that are in the woods.

Some but certainly not limited to items that can be found at REI, EMS, Cabellas and mom and pop camp stores…and sometimes in wallymart! So a “mega store”.

Freeze Dried Food items: Needs clean water and 2 hours cold prep or water/clean water plus heat source(for boiling water) to create whatever entree it is. Look up Mountain House and Backpackers Pantry.
Why not just MRE? Simple, MRE is a different beast in most cases and you cannot just eat a freeze dried meal(fruit, yes, but not camp meals normally). Ultra light and little more than water to make a meal. Plus the MRE is disassembled into components and dehydrated. Whilst a camp entree is an entire meal in a metal bag. I would liken it similar too a canned soup. Of course lighter and no liquid.

Garments and the meterials they are best made from:
Nylon, Merino Wool, Gortex
Used to make waterproof, breathable, durable, hot/cool clothing which are also often anti-microbial. From backpacks to socks, shirts, pants and shoes. While brands do make some odd claims those 3 materials can(if made well) actually be pretty darn good.

In practice in game:

-Camp Shirt; activate to button a long sleeve to make it a short sleeve
Water resistant / 1 point heat resistant / better than average t-shirts for being durable

-Camp Pants; same thing as shirt

-Merino Wool Socks; same encumbrance as normal socks(because of quality). Warmer than normal socks in cold weather while oddly enough cool in summer while wearing Camp Shoes/Boots (as they are breathable).

Camp Shoes/Boots. Water proof and warm in winter while cool in summer.
The footwear would not be craft able. Perhaps only at high levels?

Any other input or items?

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Freeze dried meals sound like they could be interesting, although I’d worry about them overlapping a bit with the vacuum sealer. Having some preservable actual meals would certainly be neat though.

Nylon and Goretex would both fall under plastic, and merino is just a common type of wool, so no need to add any new materials to the game.

More rugged/outdoorsy clothes would actually be really good, some items that are just a bit more durable/protective than standard clothing would make early-game a bit more comfortable, so I stop having to run around in a torn up sweater for days on end.

Can’t say I agree about something being both warm and breathable at the same time. Either it insulates, or it doesn’t.
That said, if memory serves, clothing only applies half its warmth value if you’re overheating, so that’s kind of already covered.

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Freeze-dried can be eaten without preparation, but would be a thirst producer and pretty bad for morale.

What do you think about DIY freeze drying? A minifreezer, thermormeter, hygrometer, vauum sealer, couple of hoses. ought to do the trick.

Others:
Apologies for use of brand names, including them to make reference easy to look up.
Single-person tent that is even lighter and less bulky
Hammock? Needs trees or shelving racks nearby to deploy, cozy sleeping, not warm.
Solo stove. Like a hobo stove, soda can stove, and pot combined in 1L volume.
Kelly kettle, similar but for fast economical boiling of water
Folding saw - there are the small fold out types for branches or small logs and the larger Sven saw type that can do the work of a full bowsaw, and then the even bigger buck saw
Pocket cable saw or pocket chain saw
Insect repellent - take that, dermatik! while active causes insects to flee (mass limit maybe?)
bear spray
camp chair - get a ‘got comfy’ morale bonus for crafting by the fire in your camp chair?
ferro rods - like flint and steel, only faster and less bulky
steripen , pocket portable water sanitizer runs on batteries
hand-pump water filter
dutch oven, aluminum and cast-iron
down sleeping bags, warm and compress very small/light
even lighter top-quilt, doesn’t cover head
high-tech sleeping pads like the thermarest neo-air. Comfort of a fur roll mat, at a fraction the volume and mass.
Camp light - basically battery powered candle. Light, small, dim, uses batteries very efficiently. Enough shady light to craft by if it is carried.
folding bucket - deploy to haul water, attach funnel etc.
camp shower - we have shave and a haircut, have (solar?) shower for morale boost. Water (hot) plus soap.
harmonica without stand, very small slip it in a pocket, play cowboy songs as the embers die down.
mouth harp, same concept.
lighter and smaller volume tarpaulin
can, pebble, string perimeter alarm
change the keffiyeh so it can be activated to toggle between head/mouth/head & mouth garb like a real shemagh.
down jacket

running out of ideas

lighter and higher volume backpacks
trekking poles- give a small speed boost and remove ‘bad knees’ while used in both hands
hiking stick, smaller boost but only one hand needed.
small water bottle or bladder that when worn around the neck at the normal or close to skin layer, contents don’t freeze

That’s it, I am taped out for now.

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I do know the real life process of freeze drying and it can be done with reasonable accuracy in the right climate. But not in New England xD

You can buy a special machine. For some reason the post I replied with didn’t go up for some reason. But yeah. There are home versions and a google shopping page search for Freeze Drying machine will come up with them. I would still say rare item though. Not for balance but for reason, that few people even know what freeze drying is. So a price tag of $2k-6k is going to be for the wealthy in my opinion. Could very well be in a mansion though!

The camp food prepacks are a solid idea I think. But good call. Eating them straight would be a morale hit. So 2 hours + clean water = edible and partial gain. 20 mins + water/clean water + heat = cooked meal and 2 large portions =)

-Hammock-I like the hammock idea. Needing to place between 2 trees would be curious how that works.
-Sven Saw is a good idea. Those are really cool irl. Take up almost no space compared to the norm hacksaw
-steripen…not sure. But a small filter that can have like 50 charges for balance purposes would be a tiny item and light as a pocket knife. Requires a plastic bottle maybe and throw it away after?

The backpack idea. I like it as I thought and posted about this in a few threads back…erm weeks ago. But I do not think the idea will fly. I really would like to rely on a container that wasn’t a D&D bag of holding for this kind of game. But I didn’t get any feedback by the coders so…who knows if the idea for using backpacks will be changed or not.

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Vacuum sealing should have a shelf life and is capable of being created by the player. Freeze drying however is not able to be done normally to preserve food without special equipment the size of a standard stove for the special purpose of freeze drying. I mean, yes they technically exist and you and I can buy one…but seriously…what are the odds right? I mean, most folks don’t even know about freeze drying xD

No, on the material interpretation mate. They do different things. Merino is flatly different in function than standard wool. Cool materials, both literal and what they can do =D

That aside, yeah. I really was just day dreaming of more rugged but light garments. I wear this stuff 100% of my wardrobe. So I am pretty familiar with the best. Bitch of it is, I can’t do much outdoor from medical problems of late -_-

Well, odd though it seems. Merino does exactly that. A 4 season material. It absorbs only 35% moisture and your body heat and ambient temp with evaporate it reasonably quick. So while you heat up and sweat, it removes the moisture from the skin and it evaporates. It breaths and lets you stay warm in cold temps while not retaining your body moisture(which brings your temp down). IE; if you sweat in the winter with it, the moisture would lower your temp in dangerous ways. I don’t explain it well. But google can help, where I suck sometimes lol

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It’s literally just a kind of sheep. Most wool is merino.

Wool keeps you warm ALL THE TIME, that’s the problem. You can get wool thin enough to wear in summer, but that seems a waste.

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Still a different kind of wool as the multi million dollar merino wool industry seems to think. Functions different than standard wool. Also good in the summer as I know for a fact besides the people making garments for summer use would say. I wear the stuff all year round. =D

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So looking it up because I got curious, most wool is not merino wool. It’s a lot thinner than most wool that is commonly thought of making it basically the cotton of wool. That said it is definitely not the material you want to wear to specifically stay cool, it is still wool and will keep your body heat in more than cotton or dry fit for sure. Regardless i’m fairly certain the game code can’t handle something that can insulate, only add a flat heat bonus.

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Merino wool is finer, which means a bit softer basically, and it felts a bit easier, but it isn’t quite as durable as coarser types. It’s used in most garments that would contact your skin, whereas something like a jacket wouldn’t be merino since it would pill and might start to come apart before too long.

That said, anything made of wool that isn’t a garment wouldn’t be merino, things like rugs or industrial things like filters and buffing pads, so of the wool produced most of it isn’t merino, but a fair portion of garments are depending on the country, since some support merino sheep better than others.

Anyone who says merino has magical cooling/breathing properties is selling something. The thicker it is, the more it insulates and the hotter you’ll be, no way around it. The main advantage of wool is, being a natural fibre, you can soak it through and it will still keep you warm. Coincidentally, it smoulders without bursting into flames and melting like synthetic materials, so it’s better if you get set on fire somehow.

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Close enough to the idea of it. It also does not absorb liquid as much as cotton. Which saves your butt in the winter when you sweat.

It is sold in thin summer garments and I happen to have a coat made out of 100%. Feels great and warm as can be for winter. The quality gauges the pilling effect. So no, the coat after numerous washes doesn’t pill.

Bost makes a valid point though. Not certain how to tweak the function of the material. Would be great though if we had sweating in game. This would be top notch gear baby!! YEAH! xD

Edit:

New idea to add;

Ticks and fleas! Because New England has a huge problem with this irl. Why not add these little sobs to the game. Running through the forest makes you ponder if you will end up getting these little annoyances on you and every forested zone should have a percentage of it happening.

Function in game to implement:
-Forested/grassy areas should have a constant low percentage of picking up Ticks/and or Fleas.
They give a morale debuff until removal via cleaning/bathing/immersed in water/out in the rain for a long period of time/(NEW ITEM tick removal tool…they actually exist).

-Prevention can be take(medical or duct or 2 string) tie ankles if wearing pants. Bug spray!

This could open up a really interesting feature as a new system. Both in the catching and prevention department.

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Softer wools (like merino) have more scales, so they pill far easier than coarser types. It’s not a matter of if something will pill, more when. That said, tightly spun wool in a tight weave/knit is harder to pill, so things like a wool shirt take a long time to start pilling.

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I do actually know a lot about this material mate. Wasn’t up for debate to be blunt. I’m pointing out my gear I would sleep in a snow bank with for several years is the same fine stuff you mention. It doesn’t pill at all. My socks do. But barely. Socks take a beating though. So that makes more sense.

Cheers and thanks for bumping my thread :wink:

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Can’t debate fact, and a friend of mine makes garments with the stuff everyday, so they know plenty of fact.

They will eventually. Fact of life, unfortunately.

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Wasn’t. I was stating fact =P

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Found this item to add to the mix. Looks neat.

and to a lesser extent

The zippo kinda sucks cause I know it breaks easily, due to plastic construction. But in terms of game? It could just wear out after awhile of using it. I like that tools are multi-tasking lately.

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Abit of a necro, but i do think more interesting gear like this should be added. Just adds in fun variety~ Also i do know i could code some of these myself, but others here would take bit more skill to make.
Heres some fun stuff iv ran across:

https://radiateportablecampfire.com/ - A portable campfire in a can. Seems abit hipstery, but would actually be to do some cooking if you were in a pinch and found one.

Any kind of camping hammock. These are huge nowadays, and are very convenient because of how compact they are. Theyd be nice for any kind of survivor who camps often. A problem is im not sure how they would get implemented since IRL you need trees or poles to hold the hammock up.
Also there are hybrid tent-hammocks too

https://lifesaber.tools/ A useful hand-crank powered power supply, fire starter, flashlight/lantern, and siren. I think this could work as a UPS you can power with just the hand-crank, plus all the other useful bits.

Wetsleeve – wetsleeve Pretty much an arm-mounted canteen. Would be nice fur trading valuable torso encumbrance for arm encumberance.

BioLite CampStove 2 | Electricity Generating Wood Camp Stove A fire-powered power bank and camp stove. This would be somewhat tricky to code as well, but would be a pretty interesting piece of kit

Multi-tool hatchet . Im surprised some multi-use hatchet like this isnt in the game already. In addition to hatcheting it can hammer and pry, and maybe wrench. Would be easy to code.

Folding Backpack Bicycle by Bergmonch | HiConsumption (Original sellers site is dead) Folding bicycles are already in the game, but if you could wear one like this as a backpack while its folded, itd be pretty cool.

I could keep going but i wanna hear your ideas and you feedback on my ideas. :3

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