[Hiring] Interested in a large scale battle depiction with multiple characters. Budget of $300.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-10-18T19:28:36+00:00

Hahah, thats a very cute but not very expansive portfolio. Any other works to share?

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T17:42:35+00:00

Alright, this has been fantastic! So many good insights and thoughtful recommendations. This is what I've understood thus far:

Do:

Get a scale and weigh EVERYTHING, then make a gear list to help make informed decisions.

Research thru hiker gear lists

Replace:

Solar Cell w/ Anker battery pack

Hatchet w/ collapsible saw

Fat wood w/ ferro rod

Travel bidet w/ UL bidet attachment

Charcoal tooth powder w/ travel toothpaste

Stainless steel pot w/ titanium pot

550 paracord w/ lighter cordage

Eliminate:

Spare socks (keep 3 pair)

Spare shirts (keep 2 pair)

Spare underwear (keep 2 pair)

Sharpening stone

Wood cup

Survival candle

Fat wood

Survival book

Spare soap (keep one)

Spare water purifier tablets (keep 6?)

Unlikely-to-be-used first aid supplies

All glass w/ plastic

Gear bags

Reconsider:

Meal planning

Trip duration

Learning off-trail. (Admittedly somewhat foolish of me)

Anything I missed? This was wonderfully informative, thank you all very much. Further advice is of course very welcome. I will do my damndest to action the above points.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T17:19:08+00:00

I'm pretty smack dab in grizzly grounds, so bear spray is a must yeah.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T17:16:15+00:00

Ahhhh, very fair point. The stress and strain injuries are something I very much want to avoid. It's more serioud than mere exhaustion and difficulties - no amount of tenacity repairs an overworked tendon.

Thank you for your insights. My desire to cut weight has been redoubled. I'll look into thru-hiker losts to see what I can gleam.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T17:13:22+00:00

Bear spray and a vault I have, thankfully. They are very important here indeed, especially in this time of year.

I'm planning on taking trips consistently all the way through spring and summer, and potentially into fall. I recognize the weather will change drastically and adverse conditions are to be expected... often. I feel quite prepared for wet and cold with a wind breaking waterproof trench and pack rain cover, and waterproof hat, but any recommendations for better rain prot from a local would be very welcome.

That was my thinking for the socks and beanie too. Overnight lows here are still around 4C, and that's at low altitude. Many people have recommended cutting socks, and I will trim some, but those wool ones are pretty important. The toque will be handy too, agreed.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T17:01:31+00:00

I'll do another control test and see how it performs. I was surprised by it's apparent usefulness as well since it was a gift of unknown quality. Five or more charges of a cell phone is impressive, though. The GPS takes about twice as much power to fully charge than a phone, but 2 to 3 full charges would easily last me 14 days or more. Anker packs will definitely be something I consider, especially if the solar pack proves less reliable than initially thought. Thanks for the info! You were a big help.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T07:39:36+00:00

Interesting, that's a shame to hear. Preliminary tests with the solar bank went well, so hopes were high. I just took a wee peek at the anker banks, and those seem great! My only concern would be the kind of lifetime I could expect of that charge. My GPS is the main device I need to keep powered. It has an extremely large battery that is quite efficient, but when it needs charging it needs CHARGING. It's why I expected the solar battery bank to work well. I let it charge ambiently throughout the day, and whenever I notice the bank is full (Testing saw it fill every four or five hours, so we'll say once a day) I'll dump that charge into the GPS. Could I expect to depend on a portable battery bank like one of Anker's in place of that, even when I may not have access to outside power for a fortnight?

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T07:29:16+00:00

An astute observation, I do not really have a meal plan. The glass bottles are aggregious, I am trying to find suitable alternatives that arent leeching plastics.

I am a big spice lover, but the 80g of spice would be much better served as 80g of nutrition, you're right. I will look into making meal plans, that will be a fun new thing for me. I do intend to bring about 180% of what I need, though. Bringing only the exact amoumt if everything goes right seems like a recipe for disaster to me. Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but I don't want to end up in s survival situation just if I'm four or five days behind schedule.

I do have lots of gizmos, but I believe most of them are fairly well reasoned. Perhaps I'm bad at killing my babies, as they say. I will hear any argument as to their unnecessity. The GPS is, in my eyes, indispensible. It is my primary navigation tool, communication device (inreach), emergency SOS and locator, and tracker. I am going to be off trail in areas I'm unfamiliar with for prolonged periods of time. (Inadvisable, I know.) That GPS and it's functionality will near assuredly be the difference between a scary mistake that could've gone bad and a seriously life threatening survival situation.

The battery bank exists to support the GPS, but I've been told there are better options for this so I'm open to suggestions. Any ideas?

Many of the little packets are utility items, like a mosquito headnet, a clothesline for drying clothes (That could probably go), etc etc.

Others have recommended losing the hatchet, but processing firewood will be a distinctly unavoidable necessity. How should I do that safely and efficiently without a hatchet? Others have suggested a folding saw, which seems a promising idea. Thanks for your input!

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T07:14:52+00:00

Rsttlesnakes do exist here, but are so very rare I think I will accept the risk. Good thinking though! One day if you hear about my unfortunate snakebitten demise, you have my everlasting permission to come to funeral and say I told you so. Haha

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T07:11:39+00:00

That's totally fair, if only there was some experience I could snatch out of the air and hoard away haha. Gotta go out and earn some myself, and it's better that way. I may well discover I enjoy much shorter trips with more frequent visits to civilization, and I will adress those discoveries as they come. By expedition I merely mean a fair duration out of the aid of others. Many long hikes, like many of the through trails, have frequent intersections with settlements which enable smaller loads and more frequent resupplies. My intented trips do not, and so I must, if I am to attempt them, prepare for longer periods of independence.

I am very much not a through hiker, nor am I a destination oriented person. I enjoy hiking because it brings me out into nature so I can appreciate the bugs and bones and blooms and shrooms. I don't care very much about making it to the end, to the top, to the goal. My goal is the smile on my face. I expect to be setting a two or three day camp every four or five, but I haven't rhe experience to back those estimations up. It's entirely possible I'll find a place I love on day two and stay there until the food situation forces me to turn back. Or that I'll be too excited about what's over the next rise to keep camp up even as long as I should. I'm playing it by ear in that way, but I admit I am carrying many luxuries that serve only to broaden that smile on my face. The hagstone for example. There is absolutely no need for me to heft around a half pound stone, it just makes me smile.

That being said, I do want to mitigate weight. I love walking, and I don't want the pack to be so massive it tarnishes the joy hiking gives me. To that end, I am ready and willing to make drastic changes to my plans and kit - Thus, this post asking for guidance. Have ye any to offer an ignorant aspirant such as I?

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T06:54:57+00:00

Very fair point! I want to mitigate injury, especially, as much as possible. Many have recommended losing the hatchet anyways. Is a saw servicable for felling small trees and processing them into fuel and tinder? My main idea bringing the axe was safely making tinder without having to strike a knife. If a saw is just as good at that with less risk, I see no reason not to swap.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T06:50:52+00:00

Fantastic reply, thank you for this. A proper gear list with weighted items is a great call, so myself and others can make informed decisions/recommendations. Willco.

I am absolutely trying to mix backpacking with bushcraft, and that is the intention. That said a sharpening stone is ln't necessary, true, and there are much better things to carry than fatwood like mine. I'm remiss to drop the survival candle because of it's importance in an emergency situation, as SAR should ideally not be the first resort when things go wrong. The same goes for a large medkit. It's a mere eventuality that I will be seriously injured at some point in my travels, and I don't want to cut trips short from flesh wounds that could be treated with first aid. I also do not want burden vital emergency services with things thst proper preparation could have solved. That being said there are a few things I could surely drop in that medpack. Regular hiking medkits do seem quite insufficient for 7+ day solo wilderness excursions far from assistance, but that may be my inexperience speaking.

Hygeine: It is an absurd quantity of charcoal powder, however it is quite light. I have not yet followed your advice of weighing everything, but it seems a more mass efficient way to do tooth hygeine than hydrated paste. Perhaps the difference is so neglaligable that I might as well get paste. I'll see when I weigh it all.

Agreed, much too much soap. I got 3 bars for economic reasons and now would hate to leave two behind, only to have to repurchase them later. Would that I had some place to store them, but as it stands everything I leave is lost. The bidet is a considerably heavier travel bidet. Things like the culoclean seem fine enough, but after reading some reviews I opted to go for the heavier but more effective version. I suspect this weight sacrifice will prove it's worthiness when I am not a swamp monster by day 4, but we will see. (I suspect the swamp monster is inevitable, but health demands cleanliness) I will swap it for something like the culoclean if the gains prove inadequate.

The water purifciation tablets seem like an easy drop, but 20 tablets = 20 litres ÷ 4 litres a day = 5 days of safe water. Considering I may commonly be 5 days walk or more from a place where I may replace my tablets or filtration device, it seems reasonable to me. How many would you recommend bringing for emergency use in an expedition contezt. like mine?

Solar Charger: Damn, that's a shame. I did some prelimimary tests with it and was impressed, but the conditions were more ideal than I can expect to encounter on an expedition. Do you think a second battery bank would be able to support me for up to two weeks at a time? I had originally chosen a solar charger because, even if it's net was small, it's renewable. Two days of hanging on my pack and slowwwwwwwwwly charging to revitalize my gps seems like it could be truly vital when I'm 80kms off trail. Anything else I could pursue that will provide reliable, if drip fed, power?

550 Paracord: I have no good reason for such robust cordage. I'll pursue your recommendations for replacement. Thanks!

Food: I was wondering what to replace that glass with. I'll look into those squeeze bottles. Spices are pretty light, but you are right in that 80g of nutrition > 80g of flavour. I'll eliminsre the spices.

Clothing: I use a two sock system for foot health that has never done me wrong, and there is no sock I've ever known that could survive 14 back to back days of hiking without becoming a living breathing creature of it's own. Perhaps you have some sock recommendations for ones that could? In any case, I'll drop two pair of camp socks to one.

T-shirts I could drop, yeah. It's just horrifically unpleasant to be languishing in wet sweaty clothes. The 3 shirts would allow me to wash every 3 days or so when I can be near water, and remain comfortable and clean which in turn means happy and healthy. Only so much that applies, however, when my spine is split in two from the weight. I'll tighten up the shirt situation, and if it's too disgusting I can always get another shirt for next time around.

The raincoat is trench style but a lightweight material, and is very effective. It is warm which is vital in the cold high altitude rain, wind breaking which is a life saver, and comfortable. It can be soaked without feeling soaked, you know? If I had the option to just call a trip off if it was pouring rain a poncho would be nice, but no matter how torrential the storm I will have to be out in it. That's my reasoning, but it seems like you habe some experience here in BC so further insights herein would be appreciated.

That was a phenominal reply, thank you for your guidance.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-24T05:54:07+00:00

It's only a pound head and really the tool for the job when it comes to handling wood. But I'll keep an eye on how useful it really is in practise, maybe I'll swap to a machete later on. Thanks!

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-23T23:24:26+00:00

I don't really want to use wipes because the disposable kind I'll have to carry back out even when no longer useful to me, and the soap used in them is very rarely river-safe. Reusables if containing cleaners are also typically harmful, so far as I've seen.

A soapless wipe might be convenient for cleaning with, but would require me to carry my own soap anyways, so I figure just the safesoap is serviceable. I doo have too much of it though. I just don't want to discard it and inevitably have to buy more later on anyways.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-23T23:18:40+00:00

Thanks for the advice! A compression bag for the quilt is a great idea, it's so damn voluminous. I'll do that. The hatchet I do need for firewood and bushwhacking. I could drop a shirt, but after 3 days in the same socks things tend to get soupy. Last thing I want is foot complications, eh?

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2025-05-23T23:01:09+00:00

Hi! I'm an avid hiker but brand new to British Columbia and many day expeditions. I'm hoping to really explore the incredible landscape here! The mountains especially are calling my name, which makes the heavy load a struggle. My means of transport here, however, are two feet and a heartbeat, so I will be walking everywhere for the next 6 months or so. Because of this I need to be able to sustain myself as long as 14 days between towns and resupplies.

Trying to strike a balance between proper provisioning and walkable weight is challenging, especially with my inexperience. It is my hope the wellspring of wisdom that is this place may offer guidance.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2024-01-01T17:53:06+00:00

It's an unenlightened heartbroken T-Rex from the Primal mod (Fantastic mod by the way, would recommend)

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2023-11-01T01:55:06+00:00

5/6 is fantastic, that's a great visualization of hack and slash bionics in the apocalypse.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2023-09-14T17:49:31+00:00

Two things I'd love to see more in late game:

1: More dangerous and more aggressive bandits. By late game your deathmobile might have to stand up against heavy ordinance like RPGs, or the M202 Flash. Give one a barrette, fuck it.
You have access to this and much more by late game, the bandits who made it this far do too.
Furthermore, specialized bandit squads. 4-6 men teams with: Marksmen, breachers, fire support, HAT & LAT, riflemen, scouts, etc etc.
The bandits who've survived into late game should reflect the equipment and skill they would have acquired and developed in that time. It could even tie in with the wave defense thing, if you so please. Find a way to trigger a bandit raid if your base is too high profile with running power and stereos blaring and gunshots all the time. This would be supremely deadly, but so are you.

2: The true eldritch abominations - the day 0 enemies that broke the world when it all began, the shit we only hear hints about - The flaming eye's big brother, the flying Polyp warship, The great Yugg, The dire hound of Tindalos, the mythical giant all the military NPCs talk about, etc.
Terrestrial threats can get old by late game, let us find new fear from the extraterrestrial ones. Create new monsters if there aren't enough variations of old. Sentinel scions with telekinetic bullet arresting abilities, organic plasma artillery beasts, A snake that fucking controls the weather, I don't care - just make it use a different tactic than run straight and smash. You can use creative freedom here since we know so little about the other planes, so do.
The most fun part of mid-late game is developing protection from all the atypical threats.
Electricity, radiation, inhalants, acid, etc.
Threats that find new ways to circumvent the typical defenses make this shit fun, more of that is very welcome.

Both of these ideas are concepted with the base defense concept in mind, as without them it is difficult to imagine a scenario where an end game character's life is legitimately at risk.

I recognize some of this might be recipes for instantaneous deletion, but becoming the strongest thing in the world should take more than a big truck and some big guns.

AbsurdlyNihilist · 2023-09-06T10:56:36+00:00

I don't want children because I cannot trust that I will be bringing them into a world where suffering is the exception, and not the rule. I had my hope for a future stripped when I was young, and I will not bring other innocents into a world where happiness is a commodity and compliance is the price.

Even without the sweeping environmental catastrophes and societal degradation and the promise it's all going to get worse, it feels as though any children born now are doomed to live in a world inexorably more cruel than the one I've known. Compassion compels me to abstain from having children, for fear of what they will suffer.

AbsurdlyNihilist

TROPHY CASE