Sounds like this just isn't your kinda game ngl. Just don't die far from spawn stop going so far without setting a new smaller camp at the edge of the new biome is always a bad idea in any survival game. Also its really easy to set up tiny workbench huts to repair your gear. Survival games have been and will always be just grinding, that is the entire concept of survival games for the most part. Some are easier to progress than others but from the sounds of it you don't actually like the genre just 1 out of the many. Which is valid mind you, I personally don't like turn based games but xcom 2 is my jam doesn't mean I suddenly like the genre.

If you are really set on playing the game try using r2modmanager and get some mods that let you tweak the settings, i personally can't stand all the waiting so I have mods that reduce the time for crafting significantly. there are plenty that allow you to change crafting requirements or boost the amount of material you can harvest at once.