foam mat roll, exactly like this, from harbor freight (or wherever).
cut it into squares or narrow strips, or micro(for easier packing).
why: save your butt. softer than sitting on rocks, gravel, or concrete.
benefit: cheap, light, effective.
cons: easy to forget (thus leave/lost risk) , often packs awkwardly.
*tip: large pieces double as shading tool eg when walking in the sun.
I’ve seen people use rolled foam like this rolled around the inner edge of their frame-less backpacks for a little support. They take up very little room this way, because it’s just the thickness of the foam x however many wraps it makes around the inside of the pack. The “inside” space is used storing the rest of your gear, the added support is nice on your back, and it also protects the thinner fabric of the pack from anything sharp inside.
interesting
Another dual use is to line your food items carrier (in case there is one) with someone’s foam pad, and it’ll insulate the food from the direct heat of the sun.
Here’s maybe a weird use for this material: If you get a completely smooth foam mat (instead of textured as seen in the photo) you can use spray glue and glue down a sheet of sandpaper. (Or multiple sheets of different grit levels)
Then, on the sandpaper, you can sharpen your knife by hand and give it a strong convex edge instead of a v-edge that you would get from a stone or plate. The “give” of the foam allows the convex shape to be formed in the steel.
That’s very interesting. I don’t know anything about knives though, does this make the knife better for certain uses?
A convex edge makes the edge of the knife stronger. The convex edge is also called an “apple seed edge” gives more strength for more difficult/harder tasks. The trade off is that it’s going to behave less “sharp” than if you have a standard v-edge. Not that it’s not a sharp edge just that it won’t be wickedly sharp. However, it’s going to last longer than a v-edge (broadly, lots of variables here).
So, for example, woodworking tools will be a v-edge because you want the sharpest possible edge. The trade-off is some of that edge will be less stable/strong over time and you’ll need to re-sharpen more regularly.
A purpose-built seat pad is not that expensive, and it’s already an appropriate shape - no cutting required
