Best Material?

[mudman4]

Which is the best material? I know the question is vauge, but answer it in whichever "categories" you like.

Sand
Mud
Clay
Dirt (peat)
Other?

Personaly for me, I enjoy clay/mud. My least favorite is the dirt/peat. It just seems less comforting and unwelcoming. Though, I never have ever had a sinking experince in my life before. But thats another thread.

[Fred588]

I'm going to jump into this thread to suggest a clarification of your question. Aside from the point, that I am certain will be made, that a good deal of the answer is a matter of preference, I think you need to specify, "for what?" Are you asking about the "best" material for sinking? Or do you mean for filming a quicksand scene? Or do you mean something else.

[Nessie]

For actual sinking...well, okay, in my opinion...clay feels the best. The very finest of gourmet sinking matter is the outdoor Southern natural claypit, preferably in the sun under a cloudless sky, to get that top layer a toasty cozy warm, and if it's in an environment where it doesn't collect extra elements, sinking in this is like basking in butterscotch pudding.

Fred's claypit is also lovely. It is somewhat less dense than Nature's. The pit itself, though, is mostly in shade and the last time I was there, the top of it was cool and all the heat was on the bottom.

That is probably because there is a heater installed down there. It is weird to have a foot-warmer in your quicksand pit, but hey, it works for me, and it's not a thing you'll find in Nature.

It's hard to declare a preference. It depends on my mood. But in a general way, I can easily declare clay of any kind as being the best for real sinking.

For a video scene, the pit needs to be photogenic, comfortable for the model, and of a consistency that allows submersion by somebody who's not used to submerging. My vote for the best-looking useable quicksand pit for video goes to Fred's Peat, especially since he started dressing it up with colorful extra foliage. The peat bog blends into the surrounding forest much better than the claypit does, and when it's in good form, it photographs like a dream.

I suppose you could also mean, "What is the best substance for a story/fantasy/dream?" For a completely unreal scenario, you could have anything...tar, Jello, nectar, slime, chocolate, pudding, yucky icky half-solid grease (like in Kookus' WAM story over in Off-Topic) or even make up a whole new substance..."I want to see her sink in purple clear gel which is the consistency of tar, forty feet deep and filled with tiny pearls, with glitter on top. And it smells like roses and makes pink foam around the sinker as she goes down".

I don't think like that, though. I mostly just think in terms of mud.

Nessie

[joedeep130535]

All depends on what you,personally,like. Nessie says clay & I wouldn't dare argue!! Seriously clay is best for me & I also like mud & qs while peat I find not "messy" enough you don't get that nice "weighed down" feeling when you crawl out! What is best is what you like best but availability is first call. If you've got access to a nice sink hole That's probably the best one for you & no good wishing your peat bog was clay or your mud was qs

[Nessie]

no good wishing your peat bog was clay or your mud was qs

You got a point there.

My clips show me hanging around with Peat for a reason.

Clay, my darling, you may be my most ardent muddy love, but you do live SO far away.

Nessie

[KavenBach]

In terms of actual sinking myself, I wouldn't know; I have had too few experiences and can't even honestly say thigh-deep results are an actual "sink." However I CAN say that visually, to me, I think Soft Clay is the best. Peat I really don't like... It just doesn't look like MUD to me. I mean... it's almost like watching someone squirm into a pile of wool or something.

I like the stuff to be clingy, sticky. I really like when a lady climbs out of a clay pit covered in what looks like a gray bodysuit... ROWR. Natural mud is good in that sense too. Actual sand, while it doesn't stick the same way, I find provides the most believeable real-peril scene; the actresses really do look like it's holding them fast, and as a thin layer of water or saturated sand tends to form at the surface the effect seems much more believable.

I think, if I had a choice as to what to have at home, I'd go with a pit of soft smooth pale clay. Both for personal use, and for watching other personel use.

[Electric Katfish]

So far, all I've got recent experience with are Fred's pits. His heated clay pit is — quite simply — AMAZING.

I'm tempted to write that his peat pits are a close second, but it's an apple and oranges comparison. The peat is also an amazing experience. And I agree with Nessie that the peat is far more photogenic.

Oh! And the peat warms nicely in the sun! Dark stuff, direct summer sun, you understand.

I can say nothing about the mystery pit, because Fred advised me against its use without someone to watch over me. The mystery pit actually has some inherent dangers, unlike the more natural materials! Go figure.