With ingenuity and craftsmanship, even the high-tech suit from Dune can be recreated in just one day. But is the recycled drink really tasty? Fans have tested it.
What kind of suit are we talking about? Apart from sandworms and their native habitats, which are the vast amounts of sand in the deserts of the planet Arrakis, the stillsuits of the Fremen are among the most recognizable elements from the science fiction universe.
The suits recycle the expelled water (urine, breath, sweat) in the scorching hot atmosphere, making human life possible without carrying vast quantities of water. While largely unnecessary on Earth, fans wanted to find out: Can we recreate something like this? And how does the result taste?
What was Dune again? The original novels were written by Frank Herbert. Recently, Dune (translated as “The Desert Planet”) gained renewed fame, especially thanks to the films by Denis Villeneuve. The second part (Dune: Part Two) premiered in German cinemas in February.
But the Dune universe also has something to offer in terms of video games and even MMOs. May we introduce? Dune: Awakening:
Hobbyists Build Their Own Dune Suit and Test It
On their channel Hacksmith Industries, some YouTubers with crafting talent grabbed some commercial supplies to recreate a suit; as well as to taste it and the body-water product.
What do they use? Generally, the suit consists of the following parts: A white, airtight lab suit, which is covered with a standard Tyvek suit for insulation after the first tests, to maximize heat, and all this is visually completed with a costume of a stillsuit. They want to look stylish while experimenting.
They capture the air with a mask connected via a tube to a thermoelectric cooler. The power is supplied by a battery.
How does the suit work? The warm, humid breath is directed through the cooler, where the air temperature is lowered. This causes the water to condense. This condensate flows through a tube into a reservoir. There, the body water collects, which can be sucked up through a thick straw built into the mask.
Is urine also recycled? No, the hobby inventors do not go that far. But who knows? Maybe they will dare to attempt even bolder constructions in the future to enable survival in earthly deserts.
After some (strength) exercises and visiting a self-built sauna, quite a bit has accumulated. So cheers!
How does the water taste now? On a scale from 1 to 10, the tester of the suit and his own sweat gives the self-made drink a solid six. It doesn’t taste that bad, he notes, and the surprise is audible. He expected worse, a three. However, what is disturbing – and would probably be even more annoying in Dune – is the temperature of the drink: quite warm.
If you feel inspired to create your own stillsuit after reading this article, we can’t help you on the spot; we can only refer you to your own workshop. Now you know how it’s done.
But if you’re now feeling inclined towards Dune but aren’t sure if the second film is for you, you can do two things: First, just watch the first part. And second, read the opinion piece by MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya on Dune 2. There you will find out why she believes she has already seen a classic of science fiction.
