Just take the Easy Route. You get the Sync Shell. This is an extra life. It takes a little more than half of the smallest TC Energy Cell's charge to make a new shell, and about a day of in-game time. If you're dying more than that, you need to be more cautious. As for recharging the cell (which you get as part of the Easy Route), just make a survivalist generator or two. They are very cheap and you can have them up and running by day 4 or 5 if you really push it, probably sooner once you've worked out the kinks in your starting strategy.
Seriously, IMO, removing Hardcore from this mod pack is really detrimental. Why ever worry about food or water then? "Oh no, I'm running out of food/water. Better get somewhere safe so when I die and can get all my stuff back and have a full food/hydration bar!" And because of The Easy Route, there is absolutely no reason to do this. You can have an extra life up and ready for action before the first night sets in, no problem.
Everyone's gana play differently, and it really doesn't affect me if you turn off the Hardcore. I just think you should give the map a try as intended and not stress so much if you lose a couple of worlds. It's really not that big of a deal.