...should be a cooking pot, not a gd stone shovel. If you're going to make me take something I could make in seconds with stuff I probably gathered on my way to the trader, then give me the choice to throw it back at Rekt and tell him where he can shove it.
The reward from the first challenge is 4 free perk points without leveling up. The shovel is for the beginning buried supplies that Rekt introduces you to trader quests. The shovel is not a reward. It’s the same reward as it was in previous alphas - 4 free perk points.
That's a good idea though, a cooking pot at least as a choice of a 1st reward. Sometimes those can be a pain to find.
I'm thinking since the shovel isn't in the introductory "quests", that's why they made this a given on the 1st trader meeting. That makes sense too I suppose.