There are already several ways to avoid that. Build a forward base (a bed with a roof and a fire) and set your spawn point. Or build a portal. The ability to save whenever you want removes the necessity base building, portal building, and strategizing. It's a survival game, not a hack and slash RPG.
If you can just go charging into any situation with no preparation and no real fear of death the entire game is broken, or, if not broken, at least an entirely different game. I really hope they don;t add this feature, it would complete ruin the game. Terrible idea,

BTW..."hiking across 5 or 10 minutes of map"? LOL My guess is you just started playing. Just wait till you die a half hour boat ride from your spawn point with no portal or back up resources. LOL I've had instances where it took me two days to retrieve my stuff. To me this is what makes the game special and amazing. You learn how not to make the same mistake twice. Again..not a hack and slash rpg. I hate those and would stop playing if that's what this game became. I think most players would be against this idea to be able to save whenever.