SPDN
Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 1X ETF
stock NYSE ETF

Worth separating two different goals, because they need different tools:
1) Things that structurally do well when equities fall
- Long volatility / tail risk: VIXM, CAOS, TAIL. These are the closest thing to actual crash insurance. They bleed in calm or grinding markets, which is the premium you pay. Do not size these large.
- Inverse equity: SH, PSQ, SPDN. Unlevered so no daily reset decay problem, but they are a short position, not a hedge with positive expected return. Fine as a tactical trade, bad as a hold.
2) Things that are uncorrelated rather than inversely correlated
- Managed futures / trend following: DBMF, KMLM, CTA. Long or short across equities, bonds, currencies, commodities based on trend. This is the category that actually worked in 2022 when both stocks and bonds fell. Probably the best answer to your specific question.
- Anti-beta / market neutral: BTAL (long low-beta, short high-beta), MNA (merger arb), QAI. Low return expectations, low correlation.
- T-bills: SGOV, BIL, USFR. Not exciting, but if you think bonds have duration and credit risk you do not want, short-duration Treasuries strip both out. Currently paying you to wait.
On your bond concern: "bonds are at risk of collapse" mostly describes long duration. TLT and a 4-week T-bill are completely different risk assets despite both being Treasuries.
On gold: it is a decent long-horizon store of value and a poor short-horizon equity hedge. It has drawn down alongside stocks plenty of times.

Worth separating two different goals, because they need different tools:
1) Things that structurally do well when equities fall
- Long volatility / tail risk: VIXM, CAOS, TAIL. These are the closest thing to actual crash insurance. They bleed in calm or grinding markets, which is the premium you pay. Do not size these large.
- Inverse equity: SH, PSQ, SPDN. Unlevered so no daily reset decay problem, but they are a short position, not a hedge with positive expected return. Fine as a tactical trade, bad as a hold.
2) Things that are uncorrelated rather than inversely correlated
- Managed futures / trend following: DBMF, KMLM, CTA. Long or short across equities, bonds, currencies, commodities based on trend. This is the category that actually worked in 2022 when both stocks and bonds fell. Probably the best answer to your specific question.
- Anti-beta / market neutral: BTAL (long low-beta, short high-beta), MNA (merger arb), QAI. Low return expectations, low correlation.
- T-bills: SGOV, BIL, USFR. Not exciting, but if you think bonds have duration and credit risk you do not want, short-duration Treasuries strip both out. Currently paying you to wait.
On your bond concern: "bonds are at risk of collapse" mostly describes long duration. TLT and a 4-week T-bill are completely different risk assets despite both being Treasuries.
On gold: it is a decent long-horizon store of value and a poor short-horizon equity hedge. It has drawn down alongside stocks plenty of times.