Festival Packing Guide

Festival ticket, sense of fun, spirit of adventure and beer........wouldnt it be great if that was all you needed to think about before heading off for some summer festival frolics and musical merry-making?

Back in the day it might even have worked but todays large scale major festivals require a little more thought if you want your weekend to be fun-fuelled and not an endurance exercise.

Those used to camping might consider themselves more than competent to prepare for the event but besides the tent, festival camping has almost nothing in common with conventional camping. So, quite what will you need to pack? Read on - we think we might be able to help or, at the very least, nudge you gently to a place of festival-brain readiness.

Consider Your Ticket Type

Almost all the major festivals and many of the smaller ones offer various camping ticket type options. The standard ticket means you turn up and then hope and pray you can find a patch of grass big enough to pitch your tent on which is neither right next to the infamous festival toilets nor ankle deep in mud. Priority tickets give you various options for less of a lucky dip approach.

They might allow you to enter the camp area ahead of the masses to pick the best spot, they might offer set aside quiet areas or the option of being able to park your vehicle somewhere nearby so the 5 mile hike over mountains with all your gear can be avoided. (Okay it might not really be five miles or in fact mountains but it might feel like it by the end!)

The point we are making here is that priority or extra benefit tickets might have some impact on what you decide to pack.

Consider the Carry-in Terrain and Distance

Even with a priority ticket there are still certain festivals where the distance from festival arrival point to camping field is long. Add into the mix the following - the ground may be rough, wet, muddy, hilly or otherwise hard going.

You will see experienced festival goers wheeling wheelbarrows, festival trolleys and any number of various wheeled contrivances which help make the carry-in event less of a hernia inducing exercise but still not necessarily easy (back to that difficult terrain bit).

You might also see the uninitiated first-timers miserably abandoning gear halfway when it all just gets too much, having had no idea in advance of just how far they would have to take those 5 crates of beer......hardly the best way to get the happy festival vibe started.

Just bear this in mind – whatever you decide to bring you will have to carry in. If you are built like Arnie this might be no problem – otherwise keep everything as light and limited as possible without leaving out the essentials.



Consider What Levels of Comfort Are Essential to You

Are you a pampered princess or hard-core outdoor type? Of course how you respond to this question will dictate the levels of camping comfort needed to ensure your weekend isnt a miserable one.

At the very least you will need a decent tent (one that wont collapse or leak at the first downpour or puff of wind or fall apart as drunken revellers trip over your guy ropes for the umpteenth time). Also, this tent will need to give you enough room to store your gear (possibly wet) away from your sleeping area.

In addition to your tent your minimum camping requirement list will also include a decent sleeping bag (nights can be chilly even in summer) and some form of sleeping mat/mattress . The last category ranges from super-light and thin options which offer minimum levels of comfort but help insulate you from the ground through to choices which can satisfy even the most discerning sleeper.


Consider Valuables

Designer clothes, cameras, iPhones, wads of money, tablets, MP3 and otherwise expensive gadgets and gizmos – some of us can go without for a weekend, some of us consider these things vital to our existence. If you fall into the latter category then accept that when you leave the festival it might be minus some of these things. The basic rule here is that if it would really rock your world to lose something then dont bring it.

Of course you will want to capture the best weekend of your life in photos but bring something cheap which does the job. Along the same lines, mobile phones come in very handy for hooking back up with lost buddies but use a cheap basic phone which wont break your heart and bank balance to have to replace.

All of the big festivals have secure lock-up facilities but these are sometimes in annoyingly out of the way places and setting off to retrieve something at 3am when it is pouring with rain might not seem like so much fun. Your call of course but dont say you havent been warned.


Consider What/Where You Intend to Eat

Even the smallest of festivals offer food options for the masses so you can easily eat every day without having to prepare your own meal once.

However, buying at stalls and on-site eateries for the duration can seriously add to your festival expenses and there might be times when standing around in just one more queue which snakes off into the distance seems a little tedious. For these reasons some festival goers opt to prepare some of their own meals.

If you intend to do this make sure you have what you need – something to cook your food on (camp stove, disposable barbeque) something to eat your food with (knife, fork, spoon), something to eat your food from (plate, dish) and any little essentials such as a tin opener.

Bear in mind that all festivals have certain restrictions (NOT always obvious or logical) so do your research to make sure your well planned packing essentials arent confiscated on entry as prohibited items.


Consider the Weather

Sometimes the sun shines all weekend long but more often it doesnt so you will need to be prepared for all eventualities. The minimum requirements here include clothing which you can layer for warmth, waterproofs (there will be nowhere to dry soggy clothing) and appropriate footwear.

A pair of funky wellies may well be a festival cliché, but if you have ever tried to struggle through a muddy camping ground and festival site without them, then you will understand why they are the festival-goers footwear of choice! Besides, festival toilets are best tackled in something up to the job.....youll see what we mean soon enough.


Consider Lightening Up and Letting Go

When we say lightening up here we dont just mean with regard to tangible things which you might be carrying in but with attention to your whole attitude.

If you accept that personal hygiene levels will have to slide a little (or disappear almost entirely) for a few days (and dont forget everyone around you is in the same boat), that peaceful sleeping hours might be a little on the low side and home comforts will be absent, then not only will you be able to keep your packing light but will also probably have more fun than you thought possible in the space of 2 to 4 days.

If you really, really cant envisage throwing your lot in with the camping hordes without feeling highly uncomfortable or thoroughly miserable then pick one of the festivals which offers high comfort glamping options and ignore everyone who tells you youre cheating!

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