If you’re wondering what you should take to a festival, we’ve put together a list of the essentials.
Unless you’re a seasoned camper or festival-goer, you might not know what to take with you. Especially if this is your first festival.
Portable shower
While you can just pour a water bottle over your head, the portable shower is much more productive in using a steady flow of water to clean yourself. Simply fill the pouch provided with water, then either get someone else to hold the pouch above your head or hang it in a tree. Then with a twist of the valve, let the water run out of the shower head connected at the end.
Pro tip: take some swimwear to shower in.
Power banks
Yes. The plural is intentional. Take a few of them with you, charged and ready to go, especially if you’re the sort to take loads of photos/videos.
Blow up tent
Great for regular camping with family as well as festivals. Especially at festivals, poles are a hassle, easily snapped, lost or stolen, and taking down your tent is just not ideal when you're on the verge of throwing up after the weekend. The blow up tent eliminates all of this hassle as all you have to do is watch it inflate, nothing but a pump and some pegs for stability.
Cooler box
While it may not be practical to fill it with ice, some ice packs could help keep things somewhat cool. Even if you don’t have anything to keep it cool, it’ll at least keep your Dark Fruit from being warm. A closed container will also stop things like bread from going stale.
Camping stove
If you want to survive on more than crisps, cereal bars and overpriced festival food, it’s worth grabbing one. You can find them for around £20, but bear in mind that you may have to buy the gas separately. It’d be better to take more gas than you need than find yourself having cold beans on untoasted bread. We also have an article with suggestions for what food to take.
For an extra £10-15, it may also be worth grabbing a kettle to use with the stove.
Insect repellent
It’s the summer, bugs are everywhere. They will infiltrate your tent unless you take precautions. There are a wide variety of options, ranging from harsh but effective bug sprays to portable bug lamps. You could even make your own spray with any of these essential oils that naturally repel insects:
- Thyme
- Eucalyptus
- Sage
- Catnip
- Lemongrass
- Rosemary
- Tea Tree
- Lavender
- Mint
- Basil
- Citronella
- Clove
Beer belt
If that’s your vibe, then drinking will probably be a big part of your festival weekend, and if you don't want to lug around a backpack of beers this belt can be a life saver. Simply load up the hands free, stylish belt with enough cans to last you the day and go about like you're not carrying a thing. Easy and practical drinking on the go. Just check whether you can take your own drinks into the stage areas.
Drink pouches/hip flask
For a festival where you aren’t allowed to take your own drinks into the main areas, there may be a need for subtlety. We’re obviously not telling you to break the rules. This is a hypothetical suggestion, but you could buy a soft drink for half the price of a pint and top it up with your choice of spirit.
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