Festvival Camping

Sharon87

(old thread, been bumped up for new festival season)

So I'm going to my first festival in July... what do I need to buy?

I have no idea never been camping before. It's a 3 day festival with 3 nights camping.

So far I have:

sleeping bag
wellies

I need a tent, air bed with pump. Anything else? It's a rock festival by the way...

I am going up on the train though...

lizziebabe

Hi - when my son started going to festivals we went to our local car bootie to buy him some cheap stuff.

We got - a tent, some cooking utensils (as his mate had a gas stove thingy) a large blanket to put under the sleeping bag and a roll mat, and other stuff.

It saved him a lot of dosh. :beer:

Hope you have a lovely time.

Sharon87

Hmm yeah that's a point, food... First day might be a disposable bbq lolm bring some meat and bread and steal the sauce sachets from the burger vans

I've decided I'll want an airbed, as after a whole day surrounded by mosh pits my back will need something comfy to lie on!

clairetelche1

Check out efestival forum - they have a chat section for each festival with loads of specific tips - each festival has different rules etc so it's great for insider info http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/

hellokitty08

wet wipes! lol

When I went to reading i took, a couple of changes of top and spare pair of trousers and a sleeping bag. A wash bag and that was about it.

Friend took a tent.

Didnt want to carry many things because the big problem is if you are being dropped off you may have to walk for miles or park far away from where you camp.

In comparision at the Grand Prix, you can park next to your tent! Luxurary!

JoJoB

Earplugs!

Trust me, you will want to actually sleep at some point and festivals are 24 hour noise-fests regardless of when the band stops playing.

Few pairs socks (nice to have dry warm feet)
Tins of tuna sweetcorn mayo are useful snacks to have that don't require cooking. Pot noodle handy if anyone taking a camping stove to boil water. Hot chocolate sachets.

baby wipes/dry shampoo/toothbrush/toothpaste

marksmith99

A torch.

Check festival site as some don't allow bbq's only camping stoves.

bluenoseam

T in the Park?

Ignore the disposable bbq advice, besides the fact they're banned it would be a fairly bad idea - so many tents in a confined area, it's a recipie for disaster!

All you really need is a tent, sleeping bag, good quality shoes (ideally boots), something warm because it WILL get cold at night & maybe an airbed. Now here's the good news, all of that can be got relatively cheaply! You'll find that say the likes of Asda/Tesco will start their camping ranges soon (if they haven't already) where you can pick up a decent sleeping bag under a tenner - you wouldn't go to the arctic with it, but it'll do for a festival, similarly you might find a cheap tent which will do for the festival. You could find they might do an "all in one" package too. As for the airbed, check out cheap lilos - i doubt you'll get the regulation 8hrs a night so that should suffice!

(here's Asda's online stuff http://direct.asda.com/Camping-Hiking/802,default,sc.html)

If it's anything like T in the Park (well, when i went!) the drop off zones was about 1.5 miles away from the campsite with a healthy queue to get in, now i'm gonna assume you'll be taking a drink or two with you - basic rule of thumb, no glass bottles allowed full stop, they will demand you stick it into plastic bottles at the gate, so save yourself the time & do it at home, if nothing else it means you should be able to get it in a decent bottle! If you're taking cans it'll get heavy, so go pick up a sled - means you can drag it to where you wanna go without killing your arms.

After that it's just being sensible, don't take anything you're not prepared to lose or get wrecked, nothing of any great value - no point in padlocking your tent etc, lets be fair if someone's gonna steal your stuff, they're gonna rip your tent to skip past a padlock!

eamon

You need a tent, check Tesco, Argos, Adsa.
Sleeping bag & sleeping mat. Don't bother with an airbed they are just hassle. Toilet roll & baby wipes.
Don't bother with cooking gear unless you are on a seriously low budget. Its just more stuff to carry & loose. Eating & drinking at a festival isn't that expensive if you stick to your budget. And anyway it's only 3 days and you won't die. £40 per day should be about right, you are there to see & hear bands not get wasted.
Leave your expensive gadgets at home, they attract thieves. Good walking boots & waterproofs.

roadiegirl

Plenty of baby wipes
dry shampoo
a big water carrier (don't fill it before you get there though!)
a good pair of wellies & welly/ski socks
pot noodles (some hot drink vendor will fill them for about 50p if you ask nicely, and saves boiling up the water when your starving)
deodorant (in smaller than 50ml cans if your taking spray)
wind up torch (I got a really good one from the eco friendly camping people, will edit and post link if I can find it, was about £3?)
paracetomol/ibuprofen (if not for you, someone else will need them)
lighter (they always come in handy)
disposable cameras (don't be taking your nice DSLR like my best friend did!)
hair bobbles, brushes and hats.
Plenty of beer, cider or whatever you drink. Most festivals will only let you take enough for personal consumption (that apparently means 5 crates of strongbow and 3 bottles of vodka for me! ) also, make sure you don't take any glass bottles, most festivals don't allow them now.

Take some spare money on a debit card if you can, last year at Leeds our tent was ripped to shreds by somebody, and we had to go buy a new one, trust me they aren't cheap once your there!

I'll edit if I think of anything else!

*manda*

I agree with the not cooking bit- we don't bother taking any cooking gear- also don't bother with water carrier as neither of us are fussed on hot drinks. We buy food there, take some booze which you have to take in plastic not glass- so once plastic bottles are emty we refill those with water to freshen up/clean teeth etc.

Very simple first aid kit- plasters/pain relief/immodium. Also take hand gel as most toilets won't have running water to wash hands.

We do take a blow up bed- personal choice. TBH a lot of this stuff is virtually disposable now as so cheap so you can leave it behind for the sake of £5.

Nibbbles- Pringles etc just in case- what ever fits in to nooks and crannies

Hat/suncream/wellies/Mac- I take a reasonable size bag that goes over the body in with me- wont get knocked off shoulders and I can stash mac and sunscreen in there.

Plastisc bags- invaluable for sitting on/stashing skanky clothes in



Usually it'll cost you more than you think....