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Preparing For Your Festivals
Every year, no matter how hard you try, there is always that last minute scramble to get your last few items together before you set off. So, here we are able to help make sure you’ve at least got the essentials that are required for this years fight with mud and rain. Not only will we be talking you through what you need but we will also detail what your best options are.
Now lets start with the obvious, your tent - although this might seem like an easy choice to make, just pick the cheapest one. However this is not always the best idea, you must consider where you are going for the festival, and follow a guide to the likelihood of rain and flooding at the festival. For example, Glastonbury known all over the UK, at least, as one of the muddiest festivals you will ever go to due to the area being prone to flooding. So to help counter this you must make sure your tent is prepared for the worst.
Now to insure flooding doesn’t occur in your tent a few actions can be taken whilst picking the correct tent. First of all you should pick a double skinned tent, these are generally much more waterproof and allow the tent to “breath”. It also greatly reduces the amount of condensation build up that could occur overnight. Then you must make sure it’s inside layer has a nice strong ground sheet with it reaching at least 6 inches from the ground once erected. This insures water can’t pore into the tent as easily even if the rain is very heavy. Follow these two basic steps and you will find the perfect tent for your festival fun. Now for extra convenience we would suggest a tent with a porch as it is very convenient for storing all your equipment that doesn’t need to be inside the tent, such as chairs and your muddy boots.
Next you need to decide what you are going to sleep on. There are a couple of options which are roll mats and airbeds. Roll mats are very useful as they can be wrapped up small and are very light. However for anything more than one night we would suggest taking an airbed, and thanks to vast improvements over the last couple of years they are nowhere near as bulky and heavy as they used to be, making it a lot easier to sleep in comfort whilst camping in a field. The decrease in the size of the pumps and even the small battery powered ones work great at blowing up your bed. If you do have the space and are able to take extra weight we suggest using a roll mat underneath your airbed to insure that as much heat is kept as possible whilst you are sleeping, however this is not a necessity.
So you’ve picked your tent and your bed, all you need now is to make sure you have something to keep you warm. Sleeping bags are the most common companion whilst you are camping and we highly recommend them. They are lightweight, very small and are great at holding in your bodies thermal heat. There is only one thing you need to look out for when picking a sleeping bag and that is to make sure it is the correct one for the expected temperatures of the year. You don’t want to turn up and a festival in the middle of the summer with a sleeping bag made for -30*C, especially when there isn’t easy access to a shower.
Waterproofs are another essential part to any festival goers arsenal against the weather, although not always needed it is highly suggested that you take a set of waterproof jackets and trousers to insure you can remain dry if the weather takes a turn for the worst. Ponchos are also another option but are considered not a great idea if the weather gets really bad. However if you are unwilling to carry your waterproofs around with you for the whole festival, “emergency” ponchos are very useful as the can be easily fitted into a back pocket.
We hope these festivals tips and tricks to picking what you will need to keep you warm, dry and comfortable whilst at a festival this year and the many that will follow.
