Every essential to pack if you’re camping at a festival this summer
Of course, one man’s ‘essential’ is another man’s ‘superfluous’, but here are the items I’ll be double and triple checking for before I set off…
Beyond the Pale, Sea Sessions, All Together Now, Another Love Story, Fuinneamh, Electric Picnic — festival season is stretching out in front of us, and my god, does it look good.
Though I concede, it’s all too easy to get sucked into outfit planning, I beseech you now to turn your attention to the all-important non-sartorial related festival essentials. I once lived with a guy who didn’t even bring a tent when he was heading off to a festival for the weekend. I earnestly asked him if he had everything ready to go, and he looked at me with a vague hint of confusion in his eyes as he said; “Ah yeah, I’ll stop for cans on the way if that’s what you mean?” In that moment, I’ve never related to anyone less in my life.
I am more of an everything and the kitchen sink type person, which is to say, I overpack, weigh myself down, and annoy everyone by insisting we stop for breaks every six steps when venturing into the campsite. But you best believe I make up for this with my apocalypse-bunker-esque rations of cereal bars, tampons, blister plasters and hydration tablets.
So, in order to ensure that your festival stint goes off without a hitch, I’m laying the essentials (and some not-so-essentials) out on the table. If you’re setting off with a group, cobble the below together amongst yourselves and you’re guaranteed to have everything you could quite possibly need to ensure a top tier weekend.
The obvious checklist
Let’s get the big four out of the way fast — tent, sleeping bag, camping chair, and portable charger. Once you’ve got these few essentials with you, you’ll be able to get by with a little help from some friends until home time.
When you’re packing your bag, packing cubes are very handy, so make sure that you separate your outfits out by day (if you’re this organised in the first place), and keep your toiletries, comfy clothes, snacks and extras together in their own dedicated cube so you won’t have to empty everything out onto the grass when you’re looking for your left sock. And for the love of god, make sure whatever bag your clothes are in is waterproof. You do not want to have to wear the same outfit every day because everything got soaked in a freak rainstorm, as was the case for me last summer.
A yoga mat or blow up mattress are also recommended for underneath your sleeping bag, so that it doesn’t feel quite so lumpy and to help keep icky dampness and condensation to a minimum. A trolley is also a great idea for getting the bulkier items (read: lots and lots of cans) from the car park to the campsite, or take a leaf out of your granny’s book and opt for a wheely shopping bag.
Medicine cabinet
You’ll want to pack all your go-to painkillers and decongestants—Solpadeine, Dioralyte, and the likes—but you’ll also want to stock up on a tube of all-important hydration tablets. These ones from ORS Hydration are rammed full of electrolytes, and I like to have once before I even leave the house, and another as soon as I wake up, before my mind has time to clock the beginnings of a hangover.
Elsewhere, some eye drops or cooling masks for hayfever relief will go a long way, because there is quite literally nothing worse than when this hits out of nowhere and you’re sequestered in a too-hot tent, weepily listening to music float in from the main arena.
I like to throw on some blister plasters as a preventative measure, because big chunky boots are made for stomping around in, not gingerly tip-toeing. Finally, throw a few packets of tissues and some hand sanitizer into your bag, because portaloos are never not disgusting and bacteria lives everywhere. Plus, this one actually smells nice, which is always a plus.
Tent-side pre-drinks</h4
Once the makeup is on and glitter has made it into every crevice, sprucing up your campsite might be next on the agenda. Unfortunately, festivals don’t exactly allow for whole entire bar carts to be wheeled on in and past security, but a little tupperware box of some sliced lemons and limes, a couple of fun little umbrellas, and a handful of metal straws will help to elevate things a little. Or you can drink out of your wellie, whatever appeals to you in the moment.
Also, make sure to stock up on some cereal bars, protein snacks, and the mini (extract concentrated) droppers of MiWadi to help add a little flavour to your beverages as the day goes on. Bunting, fairy lights and flags are also a good idea, not just in terms of aesthetics, but they’re great when it comes to spotting your tent in a monotonous crowd of similar looking tents.
A disposable or polaroid camera will also come in handy, and for the love of god, bring a roll of bin bags and throw your empties into it before your head into the arena. It takes two seconds, and it saves you the headache of waking up to a depressingly messy campsite.
When it rains, it pours
The law of attraction, manifestation, and lucky girl syndrome have made it feel illegal to even type this, but there might be a slight chance that the clouds will break and the rain will come, and you’ll want to be prepared. Bucket hats, wellies, rain ponchos, waterproof carrier bags, spare socks — put them all in your just-in-case packing cube. Another not-so-sustainable tip that saved my boyfriend last year was plastic sandwich bags. Just pop one over each foot (I would suggest layering sock-sandwich bag-sock-shoe) and you’ll be dry and warm into the early hours.
It’s also advisable to have a spare bin bag just inside your tent door, so that when you’re hauling your weary bones inside, you can throw your muddy boots and shoes inside, tie it up tight, and not have to worry about waking up to everything being covered with dirt.
On the other side of the coin, there could well be blistering sunshine, which requires equal amounts of advance measures. This Evian facial spray will revive you, and a little handheld fan will be the gift that keeps on giving. Oh, and don’t even attempt to leave the house without SPF. Need I elaborate?
Last but not least
Let’s pretend that I have full faith in the fact that you’ll manage to do your seven-step skincare routine each night. I would still suggest that maybe—just maybe—you should still pack some biodegradable makeup wipes, juuuust in case. Likewise, some antibacterial wipes for giving your tent a quick clean in the morning is recommended.
Bring along some fly spray, a mirror with a light, a torch for inside your tent, ear plugs, and some detangling spray for your hair. I would also advocate for bringing way more pairs of socks than you might think you’ll need, and a comfy outfit for the journey home. Oh, and a speaker! A bluetooth speaker is always a good idea.
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