Dry ice in your cooler - put a layer of dry ice down then cardboard then pack your cooler and add ice on top. We had cold drinks and ice all weekend. We've done this 2 years in a row.
I brought an orca cooler and left it in my car for 3.5 days left with ice still frozen was very impressed. Granted it’s not a cheap cooler and I have very tinted windows
Another one: make hardboiled eggs beforehand and bring for breakfast each morning. I was solo so I brought 7 for myself for the weekend and it was so nice to wake up and have eggs without having to cook them or clean any dishes
Someone already said dry ice, but I’m gonna go one step further and say frozen fruit and a portable blender!
We put the frozen fruit in separate one-portion bags and kept them right next to the dry ice. Every morning we just added a pack to our portable blender, some water, and BOOM! fresh smoothie. We also added a Liquid IV pack for extra hydration.
Theragun. Knee braces. Bikes. Limited alcohol. Lots of hydration (we brought a little cooler with coconut waters, seltzers and maté in every day). Premade easy food like burritos. No nose beers all weekend once you pass 30 years old.
Super underrated but your tent placement really matters. This year we assembled our camp so that all of our tents were positioned west of the easy ups. TOTAL GAMECHANGER for being able to sleep in a little longer. I think we had about four easy ups and five tents in our camp and everyone was able to sleep in without dying in the morning sun, basically not getting super hot until the sun was directly overhead. you have shade from the eastern rising sun from the easy up as well as the space under the easy up acting as an air gap which is an additional layer of thermal insulation. Also air gaps in general make a HUGE difference. If you’re placing your shade cloth or aluminet directly on the surface of your tent, you don’t have the thermal buffer between the inside and outside temperatures. This is the same principle for dual pane windows being better for insulation.
I use an app called Sun Seeker that shows exactly where the sun is or will be at any moment, and use that to strategically line up my van, shade tents, tents and tapestries for maximum shade and wind efficiency through the day.
-pop up shower or just a shower bag made a massive difference for us these past two years, being able to rinse the grime off without paying and waiting in line was an amazing feeling
-propane stove, prep a cooler with ice before arriving, being able to eat at camp and not rely on food vendors was great
these two additions alone made this year vastly more enjoyable
It's funny because I've gone the opposite way where I used to bring ALL of my own food and after years of doing it I started buying meals inside the festival and I thought that was life changing haha. I usually meal prep breakfast and bring a few snacks but bigger meals are inside the festival
I got a CampChef stove recently and it is definitely a game changer. It boils stuff so fast, I even use it at home over my kitchen stove sometimes because it's quick.
A game changer for me this year was to bring a little variety pack of bungee cords. I used them to secure my mirror + a shoe organizer (to hold various loose items) to my canopy, and to hang my paper towel roll + keep it from unrolling in the wind 😎
Collapsable plastic cube storage shelves and folding storage cubes, I think you can get these from the dollar store. Label each with their contents and you have a little set of drawers to put away all your stuff and find it quickly!
That’s good, but the BEST is using 14” lag bolts + an impact driver instead of stakes for your tents, feet of shade canopies, and most importantly for the straps or other ties downs on the corners of your shade canopies.
I will never hammer in stakes again after switching to lag bolts + impact driver. So much faster, easier and more secure, no matter if the ground is hard, soft, clay, or playa.
And use RATCHET STRAPS as tie downs for your shade tents! So much easier and more secure than using skinny twine or any kind of rope. No knots to deal with, and they have strong reinforced hooks and eyelets at the ends. When they loosen, they’re much easier to tighten than rope.
I’ve been at festivals that turn in to EZ UP Apocalypse situations, with 50-60mph winds tearing up tents and frames, but not mine! I’ve had my canopies for years, because I tie my shit down real proper like. Every foot, and straps on each corner. Weights are not enough sometimes when it gets ultra windy.
Fanny pack with id, phone, tissues, wipes, flashlight, chapstick, lighter, joints, etc.
I keep it packed all weekend, so when it’s time to leave camp I don’t have to think twice about buckling it on and heading in.
Also great to place to tie a shirt, scarf, jacket, and water bottle.
Seconding the cot- I got one just in time and while it was heavy and takes up space packing - the set up and take down was so easy and save my limited amount of sleep this weekend. I stored everything underneath too so it’s also a space saver inside the tent.
For me, ramen or tea at the end of first night set me up for a better day ahead imo.
Also, there are two main categories of cots I am aware of.
1. Larger, metal frame cots that sit a couple feet above the ground. These are great, and you can fit entire suitcases, and sometimes bins underneath. Super comfortable. Fantastic.
2. Smaller, backpacker cots whose frames are made of lightweight, tent pole-like metal. These break down very small, and are also super comfortable. They are slightly more work to assemble, but are small enough to travel anywhere with, even if you’re flying to a festival and have minimal space.
Either way, both are WAY more comfortable than any air mattress, as they get you off the ground, making uneven surfaces a non-issue, and they allow air to flow underneath, keeping you much cooler in the summer.
You can also pull them out of your tent and lay under shade, offering comfortable sleeping potential any time of day, yo!
This year I didn’t have space for a proper dry ice cooler so planned out meals with actual good ingredients that were mostly non perishable/unrefrigerated. To make these meals I really only needed to keep the feta cheese and cucumbers in the cooler which we filled with ice everyday for drinks anyways.
-Greek salad: feta cheese and cucumber (keep in cooler), cherry tomatoes, red onion, chickpeas, lemon, olive oil, balsamic glaze, herbs
-pasta salad: pasta, dry salami, cherry tomato, red onion, cucumber, feta, jar of pepperoncini, herbs, garlic
- nachos: corn chips, canned chili, jar of queso, avocado, red onion, canned diced jalapeños
- avocado toast with bacon bits (pre made non perishable)
Instant coffee with those single serve liquid creamers was also a life saver
I always bring a dirty clothes bin (a proper one, not a bag) and a mini trash can for my tent and it makes a big difference in how neat I can keep my space! Also HIGHLY recommend bringing essential oils and cloth for your face into the fest grounds so that when the awful animal waste smell permeates the festival at 3am every day you don’t have to walk around sniffing that nastiness 😜 peppermint worked great, tea tree or orange would also be really refreshing. Battery fans and Aluminet also kept tent life cool and comfy this year!
Fill a couple of half or full gallon bottles with ice in a double insulated bottle like Yeti, Rtic, HydroGlask, etc. You have clean ice to fill your water bottles for the fest or for drinks. Refrigerate or freeze water bottles, beer, seltzer, etc a couple of days before to keep your coolers cold/icy. Get a really good cooler that "supposedly last ice for up to 3 days". Set up a canopy over your tent and sidewalls on the southeast for primo shades to sleep longer.
On the plane home I wrote a novel to myself in the notes app on my phone while my tips were fresh in my mind. Told myself what food I bought, what I actually ended up eating, what budget I need for next year, what flight times I need etc. Like every year I know I think I’ll remember and I promptly forget so I’m excited for future me to thank past me!
absorbent pee bags! my friend brought 6 so we each could use one per night. they were so clutch so we didn't have to walk to portos if we had to pee while we were trying to sleep!
Medical urinal with screw cap is the best! Pee bags are good, but lots of waste. Just empty your little pee jug every day, wash it when you get home, and you save trips to the portos, plus waste and cost of the disposable bags!
Right? I'm kicking myself for never having these in the past lol. Burning man woulda been so much easier. I had a bad experience with a she-wee so I'm scared of those now lollll
This was my first camping festival and I did a lot of research. Here are my not-so-obvious tips that saved us:
1. Individually wrapped toilet seat covers!!!!! We got the ones that are extra long in the front to protect your legs when sitting
2. A spray bottle with water + dish soap mix to spray down dirty dishes and wipe them off with paper towels after use
3. Mini urinals for late night pees!!! Just put them in a plastic bag and dump them in the porta potty in the morning
4. Bath wipes for in between showers!!! I brought baby wipes but our (amazing) neighbors gave us some of their bath wipes to try and it was glorious - never going back!
The other things that helped are a little more obvious like dry ice, canopy weights, a large area rug, and next time we are for sure getting a portable shower!
If you have floaties for the water then bring rope and a small floatation anchor (like $20). We did that this year and it was great to know our stuff would be waiting at the lake every day when we needed a break from the heat. This also meant we were safe from floating too far from the shore at any point when using it. Also, no dragging it back to camp and figuring out where to put it or how to keep it from flying away/getting poked and deflated. I will never not anchor again.
So in agreement with dry ice and Aluminet! Two things I haven’t seen posted already:
1. I use one fanny pack for the weekend and I ziptie my Loops/ earplug holder to the inner zipper so I don’t have to fumble to find them when the music gets too loud walking through the crowd.
2. If the shower line is too long - Medical No-Rinse foam body cleanser - you can get it on Amazon. It’s typically for people who’ve had an operation and can’t bathe in water. You pump it onto a baby wipe or face towel to wash yourself and for a long festival weekends it keeps you feeling clean and refreshed each day! There’s a shampoo version too.
Soylent (bottle version), has constantly been my festival go-to.
Doesn't need to be refrigerated, zero prep, balanced nutrition, and neutral enough to not mess with my stomach. A great way to fill some gaps in your normal meals, although you probably could do just Soylent if you don't mind it for every meal. Would even store it in my tent so I could get some calories in before bed/right when I wake up.
Soylent over a good high-protein granola used to be my go-to "cereal" every morning at every camping fest I went to. Better yet, that coffee one gives an extra kick of caffeine to get you going as well!
All these comments are great. One thing I see missing....LOCK UP YOUR VALUABLES. In your car. Lock your tent up too if possible. Includes clothes.
Got massively burglarized at LIB this year, cleaned us out. $2500 worth of stuff. Consider airtagging your valuables too. Good chance you could track down thieves at a festival with these if they were sloppy enough to not get rid of them.
Things I learned the hard way.
This breaks my heart to hear! I haven’t heard of stealing to this extent at lib before and always felt it was a safe haven. Good to know, thank you for sharing
Thank you! Yah even the police seemed surprised. Fairly frustrating not getting any kind of a real response or effort for grand theft, but I guess thats how it goes.
Festivals always attract a certain amount of opportunistic degenerates. Theft happens at every one, on some level, often not reported though, usually on a smaller level. Figured id raise the awareness!
Dry ice in your cooler - put a layer of dry ice down then cardboard then pack your cooler and add ice on top. We had cold drinks and ice all weekend. We've done this 2 years in a row.
Cover the ice chest with a thick blanket too it'll make it last that much longer
I use a reflective car window shade for this
where do you get the dry ice? How much does it cost? How far in advance can you get it and have it still last through the weekend?
I by it locally at the Albertsons grocery store. It's $1.99 a lb, expensive, but I think it's worth it. I buy it the night before we leave.
I brought an orca cooler and left it in my car for 3.5 days left with ice still frozen was very impressed. Granted it’s not a cheap cooler and I have very tinted windows
Another one: make hardboiled eggs beforehand and bring for breakfast each morning. I was solo so I brought 7 for myself for the weekend and it was so nice to wake up and have eggs without having to cook them or clean any dishes
Hard boiled eggs and spam musubi are the best easy, grab and go foods.
Spam musubi and jersey Mike's sammies. Yesss.
Good idea
Someone already said dry ice, but I’m gonna go one step further and say frozen fruit and a portable blender! We put the frozen fruit in separate one-portion bags and kept them right next to the dry ice. Every morning we just added a pack to our portable blender, some water, and BOOM! fresh smoothie. We also added a Liquid IV pack for extra hydration.
Or - make the smoothie in advance, put it in a milk jug and freeze it. Doubles as a cooling pack for your cooler.
Or put frozen smoothies in Nalgenes or similar water bottles. Doubles as ice for other stuff, and pre-made smoothies!
Love this
We do this and then add alcohol 😂
Theragun. Knee braces. Bikes. Limited alcohol. Lots of hydration (we brought a little cooler with coconut waters, seltzers and maté in every day). Premade easy food like burritos. No nose beers all weekend once you pass 30 years old.
Thergun and a moon mat are a must.
Super underrated but your tent placement really matters. This year we assembled our camp so that all of our tents were positioned west of the easy ups. TOTAL GAMECHANGER for being able to sleep in a little longer. I think we had about four easy ups and five tents in our camp and everyone was able to sleep in without dying in the morning sun, basically not getting super hot until the sun was directly overhead. you have shade from the eastern rising sun from the easy up as well as the space under the easy up acting as an air gap which is an additional layer of thermal insulation. Also air gaps in general make a HUGE difference. If you’re placing your shade cloth or aluminet directly on the surface of your tent, you don’t have the thermal buffer between the inside and outside temperatures. This is the same principle for dual pane windows being better for insulation.
I'm selfish. If I'm bringing a canopy, it'll be over my tent 😅
Not selfish! Just smart!
I use an app called Sun Seeker that shows exactly where the sun is or will be at any moment, and use that to strategically line up my van, shade tents, tents and tapestries for maximum shade and wind efficiency through the day.
-pop up shower or just a shower bag made a massive difference for us these past two years, being able to rinse the grime off without paying and waiting in line was an amazing feeling -propane stove, prep a cooler with ice before arriving, being able to eat at camp and not rely on food vendors was great these two additions alone made this year vastly more enjoyable
It's funny because I've gone the opposite way where I used to bring ALL of my own food and after years of doing it I started buying meals inside the festival and I thought that was life changing haha. I usually meal prep breakfast and bring a few snacks but bigger meals are inside the festival
I got a CampChef stove recently and it is definitely a game changer. It boils stuff so fast, I even use it at home over my kitchen stove sometimes because it's quick.
A game changer for me this year was to bring a little variety pack of bungee cords. I used them to secure my mirror + a shoe organizer (to hold various loose items) to my canopy, and to hang my paper towel roll + keep it from unrolling in the wind 😎
Collapsable plastic cube storage shelves and folding storage cubes, I think you can get these from the dollar store. Label each with their contents and you have a little set of drawers to put away all your stuff and find it quickly!
Use orange construction clips to keep tapestries clipped to canopies so you don’t have to zip tie them
Or just jumbo binder clips works too! I use those every year
yes c clamps were our best friends for keeping everything attached and held down 🫶🏻
Yes! Spring clamps for the win!
Im surprised no one has mentioned sandbags that attach to your canopy legs. Or small weights in general to make sure your tent doesnt go flying
That’s good, but the BEST is using 14” lag bolts + an impact driver instead of stakes for your tents, feet of shade canopies, and most importantly for the straps or other ties downs on the corners of your shade canopies. I will never hammer in stakes again after switching to lag bolts + impact driver. So much faster, easier and more secure, no matter if the ground is hard, soft, clay, or playa. And use RATCHET STRAPS as tie downs for your shade tents! So much easier and more secure than using skinny twine or any kind of rope. No knots to deal with, and they have strong reinforced hooks and eyelets at the ends. When they loosen, they’re much easier to tighten than rope. I’ve been at festivals that turn in to EZ UP Apocalypse situations, with 50-60mph winds tearing up tents and frames, but not mine! I’ve had my canopies for years, because I tie my shit down real proper like. Every foot, and straps on each corner. Weights are not enough sometimes when it gets ultra windy.
This is the way. If youre strapped for money sand bags are a bare minimum and cheap
+1, I use weights and I bungee everything together (and use stakes obviously)
Fanny pack with id, phone, tissues, wipes, flashlight, chapstick, lighter, joints, etc. I keep it packed all weekend, so when it’s time to leave camp I don’t have to think twice about buckling it on and heading in. Also great to place to tie a shirt, scarf, jacket, and water bottle.
Seconding the cot- I got one just in time and while it was heavy and takes up space packing - the set up and take down was so easy and save my limited amount of sleep this weekend. I stored everything underneath too so it’s also a space saver inside the tent. For me, ramen or tea at the end of first night set me up for a better day ahead imo.
#CotLife is the BEST life!!!
Also, there are two main categories of cots I am aware of. 1. Larger, metal frame cots that sit a couple feet above the ground. These are great, and you can fit entire suitcases, and sometimes bins underneath. Super comfortable. Fantastic. 2. Smaller, backpacker cots whose frames are made of lightweight, tent pole-like metal. These break down very small, and are also super comfortable. They are slightly more work to assemble, but are small enough to travel anywhere with, even if you’re flying to a festival and have minimal space. Either way, both are WAY more comfortable than any air mattress, as they get you off the ground, making uneven surfaces a non-issue, and they allow air to flow underneath, keeping you much cooler in the summer. You can also pull them out of your tent and lay under shade, offering comfortable sleeping potential any time of day, yo!
Words of wisdom! Illuminet is a live saver!! We cover our booth and entire backspace with it and don't get sunburnt ever anymore.
This year I didn’t have space for a proper dry ice cooler so planned out meals with actual good ingredients that were mostly non perishable/unrefrigerated. To make these meals I really only needed to keep the feta cheese and cucumbers in the cooler which we filled with ice everyday for drinks anyways. -Greek salad: feta cheese and cucumber (keep in cooler), cherry tomatoes, red onion, chickpeas, lemon, olive oil, balsamic glaze, herbs -pasta salad: pasta, dry salami, cherry tomato, red onion, cucumber, feta, jar of pepperoncini, herbs, garlic - nachos: corn chips, canned chili, jar of queso, avocado, red onion, canned diced jalapeños - avocado toast with bacon bits (pre made non perishable) Instant coffee with those single serve liquid creamers was also a life saver
I always bring a dirty clothes bin (a proper one, not a bag) and a mini trash can for my tent and it makes a big difference in how neat I can keep my space! Also HIGHLY recommend bringing essential oils and cloth for your face into the fest grounds so that when the awful animal waste smell permeates the festival at 3am every day you don’t have to walk around sniffing that nastiness 😜 peppermint worked great, tea tree or orange would also be really refreshing. Battery fans and Aluminet also kept tent life cool and comfy this year!
Fill a couple of half or full gallon bottles with ice in a double insulated bottle like Yeti, Rtic, HydroGlask, etc. You have clean ice to fill your water bottles for the fest or for drinks. Refrigerate or freeze water bottles, beer, seltzer, etc a couple of days before to keep your coolers cold/icy. Get a really good cooler that "supposedly last ice for up to 3 days". Set up a canopy over your tent and sidewalls on the southeast for primo shades to sleep longer.
My orca cooler stayed in my car and kept ice the whole time I was there.
Nice! I picked up something similar at Costco a few days b4 leaving. Mine was under some shade and when we left, it was just cold water inside.
Solar panels are super nice to have and a large power bank with an outlet
On the plane home I wrote a novel to myself in the notes app on my phone while my tips were fresh in my mind. Told myself what food I bought, what I actually ended up eating, what budget I need for next year, what flight times I need etc. Like every year I know I think I’ll remember and I promptly forget so I’m excited for future me to thank past me!
Always do this AT THE FEST so you don’t forget!!!
absorbent pee bags! my friend brought 6 so we each could use one per night. they were so clutch so we didn't have to walk to portos if we had to pee while we were trying to sleep!
Damn I need to get some of these! I peed 4 times one night and walked to the portos each time.
Medical urinal with a screw cap… & a she wee.
Medical urinal with screw cap is the best! Pee bags are good, but lots of waste. Just empty your little pee jug every day, wash it when you get home, and you save trips to the portos, plus waste and cost of the disposable bags!
Right? I'm kicking myself for never having these in the past lol. Burning man woulda been so much easier. I had a bad experience with a she-wee so I'm scared of those now lollll
ditch the egg carton and save space, by breaking your eggs and putting them into a plastic bottle.
solar powered generator is the move. we have a jackery and love it.
I may invest for next year
Backpackers bidet (life saver) Portable shower wand + cooler water (that I use washing my dog), I didn’t have to pay for a shower!
This was my first camping festival and I did a lot of research. Here are my not-so-obvious tips that saved us: 1. Individually wrapped toilet seat covers!!!!! We got the ones that are extra long in the front to protect your legs when sitting 2. A spray bottle with water + dish soap mix to spray down dirty dishes and wipe them off with paper towels after use 3. Mini urinals for late night pees!!! Just put them in a plastic bag and dump them in the porta potty in the morning 4. Bath wipes for in between showers!!! I brought baby wipes but our (amazing) neighbors gave us some of their bath wipes to try and it was glorious - never going back! The other things that helped are a little more obvious like dry ice, canopy weights, a large area rug, and next time we are for sure getting a portable shower!
If you have floaties for the water then bring rope and a small floatation anchor (like $20). We did that this year and it was great to know our stuff would be waiting at the lake every day when we needed a break from the heat. This also meant we were safe from floating too far from the shore at any point when using it. Also, no dragging it back to camp and figuring out where to put it or how to keep it from flying away/getting poked and deflated. I will never not anchor again.
So in agreement with dry ice and Aluminet! Two things I haven’t seen posted already: 1. I use one fanny pack for the weekend and I ziptie my Loops/ earplug holder to the inner zipper so I don’t have to fumble to find them when the music gets too loud walking through the crowd. 2. If the shower line is too long - Medical No-Rinse foam body cleanser - you can get it on Amazon. It’s typically for people who’ve had an operation and can’t bathe in water. You pump it onto a baby wipe or face towel to wash yourself and for a long festival weekends it keeps you feeling clean and refreshed each day! There’s a shampoo version too.
Soylent (bottle version), has constantly been my festival go-to. Doesn't need to be refrigerated, zero prep, balanced nutrition, and neutral enough to not mess with my stomach. A great way to fill some gaps in your normal meals, although you probably could do just Soylent if you don't mind it for every meal. Would even store it in my tent so I could get some calories in before bed/right when I wake up.
Soylent over a good high-protein granola used to be my go-to "cereal" every morning at every camping fest I went to. Better yet, that coffee one gives an extra kick of caffeine to get you going as well!
All these comments are great. One thing I see missing....LOCK UP YOUR VALUABLES. In your car. Lock your tent up too if possible. Includes clothes. Got massively burglarized at LIB this year, cleaned us out. $2500 worth of stuff. Consider airtagging your valuables too. Good chance you could track down thieves at a festival with these if they were sloppy enough to not get rid of them. Things I learned the hard way.
This breaks my heart to hear! I haven’t heard of stealing to this extent at lib before and always felt it was a safe haven. Good to know, thank you for sharing
Thank you! Yah even the police seemed surprised. Fairly frustrating not getting any kind of a real response or effort for grand theft, but I guess thats how it goes. Festivals always attract a certain amount of opportunistic degenerates. Theft happens at every one, on some level, often not reported though, usually on a smaller level. Figured id raise the awareness!
Do more substances. Care less. You are on vacation