As nice as a multi-day outdoor concert marathon may be, every festival also has its pitfalls – caused by limited hygiene, a lot of noise, unstable weather or, in other words: little comfort. You don’t need much to enjoy your time to the fullest despite all the restrictions. You just need to know which gadgets are essential at a festival. Below we present a small selection that our author (after ten years of festival experience) would recommend to every open-air concert-goer.
If there’s one thing festivals don’t offer, it’s free power outlets. However, since most events last several days, the cell phone can only be charged multiple times using an external battery – i.e. a mobile power bank. However, since these capacities are also limited, it is advisable to choose a portable solar charger: In this case, you simply use the power of the sun to recharge the power bank. You can then use your smartphone as usual and remain mobile at all times (as long as you have reception at all on the festival grounds).
Unfortunately, our author only discovered this hearing protection after her active festival time, but she still swears by it – after all, it can also be used at any “normal” concert: These are special earplugs that dampen the noise, but still keep the ambient noise at the same level Maintain sound quality. In other words, you are still listening to your favorite band at a healthy volume. However, if you want to have peace and quiet at night (spoiler: festivals are loud 24/7), you should use regular earplugs. Unless you are a sound sleeper and can block out all noise.
Even though the lights stay on throughout the entire festival site, it does get really dark in the campsites (depending on the location) – especially in the tents, but also in the sanitary facilities, which become increasingly dirty over time. If you don’t always want to use your cell phone light and drain the battery, you can rely on practical LED camping lamps. These can be attached anywhere with a carabiner hook and light your way in the darkest hours (with the help of batteries).
Yes, there are showers on the festival grounds. What many people don’t know, however, is that sometimes the water is too cold – or too hot. Or, meter-long queues form in the early hours of the morning, so you can only enjoy fresh water with a bit of luck. Apart from the fact that there are not always individual cabins, there are also common showers for men and women. It is much easier and easier to plan if you simply bring your own solar shower (including hose). This heats up with the power of the sun and holds 20 liters: enough water to wash yourself with.
If you don’t arrive by car, you will be forced to carry all your camping accessories to the campsite. To take as little luggage with you as possible, our author recommends a self-inflating air mattress. It can be folded up very small and still offers more comfort than a thin sleeping mat. In addition, you don’t have to carry an air pump with you to inflate the mattress. There are different models that have different thicknesses: 60 centimeters are the cheapest, but 65 centimeters offer even more comfort. Of course, there are also matching inflatable pillows.
You might think that festival-goers would be able to simply hold their cups with their hands – but that’s far from the case. In the heat of the moment, it’s easy to lose, spill or forget your drink. In addition, the prices for water and soft drinks on the festival grounds are usually the same as for alcoholic drinks, so you would be wise to take your own drinks with you to the concerts. In order to have your hands free while dancing and still not die of thirst, a practical bottle holder has proven itself useful. There are simple models or unusual ones made from macrame.
It’s not without reason that a headline in recent years has been “Hurricane over Scheeßel” after the festival was surprised by a storm and literally flooded. In fact, it wasn’t the first time that open-air events like the Hurricane or Rock am Ring were accompanied by torrential rain showers – and the concert meadows were transformed into muddy fields. For this reason, rubber boots are one of the most important items that festival-goers should always have with them. Alternatively, there are also waterproof overshoes that you can wear over your regular shoes.
As nice as a normal terry towel is, it still takes up a lot of space in your backpack. On the other hand, a towel made of microfiber is significantly smaller and can be folded up very small – and can also dry much more quickly in the fresh air. This advantage is particularly beneficial on rainy days when the humidity is so high that a normal towel would only dry very slowly or not at all. But if we’re honest, personal hygiene isn’t at the top of the list for most festival goers anyway. A small towel is still better than none.
You’re probably wondering why a rain poncho is better for a festival than a rain jacket. Clearly: he isn’t. But: In contrast to a (warming) jacket, the poncho can be folded up to a minimum size and can therefore be easily stored in any bag or backpack. The fact is that the weather at festivals is usually so unstable that you should be prepared for anything: rain and sunshine, heat and cold. Because the poncho is one size fits all and can be worn over normal clothing (including a backpack), you are always on the safe side.
There is plenty of drinking water on the festival grounds, but it is still pointless (and doesn’t take much space in your backpack) to always have an empty bottle with you. Foldable water bottles with a capacity of 500 milliliters are ideal here. These can easily be stored in any bag and filled with water or other drinks at any time if necessary. This set contains four different colors. And of course the BPA-free bottles are also reusable.
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