New to the festival scene or are you a seasoned veteran? Either way we have advice to make your trip a little more comfortable through the correct kit.

Ensuring you have the right gear is essential to make the most of any festival. Below is a guide from us on what you should consider taking with you when you go to a festival.

Click the tabs across the top to view specific advice on equipment. Below are some top tips to ensure you have the best time possible.



Festival Preparation

• Ensure you have packed all your essentials such as medicine, food and any camping equipment you need. We sell a great range of first aid kits which would be ideal. You can buy medicine at festivals but it generally isn't cheap!
• Charge your mobile phone.
• If you don't have them already make sure you have all your friends mobile numbers, it makes finding them easier.
• Take cash with you. At larger festivals there are usually cash machines but they charge for use and have large queues.
• Stock up on food that doesn't perish.
• Read the festival rules before you go. Last thing you want to do is turn up with something you shouldn't such as alcohol, glasses, etc.

Keep yourself safe

There is no better way to ruin a festival than something unexpected and unwanted happening. Consider the following things in advance and your festival will go much more smoothly.

• Sun - Is it going to be a scorcher? Take some sun cream and a hat to ensure you don't get sun burn or worse yet sun stroke.
• Sickness - Take some antibacterial gel for your hands and use it whenever you need to, festivals are generally not the healthiest places.
• Dehydration - Alcohol in particular will dehydrate you. Make sure you take plenty of water with you and drink as often as possible.
• Blisters - Being on your feet all day can really put stress on your feet. Wear thick comfy socks and shoes.
• Hunger - Pack plenty of food so you don't get hungry a daypack is a great place to store some food so you don't have to go back to your tent.
• Theft - Make sure you keep anything you wouldn't want to loose close to hand. Better yet only take with you what you are willing to loose.
  

Think of the environment

Festivals are generally held in the countryside, so remember to bring back as much of what you take as you can.

• Pack bin liners and plastic bags and store your rubbish in them.
• Camp cooking - where you can use cylinder burners, these don't leave a mess when you leave and take less room to pack.
• Take you tent when you leave! It's become a trend to leave a cheap tent when you leave but unless there is a scheme in place take it with you.
• Don't leave any food or items that could be harmful to animals - this is pretty obvious.

Making sure you have packed the essentials makes all the difference to to having a great time and rubbish time. Below is the list of the bare essentials for a festival.

We have specific advice for indevidual bits of kit over the next few tabs but here is a quick list:

• Tent
• Rucksack
• Sleeping Bag
• Camp Cooking Equipment
• Bowls, Glasses Knives & Forks
• Waterproof Jacket
• Waterproof Trousers
• Thick Jumper or Hoodie
• 2 Pairs of Shoes (Wellies are ideal)
• Food & Drink (non perishable)
• Cash
• Tickets
• Suncream
• Medicine & First Aid Kit
• Toilet Rolls

• Soap / Shampoo
• Camping Furniture
• Airbed
• Cool Box
• Extra Clothes
• Radio
• Pillow
• Roll Mat
• Pack of Cards
• Hat
• Duct Tape
• Sunglasses
• Insect Repellant

 

There is only really one thing you want to consider when buying a tent for a festival; how many people are coming?

A festival tent should be relatively cheap, thats not to say buy the cheapest thing you can find but things have a habit of getting wrecked at festivals so only spend as much as your willing to loose.

We have a festival tent department for you to peruse. However below are our recommendations

When you go to a festival you want a rucksack that's big enough to hold all your essentials but you don't want it to be too big because you can then use it when you're away from your tent. It also needs to keep the water out because there's nothing worse than wet clothes or a ruined iPod!

Rucksack which have an additional daypack are ideal. You can keep all your clothes and other essentials in the main compartment and you can zip-off the daypack for the items you want to keep close to you like your purse/wallet and mobile phone etc.

We have lots of suitable festival rucksacks, but here's a few we think are perfect:

A festival sleeping bag shouldn't cost you the earth, but you do want one that is going to keep you warm and dry of a night.

If you want to spend a bit more money on a comfy nights sleep then I'd recommend investing in a good airbed!

We have loads of suitable sleeping bags for festival goers but here are a few of our favourites.

As easy as it is to get a hot dog or burger when you're at a festival, there's nothing better than sitting round the camp fire cooking your breakfast or dinner – plus, it's got to be cheaper!

When you're cooking it's not just a stove you need, but other essentials like cups and plates and knives and forks, so don't forget to make a list before you go!

Here's what we think are a must for camp cooking at a festival

Although the British festival season is set in the summer months, we all know what the weather can be like here! Always make sure you take some warm clothing for the evenings around the camp-fire and some waterproofs just in case there's a unexpected downpour!

Here are some definite must haves to think about taking with you to your festival

Festivals are never a place of cleanliness, but you should try to do your best to keep clean so you don't become ill, nor do you gas your friends out with the smell from your armpits! Oh, and don't forget a couple of rolls of toilet roll too!

We know that there can be minimal resources for washing so we have some great products we think are perfect for festival goers.