You’ve just secured camping tickets to the hottest festival in town and are keen as mustard to have a blast with your besties. The only catch is, the last time you went camping was back in school when mum was still packing your bags! Lucky for you, the BCFing Experts have the know-how to make your time in the outdoors memorable and have called on their biggest party animals to pull together this festival camping checklist. Equipped with the gear below and a few handy tips, the only thing you’ll need to worry about is what stage to head to next.
- A good tent: While it might be tempting to try to save a bit of coin in this department, it pays to buy a quality tent you can use again. Make sure the tent has plenty of room for all your mates and camping gear, and you’ll be good as gold!
- The right sleeping gear: Although you might not be getting much sleep, you want to make sure that the shut eye you do get is quality. Choosing the right sleeping bag, getting your hands on a good air mattress, and bringing a comfy pillow are all boxes to tick before you head away.
- Gazebo: If you manage to snag a couple of camping spots, a gazebo is an absolute must-have. Kicking it under the shelter of your gazebo is pretty hard to beat. It’s a great spot to share a few drinks, have your meals, and catch up with mates.
- Camping table and chair: Once you’ve got the gazebo packed and ready to go, the next piece of the puzzle will be your table and chairs. A foldout table is always a good one to chuck in the car, while your comfiest camping chair will serve you well particularly when lounging around in the mornings.
- Lighting: You’ll need a couple different types of lighting when heading away to a festival, a handheld torch or lantern is a goodie for around camp, and a head torch is an essential for in the tent, and when you need to wave your hands in the air like you just don’t care.
- Portable charger: Easy to forget but an absolute must-have, a portable charger is great to keep your phone charged up so you can keep in contact with your mates and keep capturing those memorable moments!
- Water bottle: Keeping hydrated while camping at a festival is crucial, and it’s always good to have a sip of water too! At a number of festivals there are places where you can fill up your water bottle, so don’t forget to bring one along!
- Keeping clean: While a bubble bath isn’t an option when camping at a festival, there are still some great options to keep yourself clean. Many festivals have showers there, but the lines can get pretty long so baby wipes, a microfibre towel and a bucket, or even a camp shower (if allowed) are all solid options.
- The right clothes: It pays to be prepared for anything while camping at a festival, and while you’ll work up a sweat in the mosh, the nights tend to get pretty chilly. Make sure to bring a number of layers including some rainwear just in case it starts raining cats and dogs.
Other things to bring:
- Crocs or thongs
- Jibbitz
- Extra tent pegs
- Mallet
- Air pump (for airbeds)
- Muesli bars and snacks
- Sunglasses
- Hats
- Bin
- Hand sanitiser
- Spare batteries
- Coffee
- Coffee maker
- 12V appliances
Having the right gear on hand can make or break your festival camping experience, so it’s important to make sure all the must-haves are ticked off before you get away. Your local BCF store has everything you need to have a cracker time at a festival and if you’re short on time you can even shop with us online! We hope you have an unforgettable time camping at a festival, and who knows… you might even catch the camping bug, we hear it’s pretty contagious!
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BCFing Experts
The BCFing Experts have done more than their fair share of boating, camping, fishing, hiking, four-wheel driving and much much more! Whether you're tackling tough tracks in Tassie or chasing big barra up North, the BCFing Experts have the know-how to make your next outdoor adventure a pearler
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