Essential kit for attending a festival

In just a few months time from now, people will be going in droves to various music festivals that are dotted around the year.

Whilst the music changes each year, there is generally one trend that never seems to break; poor weather. It could be the driest and warmest period up until the festival, but once it arrives more often than not the whole thing goes to pot and it’s a soggy experience for all involved.

Whilst this very rarely dampens (no pun intended) the spirits of the festival goers, it does sometimes catch a few people short. There is also the group that don’t seem to want to invest in, nor know the importance of needing a festival kit.

Even for those on a budget, if you’re going to buy a festival kit it should contain three main items to ensure that your time there is enjoyable when you’re not having a great time with the music. These are a sleeping bag, a sleeping/camping mat as well as a tent. Despite this, you’d be surprised by the number of people that don’t even think about bringing one of these with them to their festival and normally just try and wing it during the whole time that they’re there.

When people are asked what they should bring to a festival, the majority don’t even think about mentioning a sleeping mat. This is something which is crucial no matter if the weather has been great or it has been particularly poor.

Supposing the weather in the run up to the festival has been great and it hasn’t rained at all lately. The upside to this is that the ground won’t be water logged when you’re at the stages listening to the performers which is great. However, when it comes to the evening and you’re ready to go to sleep the ground is going to be rock hard and uncomfortable to sleep on.

Now, let’s imagine the other situation whereby it’s been raining non-stop and the ground is severely water logged. You’re going to be sinking into the ground where you stand and by the time it comes to bed time, you’ll be sinking into it. Neither of these situations are ideal, especially when you’re wanting a good nights sleep after an exhausting day.

A sleeping/camping mat is going to give you an extra layer of protection between your sleeping bag and the ground. Not only will this make your sleep a lot more comfortable, it won’t be as cold as well since you’re not going to be in direct contact with the ground.

For those that do pick up a sleeping mat for a festival, they think that they only need to bring a blanket with them and that will be enough for a make shift bed when they’re wanting to go to sleep. This is a pretty terrible idea in all honesty.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the height of the summer; at night time it can still get really cold and you’re sleeping on the ground. A blanket on its own is not going to give you enough warmth and protection. To make sure that your body is kept at a safe temperature, along with you not having any untoward insect visitors beside you during the night the best bet is to bring a sleeping bag along with you in your festival kit. Luckily you can get a sleeping bag and pillow combi so you don’t need to worry about bringing anything extra along with you.

This might sound like the most obvious addition to any essential festival kit, but many would still consider this to be an add on more than a crucial piece of equipment. Whilst a sleeping bag is going to keep you moderately protected from the elements in terms of temperature levels, it’s not going to stop you from getting a soaking during the night.

Not only that, but it’ll help to protect you from any strong winds that you may encounter on your festival, be it during the day when you’re just wanting some downtime between acts, or at night time when it’s time to head to bed.

It would be foolish for people not to take along festival kits with them to any festival that they attend and even a basic kit should always have at least a sleeping bag, a sleeping mat and a tent for added peace of mind during the time you’re there.