UPDATE: 19.06.2010

This is a general kit list for everyone, male and female so depending what you take is completely subjective and this is just here as a guideline to help you out. This won’t cover everything but will hopefully provide a starting point for folk to get their bearings on festival gear!

Clothing & Footwear:

Underwear, Socks, Shorts, ¾’s, trousers, T-shirts, Long sleeve top, Hat(s), Jackets, Jumpers, Hoodies, Trainers, Hiking Boots, WELLIES, Waterproof coat/Poncho, Waterproof bottoms, nightwear, Sandals, Flip-flops, Glasses/Contact lenses, Sunglasses.

If you’re uncomfortable you will be miserable! Always packs enough and look after your feet. Remember it can get quite chilly at night.

Camping Essentials:

Tent, Crash Mat, Sleeping Bag/Liner, Blanket, Trangia/Stove, Fuel, Food, Matches, Water Carrier, Small amount of Fairy Liquid + Sponge, Cutlery, Plate, Mug, Bin Bags, Torch + Batteries, String, Swiss Army Knife, Duct Tape.

Other “non-essential” stuff you might consider: A pillow, airbed, chair, BBQ’s, cool boxes, fire wood, a flag/landmark, hand warmers, glow-sticks, a pen/paper, safety pins, novelty items, stereo.

Hygiene & Care:

Towel, Washbag + Toiletries [Anti-Perspirant, Wet Wipes, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Small shower gel], Suncream, Aftersun, Lipbalm, Alcohol Handwash, Makeup, Dry Shampoo,

First Aid Kit [Painkillers, Plasters, Dressings, Antiseptic cream + Other Stuff Like Heartburn Tablets etc.], Insect Repellent, Inhalers, Shots, Allergy tablets/Other Meds, Condoms, The Pill, Tampons/Pads, TOILET ROLL, Hairbrush/Comb, Hair Gel/Mousse, Disposable Razors.

Most won’t frown at you for being dirty at a festival but you will feel better the cleaner you are!


Food & Drink

For ideas on what to bring see this thread: http://forums.leedsfestival.com/m1315834.aspx It's a bit too big to post in here!


Electronics & Personal Items

Money/Cards, Phone, Mp3, Watch, Camera, Memory Cards, Spare batteries for stuff, TICKETS! – for everything!, Identification, Cigarettes, Chewing Gum, Glasses/Contact Lenses.

Please look after your stuff, don’t leave anything valuable insecure!


So, you've got all your Kit, but you need something to carry it in. Here are a few tips:


1. Choose a suitably sized bag! Personally one of the hiking type bags are the best in my eyes, they come in various sizes and prices. You don't need a fancy expedition style mountaineer one just something that does the job. Suitcases with wheels are usually a bad idea as they don’t pull very well on grass and you'll just end up carrying them normally. You want something you can put on your back with two straps ideally. A bag with lots of little compartments is always good for organising and separating your stuff.


2. Think about your packing! Whilst you won't be walking to the site (most of us anyway) you'll likely be trekking for a little while to your preferred camping spot. Pack your bag sensibly - try to balance the weight out. Don't put a shed load of heavy stuff at the bottom – avoid injury at the start of the festival! Also hiking type bags usually have straps on the outside where your tent, camping mat/blanket etc can be attached which saves a lot of room inside. Some people also tie boots and stuff to the outside amongst pans and other things.


3. Think about the weather. It’s a good idea to buy a bag cover or just keep a bin bag handy to throw over your bag if it starts to pour down. Also if you pack your essentials in plastic bags and for whatever reasons your bag gets soaked all your nice clothes will stay dry.


4. Portable trolley’s – are good for carrying excess bulk and may take some of the weight off your shoulders, just make sure you can manage them to the site.

You wont find alcohol, cigarettes, or any other drugs on there because I don't take them but they're probably the main ones missing for most people

 
haha
how stereotypical is that emoticon face for straight edge kids
''Pfft! bringing your own beer, dont you know lager is the liquor of the common urchin!''
 
 
 
 



 

I took some of that handwash gel, that (along with toilet roll!) was the most essential item for the weekend for me, as every time I went to the toilets they seemed to have run out of that pink gungey stuff! That's probably the only think missing from your list for me!

ORIGINAL: thelma_viaduct

I took some of that handwash gel, that (along with toilet roll!) was the most essential item for the weekend for me, as every time I went to the toilets they seemed to have run out of that pink gungey stuff! That's probably the only think missing from your list for me!

good'un

duct tape if its not already on.


id advise disposable camera if your camera cost over 100 quid.

Also a torch you can keep in your pocket all the time, so if you stay out until dark without meaning to, you can get back to your tent and bigger torch while avoiding the fudging guy ropes.

ORIGINAL: thelma_viaduct

I took some of that handwash gel, that (along with toilet roll!) was the most essential item for the weekend for me, as every time I went to the toilets they seemed to have run out of that pink gungey stuff! That's probably the only think missing from your list for me!

 
yes yes yes!
i took alcohol hand gel
lifesaver
just dont put you hands near your mouth for a while
tastes bad!
 
feminine wipes are a good idea for girls (guys too i guess haha)
 

take a pen and a piece of paper or card....  at the start of the day write down all the bands you wanna see and the times they're playing - can come in useful
 
alternativly just look at your "round the neck" thing, but i find its easier to have all the bands you wanna see in a list in order :)

not exactly hardcore festival stuff but i had a sleeping bad with a small airbed attached (cos about £20), bloody luxury. i managed to get a good night sleep every night in blue camp (i say good night, about 4 hours) and even managed to sleep part way through the riot/big fire even with it about 20ft away. so its worth it, even if just to flogg to someone for £40 when you get there lol

ORIGINAL: mitch

not exactly hardcore festival stuff but i had a sleeping bad with a small airbed attached (cos about £20), bloody luxury. i managed to get a good night sleep every night in blue camp (i say good night, about 4 hours) and even managed to sleep part way through the riot/big fire even with it about 20ft away. so its worth it, even if just to flogg to someone for £40 when you get there lol

sounds sweet, i guess 4 hours of decent airbed sleep is just as good as 8 hours of hard ground-ness =p



i love flawd logic

WTF?
last year i took no were near wat u people are taking and i still think i overpaked
 
im taking 1 pair jeans, a pair of shorts, mabey 2 tshirts (i ended up topless a lot its so hot), a toothbrush +toothpaste, lots of tins of tuna with some tortilla raps, lots of diluted orange.
 
dont need a tent as last year mine got reked first nite and i survived between friends tents dont need a sleeping bag cause i barely sleep and  i was too hot and too smashd to care about comfort or temperature
 
i may buy a couple cheep phones 4 the weekend cause everyone lost theres last year ,my wallet, CERTANLY NO DRUGS if i take drink it wont be larger (too heavy) mabey vodka mabey a camera, bog roll, my friends mam sends lots of condoms for us all!

ORIGINAL: bong head

WTF?
last year i took no were near wat u people are taking and i still think i overpaked

im taking 1 pair jeans, a pair of shorts, mabey 2 tshirts (i ended up topless a lot its so hot), a toothbrush +toothpaste, lots of tins of tuna with some tortilla raps, lots of diluted orange.

dont need a tent as last year mine got reked first nite and i survived between friends tents dont need a sleeping bag cause i barely sleep and  i was too hot and too smashd to care about comfort or temperature

i may buy a couple cheep phones 4 the weekend cause everyone lost theres last year ,my wallet, CERTANLY NO DRUGS if i take drink it wont be larger (too heavy) mabey vodka mabey a camera, bog roll, my friends mam sends lots of condoms for us all!

2 tshirts? jesus you musnt go in the main part of the crowd i changed at least once a day in between bands and probably another time after the last band i saw. Plus with it being hot i sweated like a pig.

A couple of cheap phones?  I always buy cheap phones (habit of losing them) but if youre just a little bit careful its well easy not to lose it, i jsut kept mine in my pocket all day and all was well this year. Last year i lost mine but that was entirely my own fault. Benefit of cheap phones: LONG battery life. Mine lasts at least two weeks on standby.

And warm tuna ewwww

plus id take the padlock out of the list.

no good comes from padlocks, if you padlock your tent youre 100 times more likely to get whatever is inside nicked.

ORIGINAL: domdomdom

ORIGINAL: bong head

WTF?
last year i took no were near wat u people are taking and i still think i overpaked

im taking 1 pair jeans, a pair of shorts, mabey 2 tshirts (i ended up topless a lot its so hot), a toothbrush +toothpaste, lots of tins of tuna with some tortilla raps, lots of diluted orange.

dont need a tent as last year mine got reked first nite and i survived between friends tents dont need a sleeping bag cause i barely sleep and  i was too hot and too smashd to care about comfort or temperature

i may buy a couple cheep phones 4 the weekend cause everyone lost theres last year ,my wallet, CERTANLY NO DRUGS if i take drink it wont be larger (too heavy) mabey vodka mabey a camera, bog roll, my friends mam sends lots of condoms for us all!

2 tshirts? jesus you musnt go in the main part of the crowd i changed at least once a day in between bands and probably another time after the last band i saw. Plus with it being hot i sweated like a pig.

A couple of cheap phones?  I always buy cheap phones (habit of losing them) but if youre just a little bit careful its well easy not to lose it, i jsut kept mine in my pocket all day and all was well this year. Last year i lost mine but that was entirely my own fault. Benefit of cheap phones: LONG battery life. Mine lasts at least two weeks on standby.

And warm tuna ewwww

 
 
im only taking 2 t-shirts cause like i said i didnt wear one during the day just on a nite and ill probs buy a couple cool ones there
and i was too drunk to care how warm my breakfast tuna was
 

hahaha


I prefer tshirts, in a crowd when your topless and another guy is topless and hes a sweaty pig its a bit rank.

ORIGINAL: domdomdom

plus id take the padlock out of the list.

no good comes from padlocks, if you padlock your tent youre 100 times more likely to get whatever is inside nicked.

yeh its a bit hit and miss.. if u leave them on show then thats bad because its just asking 2 be broken into but if a person comes to ur tent hoping 2 just quickly pop in grab summit and get out then they're pretty useful, of course if people have knives then ur screwed but at least it increases to chances of someone being caught doing it

nah if sometries to randomly go in your tent and sees theres a padlock, theyll thinm theres something worth stealing in there. You can rip the side of a tent with a tent peg so its not are to get in either.


Id say its best not to take one and jsut be matey with the people around yer

what if you put the padlock on the inside of your tent?

Thats what I did when I went camping in lake windmear, wunless they pull the zipps apart abit to check.

i did the padlock on the inside of the tent my first year, was fine.
cept after that i stopped bothering, cos if someone wants to get into your tent, its still not gonna stop them
plus, i lost one of the keys to mine, i suggest if you use one, have a combination lock one!

ORIGINAL: nat_usa26

i did the padlock on the inside of the tent my first year, was fine.
cept after that i stopped bothering, cos if someone wants to get into your tent, its still not gonna stop them
plus, i lost one of the keys to mine, i suggest if you use one, have a combination lock one!

yeh i was bricking losing my keys last year, after doms wiseful words i may reconsider taking one but who knows might take it just incase!