Five Things Worth The Investment For Festivals

There are a few festivals still happening in the UK, but the season is starting to come to a close. But now’s the perfect time to start thinking about what you want to invest in for next summer.

I’ve done a lot of festivals over the years and camped at so many from 2008-2016. But during that time I was a late teen or in my 20’s and went for convenience and price over investment gear. But since me and Luke have started going to 2000 trees in the past six (or so) years we’ve got a bunch of items which have been 100% worth the investment.

Here are some items you should consider if you go to festivals (or just camp) and want a little more luxury.

A blackout tent

When I first went to festivals I was very much a pop-up tent kind of girl. And when I moved to small two person tents it felt like such a glow up.

But last year we invested in the Quechua inflatable 4 person tent and it’s been amazing. First of all it’s so easy to put up as there are no tent poles, it’s inflatable. All you have to do is inflate the sections of the tent, peg it down and you’re good. Luke can put this tent up on his own in about 10 minutes which makes such a difference when you’re knackered from dragging all your stuff from the car.

But the best bit about this tent is that it’s blackout so you’ll get the best chance of a good nights sleep. The sun rises so early and it gets really bright, but this tent keeps the light out so you can continue to sleep past 6am. And as it’s blackout it keeps the heat out when it’s warm, and the heat inside when it’s cold. So you can maintain the best temperature possible and not shiver in the night or wake up in a pool of sweat.

Yes it’s an investment tent, but I’m hoping we never need to buy a new tent.

Sleep so much better at festivals with a decent air mattress

Now I’m in my 30’s I need a bit more comfort when camping, and a decent air mattress is a necessity.

We picked up a deep air mattress a few years ago which sits so far off the floor that it provides so much comfort. When fully filled it keeps quite a firm shape so it’s much like sleeping on a real mattress. We sometimes need to top up the air a little bit during a few night stay, but it’s not a necessity.

Even after four days sleeping in a tent my back doesn’t ache and I know the mattress is a big part of that.

Heavy duty trolleys saved us

In the last few years I’ve seen so many people with trolleys to bring their stuff from the car. Last year we had one trolley, but this year we upgraded to two and it was a game changer. This year we managed to lug everything we needed (including a massive drinks cooler) in a single trip from the car. Thankfully at 2000 trees it’s not a huge walk from the parking to camping, but at other festivals it’s miles.

The trolleys we bought are really durable with large wheels so they’re solid to drag on uneven flooring. And they hold a lot of weight so you can cram them full.

Then when we set up camp we tend to leave one trolley on each side of the porch so we can store all our belongings in them.

Festivals are so much better with big comfy chairs

If someone had told me ten years ago that I’d be happy to accept paying £70 on a single chair I’d have laughed. A camping chair is a camping chair right?! Wrong!

While it’s great to have a chair to sit on (esp when the ground is muddy) they’re not comfortable for longer periods of time. So mornings spent getting ready and enjoying breakfast, or evenings spent socialising can get a bit uncomfortable, especially if you’re a larger person like me.

We picked up these oversized moon saucer chairs a few years ago and I wish we’d done it sooner. They’re incredibly comfortable, you can sink into them and they feel ready sturdy.

They are a little bulky to carry but we bungie corded them to the top of our trolleys this year and it was so worth it.

Vacuum sealing

We only did this for the first time but it was another game changer. We picked up a small electric air pump (to use on site before coming home) and some vacuum seal bags and we used them for all of our clothes and our waterproofs, but also our duvet and pillows.

Vacuum sealing (esp our bedding) saved us so much room. There’s no way we could have done a single trip if we hadn’t done this, and it was really quick and easy to do.

Are there any investments you’ve made for festivals or camping?