Man, I’ll never forget my first time camping at a massive music festival. It was Bonnaroo 2012 – a four-day party out in the blistering Tennessee heat.
Snagging a spot for our tents was like a cutthroat game of musical chairs, but with 80,000 people jockeying for a patch of grass.
Once we finally staked our claim, the real fun began: setting up the tent, American’s greatest leadership test since the Revolutionary War. No matter how many times my buddy read those damn instructions, we kept ironing out wrinkles just to create new ones. I swear the tent was drinking beers and mocking us as we toiled.
Finally – success! Our weather-beaten palace was upright, if you squinted hard enough. We popped open a round of cold ones to celebrate our conquering of modern tentpole technology. Then it hit me – this ramshackle monstrosity was gonna be our home for the next several days. No worries though, it wouldn’t be the first time slumming it for the sake of music and revelry.
Staying Chill When Things Get Wild
When choosing a tent for festival camping with Qtents, keeping your cool is key – literally. Those compact tents may be featherweights, but they tend to get sweltering inside. Not ideal when you’re melting in 95-degree weather between sweaty set times.
For hot, sunny locales, it’s worth investing in a well-ventilated tent complete with mesh windows, panels, and a rainfly you can peel back. A quality tent will have more than one door too, allowing airflow to circulate. It’s a lifesaver during blistering days and sticky nights. Trust me, you don’t want your tent becoming a human terrarium.
Even if you aren’t camping in a scorching climate, breathable tents are simply more comfortable than stuffy ones for festival situations. You and your tent-mates won’t be downloading the latest albums – you’ll be too busy hotboxing symphonies of the botanical variety, if you know what I mean. Proper ventilation is crucial for, uh, dispersing any unseemly vapors.
Fortressing Up for Stormy Situations
Of course, not every festival takes place under a blazing sun. Some weekend warriors brave potential deluges of mud, rain, and blustery conditions in pursuit of their music meccas. For these situations, you’ll want to fortify your festival tentagainst the elements.
A quality tent with a sturdy, waterproof rainfly is essential for camping in wet, rainy locales. Sturdy aluminum poles and tough fabric can withstand whipping winds without buckling. It’s no fun battening down the hatches of a cheap tent as it collapses like a bag of damp laundry.
I’ll never forget the WHHHOOOOMPH sound of our sad tent blowing halfway across the campsite one stormy weekend at Lollapalooza. We spent the next several hours sloshing through Chicago mud desperately chasing it like a group of idiots. That’s a mistake you only make once before investing in a fortress-grade tent.
Factors like ample guy lines, reinforced corners, and quality waterproof zippers shouldn’t be overlooked either. When a gnarly thunderstorm rolls through at 3am, you’ll want a heavy-duty sanctuary providing protection from sideways rain and gale forces. Otherwise, be prepared to go swimming in your sleeping bag.
Space for Activities (And People)
Unless you plan to tailgate during the festivities, your tent will be home base for catching z’s between sonic madness. As such, it needs to accommodate all your basic needs beyond just sleeping.
A quality fest tent should have enough headspace to move around comfortably while standing. It’s the difference between living like Quasimodo or an upright human for several days. I’ve been hunched over in too many crop tents to make that mistake again.
Speaking of space, make sure to get a roomier tent if you plan to cram multiple people inside. There’s nothing worse than waking up in a mass human knot with your tentmate’s beard tickling your face. Giving everyone a bit of personal space to spread out makes the whole experience more chillaxed and, well, less homoerotic.
And we can’t overlook all the stuff that needs stashing, from backpacks to beer to…other supplies. A tent with adequate storage pouches, vestibules and gear lofts keeps essentials accessible without turning it into a disastrous pit of clutter. Who wants to be frantically excavating their tent for that hacky sack or memento necklace in the dark? Not this guy.
In Conclusion: Embrace the Outdoorsy Madness
The great joy of festival camping is embracing the outdoors and surrounding yourself with likeminded lunatics on a collective musikal journey. Don’t get me wrong, it’s chaotic and frankly a bit disgusting at times. But hey, that’s all part of the grand experience!
Whether you’re glamping in an air-conditioned oasis or hotboxing a bare-bones pup tent, the right festival tent provides vital shelter from any elements Mother Nature tosses your way. Just follow the sage wisdom of taking it easy, preparing for storm possibilities, and giving yourself enough space to not feel like an Amsterdam hosteller. Once set up, embrace the ritualistic debauchery and soak up those sweet, sweet sounds.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I hear the opening chords of “Terrrapyn Station” calling my name. Let’s get weird.
Read more:
The Grand Chaos of Festival Camping – Pitching a Tent at Live Music Mayhem
