We keep our fingers crossed for you and hope that the weather will be in your favor for your next event. Whether it will be raining or not, being prepared is your best option.
Beneath the heavy rain, it will be a hell of a lot more comfortable if you took the time to prepare!
We will review here the best outfits for rain, as well as our tips and tricks when it comes to facing rain or heavy rain in a festival setting which is different than just “standard camping”.
This article breakdowns into four simple parts:
- Check and prepare for the weather
- Know the hacks for your Tent
- Have the right Gear and Clothing
- Get our best tips when it comes to rainy days at festivals
Let’s start!
1) The weather
Regarding the forecast, our philosophy has always been “better safe than sorry”.Even though festivals take place during Spring and Summer, the weather can surprise you. Depending on the area, if the forecast is sunny you will indeed have a high chance of getting sun, but there are areas where the weather changes like crazy, and a forecast will misguide you more than anything else. In this part we recommend you to do three things:
- Check the weather religiously
- Know more about the area and the likelihood of the place to have changing weather
- Take your waterproof gear anyway! (“All of this just to tell me to take my rain gear?” -Well the idea behind it all is that you will have to take some gear but how much is the tricky part. This is why the weather forecast monitoring will guide you on how much gear you have to pack rather than a simple YES or NO)
We hope that made sense 🙂
2) Your Tent
Pick your spot: If there is a high chance of rain we do recommend you to arrive early so you can pick your tent spot and pitch uphill.
Tent guidelines: make sure your vestibules are as tight as possible, so even beneath heavy rains, the inner tent does not get wet. (extra pro-tip: keep in mind that the material in most tents stretches slightly when cold or damp so retention the fly before bedtime is key to a fully dry tent)
Nice and dry: make good use of the porch of your tent or what we call the “mudroom”: which is not quite yet the inside of the tent but rather where you remove all your wet and muddy gear outside under the vestibule, so you are as dry as possible when you do enter your dry and comfy tent.
A safe ground on a muddy day: For your mudroom, bring with you a waterproof blanket, like the one you use for a picnic, so even if it does become muddy outside, all of your gear is protected from it. (semi-pro tip: if you have forgotten about this waterproof blanket, we tried to cut a few bin bags that we have laid down on the ground for our gear and it does work, this is not a perfect system but Mc Gyver would be proud :).
3) Gear & Clothing
Take those boots!: Before you expect anything else, yes you will have to bring boots, we agree that it could kill your outfit vibe and harmony but not as much as you think. You will look prettier with some boots and a smile than not being able to enjoy the festival anymore as your feet will be cold and wet. Poncho or raincoat: Both are great, go poncho if you are planning on taking a backpack, just keep in mind that for just a few days you do not need the heavy-duty stuff, you want your waterproof gear but you do not want to be overloaded.Have clothes you don’t care too much about: Depending on how muddy or rainy the festival will be you could “lose” some pieces of clothing as you they could never be as nice as they were pre-festival.
The umbrella…: Even though umbrellas does the trick, we are not recommending them as you will bother more people than you think with it. If you really want to take it, do so, but you might encounter people complaining about it.
Purse/backpack: If you have a purse or a backpack that is made of waterproof material take it, those are great.
Waterproof Pouch Dry Bag: Have something that will protect your phone, that’s a real hack!
4) Tips
Baby wipes: Don’t fight it, if it is as rainy as we think it could be, you will not be able to avoid the mud. Those baby wipes will save your life! Use them from cleaning yourself to improvised toilet paper, to make sure that things that need to be clean stay clean.
Bin Bags: Take them, like explained above you could need them more than you think, arguably the most useful and versatile item in festivals. (And please, remember that nature has provided us great areas to party and have fun in, the bare minimum is to protect it and leave no trace, so please be mindful of the place you go to. We are sorry if for you that one is obvious but at festivals we have seen it all.)
Sandwich bags: This product could also save your life for many of your items, we suggest you bring some, it has saved food, passports, cash, phones, etc…
3 smart clothing: If you do not know how things are going to play out, we recommend you to have those three modes of clothing:
- Mode 1: Have a regular “summertime” outfit, light and sexy 😉
- Mode 2: For light rain think of a simple coat and some boots, that you could put on top of your mode 1
- Mode 3: For heavy rain, have a complete waterproof outfit so you stay warm and dry throughout the whole festival and keep your mode 1 clean and dry in your tent until the sun comes back
As there is so much money on the table in organizing a festival, organizers usually never cancel or postpone an event because of the weather. With that in mind, if the rain has to be part of the experience, so be it, embrace the weather.
We wish you a great time at the festival and we hope some of the tips above will help you enjoy it to the fullest, even through tough conditions :)!
Take care and enjoy!
