I think it's so the 6 o clock/ 12 o clock axis aligns with the length of the playa. Said a different way, if you stand at center camp facing the man - you look down the length of the playa. If the 6/12 axis pointed north you'd look at much closer mountains. I imagine this is to give greater space fo...

How does this look?

In my limited experience aluminet or alumicloth dosen't block any more heat than normal shade mesh fabric. I am still using the aluminet I bought a few years ago (yay durability), but I wouldn't spend the extra cash on it again. If you want to stay cooler underneath shade you need solid sun blocking...

When I layout the camp plan each year I try to imagine it in a few different orientations. We have a target area to camp in, but we might end up on the inside or the outside of a given block - or end up changing from say 6:30 to 4:30 because we found a better spot. So flexibility is key. I mainly fo...

You can safety pin cloth (like an old bed sheet) over the mesh areas on your smaller tent to keep the dust out of it. The un-vented tent inside a tent will get very hot and not cool down as quickly at night - but you might get to sleep in a bit longer. Adding a radiant barrier to the inner tent won'...

I drove Surprise Valley/Smoke Creek Road, the one that goes on the west side of Pyramid Lake and connects with 447 to Gerlach, two years ago. We stopped and helped four people and saw about 15 other people with blown out tires on the road. We came through with no problems, until around day 5 of the ...

Rocks (not ones with air pockets inside - they can explode) heated over a fire, then placed inside on a suitable surface (trash can lid or firepan) can work great. Then just pour water on them and add essential oils if you like. I have done this river side more than once and it is fairly easy. The s...

So after a few years I have decided that for staying cool in the daytime that a metallic fabric cape or cloak is the ultimate accessory. A quick trip to the fabric store, 10 minutes of sewing and walla! Wind passes through easily, and you can turn it any direction you want to block the sun. It also ...

Check out the No Bake Tent: www.nobaketent.com

It's also burner made.

There are tents made just for places like burning man. The No Bake tent handles dust and wind well, and let's you sleep in by reflecting heat away. Shift camp makes an even larger sun blocking tent based on a ice fishing tent design - it weighs 60 lbs and is over 6 ft long when packed up - not sure ...

Kenny - I've gotten by (barely) with a 18Ah battery and a 14 watt panel - but I only run for 3-4 hours a day. I get 1.17 Amps max theoretical from my 14 watt panel, probably closer to .8-.9 Amps realistically. My pump uses a max of 350 mA, and my fan on low runs 1.1 ah for a total of about 1.4-1.5 A...

I've used a combo of a 18V 14W Solar Panel, a charge controller, a 12 Volt 18 Ah SLA AGM battery and a Figjam style cooler. Last year I upgraded the cooler for my tent with a larger 12 in. 12V fan. The combo works well but I am at the limit of drawing enough power to keep the swamp cooler running fo...

Using all the guy lines is key. Also the longer the guy lines are the better they work - sadly this makes them more of a tripping hazard. I can't tell how many guy out points the tent has - but you might need to add a few. You could also consider getting a second set of poles and doubling them up. O...

Figjam - 12" fan has 113 sq. in. of area. 19 3" holes in my bucket equals 134 sq. in. of intake. That seems like it would work, no?

Last year I used a 90 CFM 3" air pump meant for a boat. This year my girlfriend and I decided to supersize the system: super evap cooler small - 1.jpg 12" ducting fits well with 5 gallon buckets. We cut off a bucket top and mounted it to the fan using some L brackets (after removing the back plate s...

Cam straps for rafting work quite well (Two of them hold a 200 lb cooler and a three people (450lbs) sitting on it in bouncing whitewater) and are reasonably priced. The come in straight, loop, and hook ends ( http://www.nrs.com/category/2882/rafting/straps ). They also have 1.5 inch straps rated fo...

I made my first bucked cooler for the '14 event. It was both a success and a failure. Things learned: 1. Don't let the pads touch the sides of the bucket! - I let the sides touch and created a new design in the process - the bucket in a planter design. I drilled holes in the bottom of the bucket and...

I'm just joining the eplaya community, but I've been fortunate enough to go to burning man the last three years. After my first year I didn't know if I'd go back, but then I kept thinking about all of the amazing things at the burn. After three years I am more committed to burning man and contributi...