Burning man is on my mind.

[Faun]

I'm from Sparks Nevada and looking to attend this year for sure. My top question for everyone who has gone to Burning man is what things you wish you brought to the playa?
For camping I came up with bringing a weed sprayer for showering and staying cool. What good ideas do you all have?

[FIGJAM]

Build an evap cooler.

Build a playapod.

Build a 12'x40' shade structure with no upright poles or guylines.

Bring an electric trike with a 30 mile range so I don't have to peddle.

Build a 55gal. garden sprayer with a 25' hose that I can air up with a 12vdc compresser so I don't have to pump it up and still have running water anywhere in camp.

Oh wait, I did ALL those things!!!!!!!



Welcome to eplaya.

[MikeGyver]

Just keep bragging Fig

[Ratty]

More pickles, beer and cold canned fruit.

[Sham]

One of these things would be very nice on the playa.

[lemur]

looks flammable.

[Sham]

Monday night it can be burned to the ground--saving transportation in one direction.

[Elderberry]

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

[5280MeV]

Hi Faun, welcome to the boards!

One of my big mistakes was not bringing backup personal lighting. I picked up a small lime-green EL-wire system that I wrapped all around my camelback and through the shoulder straps. This was great for the first night, but on the second I was a darkwad (out and about with no illumination) by 11:00 pm. The batteries had died. I had packed a bunch of rechargeable AAA batteries, but when I switched them out, I realized that they were not pre-charged. Additionally, I only had a 1.5W solar charger and I had neglected to check that I could charge AAAs with the equipment that I had - apparently I couldn't, arrrghhh!!!

It was ok as my campmates gave me some glowstick bracelets, but this year I am checking my battery recharging capabilities much better, and bringing an independent backup system.

One really cheap system that is less MOOPy than glowsticks is PLATUBE LED Shoelaces. They are really cheap and pretty much useless as shoelaces. However, they work pretty well as a 3-ft EL-wire-like strands that are completely independent from an EL-wire driver system. They use the coin cell (CR2032 or similar) batteries, and I dunno if you can find a rechargeable battery in that form factor - but the tiny batteries do not make a lot of trash and you can store a whole pile of them.

My spouse gave me the shoelaces for Christmas so I am taking them next year and wiring them through my hat/helmet and through my "batman belt".

Oh, also a batman belt! Different people find different things comfortable for carrying stuff, and I like to wear sarongs, which leaves me with no pockets. A military belt with lots of pouch attachments seems to go really well with the sarong - it is like a homemade utilikilt.

Have fun with it - I like your weed sprayer idea.

[illy dilly]

Welcome to eplaya!!!

Things I would suggest, especially the first year. But first I must ask, how much camping experience do you have?
I suggest this because your first year the last place you want to be is at camp cooking. Our first year eating/chore was more of a chore than a desire.
So my suggestions are
1) Jet Burner aka Propane Backpack Burner: They are super handy, boil water really fast and pack small. The little propane cans are sold all over the place, safe, and relatively cheap. The first picture is the one we wave, but there are much smaller versions for backpackers, second picture. FYI, the smaller ones tend to cost more, so unless you're using it for backpacking go with the larger one.


2) Tea Kettle: Makes boiling water really easy! It has a lid to keep the dust out, and yells at you when the water is boiling. Also, if you don't use all the water at once, you can leave it in there for a while and it will stay warm. Try to find one that is stainless steel, not copper or other metal. Also, its best to have one with a flap/lid over the spout. More like first picture and less like second picture.


3) Old Pot holder: Take the used one out of your kitchen at home put it in your camping gear, and buy your self a nice new one for your kitchen.

4) Dehydrated Meals!!!!!!!: Mountain House is my favorite. But I would recomend buying a couple and giving them a shot at home one day. I have heard that they upset some peoples stomachs. My favorite flavors are Chicken A la'king, stroganoff, and Mac'n'Cheese. They are really easy to cook: Boil water, poor boiling water in bag, zip shut, let sit 2 min., shake, let sit, eat.
A lot of people will also, recommend Trader Joe's(?) I personally have not tried them, but from what I'm told they are pretty good. If I could find them, I'd try them.

[ygmir]

One of these things would be very nice on the playa.

burner style:

[Faun]

Awesome feed back everyone. This is exactly what I was hoping for.
We are planning on camping at the playa. The next thing I'm looking into is a 10x20 Pop Up 6 Wall Canopy Party Tent Gazebo. It will be great for shade and big enough to have our tent inside it as well.
A life saver I've found when camping is to bring a welcome floor mat to have right outside your tent. It works great to kickoff your dirty shoes and hop into a clean tent leaving the dirt outside.

[Savannah]

Awesome feed back everyone. This is exactly what I was hoping for.
We are planning on camping at the playa. The next thing I'm looking into is a 10x20 Pop Up 6 Wall Canopy Party Tent Gazebo. It will be great for shade and big enough to have our tent inside it as well.
A life saver I've found when camping is to bring a welcome floor mat to have right outside your tent. It works great to kickoff your dirty shoes and hop into a clean tent leaving the dirt outside.

I googled the 10x20 Pop Up 6 Wall Canopy Party Tent Gazebo, out of curiosity. I have no experience with that model, but I note that you will want to have some rebar staking down each leg of that shade--I don't think it comes with stakes--and to bring a good quantity of 9-11mm rope. The tops of the rebar will need to be bent over to protect you from the sharp ends ("candy caned") or have covers (tennis balls, Barbie heads, plastic soda bottles . . . the mushroom-shaped orange covers work too, but I hear they pop off a little easy). If there is a bad storm, you may want to be prepared to detach the walls--which I'm sure isn't difficult--if they start catching too much wind.

Here's info about staking a structure.
http://www.burningman.com/preparation/e ... uring.html

In answer to your first question--what did I forget to bring my first year? Back-up batteries (I left my flashlight on all night), Sprite, small lights on lanyards for the potties (which serve double duty, in terms of lighting up your body and not being hit by an artcar) and cold-weather costumes. I had enough clothes, but having to layer boring things on Burn Night sucked.

[illy dilly]

Awesome feed back everyone. This is exactly what I was hoping for.
We are planning on camping at the playa. The next thing I'm looking into is a 10x20 Pop Up 6 Wall Canopy Party Tent Gazebo. It will be great for shade and big enough to have our tent inside it as well.
A life saver I've found when camping is to bring a welcome floor mat to have right outside your tent. It works great to kickoff your dirty shoes and hop into a clean tent leaving the dirt outside.

Hum...
You are very much on the right path for the 10x20 canopy. They kick ass!!!
Though, from my experience with the 10x10 pop ups they are not very sturdy in high winds.
If this is the 10x20 pop up you're talking about
http://www.amazon.com/10x20-Walls-Canop ... B003WKYZ92
For a very similar price I would suggest this guy here, but possibly not from this site. This is the exact one that I have. I got it off craigslist for pretty cheap used.
http://www.canopycenter.com/canopies/pa ... ension.cfm

But by far the best one on the market is by Costco. They are a light brown color, and reflect a lot more UV than a lot of the white ones. Sadly, I can't find them on their web site, but they tend to stock them during the summer.

[TomServo]

Welcome to eplaya! You live close enough..go test drive the playa around July 4.There should be a couple people up there.

[Dr. Pyro]

Tom, I like your new avatar!

[theCryptofishist]

But by far the best one on the market is by Costco. They are a light brown color, and reflect a lot more UV than a lot of the white ones. Sadly, I can't find them on their web site, but they tend to stock them during the summer.

I think someone explained that they aren't sold on the website, which is why no one can find them there...

[lucky420]

Hola and hello faun...

Reno is so close to hell you can see Sparks

[Kevinochi]

Hello Faun!

I have two words for you; Beef Jerky.
People think I'm insane but those little suckers made me so happy. If only I brought more different flavours...
Stay away from the spicy peppered stuff. You don't want the shitters at Burning Man. Nor does the one that has to use the potty after you did.