What do I pack all my shit in?

[kingsjoker]

Virgin Burner here. I've done the research, combined lists, found a ride, found a camp and am now beginning the physical packing.

But for the love of god what do I pack my shit in without looking like a fool?!

Right now my best thought is a plastic moving box with the snap top lids. I've filled a medium sized box almost to the brim and that doesn't include food cloths, blankets and random items. I'm driving in with a couple of friends but am camping with a theme camp and don't want to take up room in the car or lug all my boxes across the playa. My second option is to try and pack all my stuff into a backpacking pack. Maybe a combination of the two?

Is there something I'm missing? Is there a right or a wrong way to pack when you don't have a car?

[Sail Man]

Well, short of bribing your friends with a bottle of booze to have them drop you and your totes off at the camp.....

Seriously, they are going to make you walk from point a to point b and lug all your stuff, wtf Well, you can certainly pack your personal belongings in a backpack and carry some that way. But there are things like water and food that will be bulkier and heavier, not to mention shade. Will your theme camp be providing shade and water etc? Otherwise, you'll have to find a way to cart it there. Small trailer, Himalayan Sherpa's.....

Totes are a great way to store stuff there, helps to keep things organized. Consider within the totes grouping like stuff together in ziploc bags to further reduce dust chaos.

Good luck

[kingsjoker]

So it wouldn't be weird if I rolled in with a backpacking pack and a small -medium sized storage box? hahaha who am I kidding....not being weird at burning man..

[some seeing eye]

No one cares what your luggage looks like.

Best option, door to door delivery, second best does your arriving or staying camp have a wagon?

Consider packing everything in zip duffel bags, each carrying size. They can go in the washing machine when you get home and have uses year round.

[VultureChow]

Not in the least. Though I think the backpack, while great for carrying things, is not a great way to store things in camp. A simple rolling suitcase is much better for finding things you need in camp.

[otakup0pe]

If you are in a placed camp and have an address just mail your things.

[FossaFerox]

The bad birgin advice thread is that way.

[BBadger]

Bah, who needs to worry about such trivialities? In my plug-and-play camp, The-One-Per-Billion, we have the help carry in all of our luggage. Then they carry us onto the playa in litter, all the way from Reno. Even the Pope has nothing on this.

[Captain Goddammit]

[BBadger]

Only posers use wheels!

[Popeye]

Tie your shit to your bicycle and wheel it over if there is no room for you to ride.
Thrift stores have cheap baby carriages. Artify it and use it for a chair later.

[cablemonkey]

I pack hard goods and equipment in rubbermaid-type totes with snap lids. They have been better at staying cleaner than the type with the attached hinged lids that meet in the middle. Clothing and more sensitive camping equpiment / tech goes in pelican cases and marine dry-bags. Keeps the dust down nicely. I also put the clothing in large ziplocs for that extra layer of dust resistance. I used a regular suitcase once. It worked, mostly, but it absorbed so much dust during the week that it was basically ruined.

[Savannah]

I use many things for carrying supplies. What you use depends on how your supplies are traveling (how much padding and taping you need, how much handling will occur, how long it will be out of your possession, how far from your drop-off point to your camp). If you will load and unload your own stuff and will only have to carry it 50 feet from a vehicle to your tent, you might pack a lot differently than if you were shipping your stuff in a freight container and it would be hefted and unloaded by strangers and travel a half mile or something.

This is what I use. You won't need most of these; you sound like you're not carrying much.

* Rubbermaid totes with packing tape for extra security. Items inside are grouped generally by purpose. Food tote, safety tote, tool tote, etc.
* Army duffles and taped boxes (for my shade structure)
* A cooler pre-packed with drinks.
* A wastebasket for newspaper-wrapped bottles. The wastebasket is later used in my tent.
* Wheeled suitcases (for clothes).
* A canvas backpack - for readily needed, small supplies for the road, like a change of clothes, ticket info, toiletries, sunscreen, earplugs, snacks, etc.
* Pillows and comforters rolled in clean trash bags and used to cushion other items.

Pack the packing tape after you use it. It often comes in handy.

And yes, all this stuff will get dusty, so I clean all of it--with the exception of the duffles--in the shower or the washer, with vinegar and detergent, when I get home.

[Milayna]

I'd nicely ask to be dropped off at your camp. That's pretty standard when you get a ride out there. If that's really not a possibility then maybe you could get a folding wagon or folding luggage cart or folding dolly and stack your stuff onto that to wheel it over to your camp? But seriously....ask to be dropped off at your camp.

[Savannah]

I'd nicely ask to be dropped off at your camp. That's pretty standard when you get a ride out there. If that's really not a possibility then maybe you could get a folding wagon or folding luggage cart or folding dolly and stack your stuff onto that to wheel it over to your camp? But seriously....ask to be dropped off at your camp.

Agreed! That's not too much to ask.

If your camp is not placed, there's another thread about how to meet up with people when you don't know the exact spot they'll end up.

[Captain Goddammit]

Don't make this your "plan" but if there's a mutant vehicle in sight, ask if they will help get you to camp.
If it has stuff-hauling capability your chances are pretty good.

[louisacrystal]

Plastic bins. Get the good ones not the cheapest.

[BoyScoutGirl]

Since nobody has mentioned it, some people taking the Burner Express bus opt to bring a cooler with wheels. Not as much packing space as a tote or duffle, but it is easier to transport and doubles as a bench... and as a cooler.