Looking to attend '11 just after some general info/feedback

Hexoatl · Post by **Hexoatl** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:48 pm

Hi, as the title says im looking to attend in 2011 i know its awhile away but burning man fits in almost perfectly with my plan for that year so i plan to make the most of it.

A basic run down is, i live in scotland and over the summer of '11. I'm going to visit family and pick-up a job for afew months while im there but to cap off my journy im looking at going to BM before i travel back to Scotland.

What im wondering is what are the best ways top get there from LA and what travel times are likly to like. I've read alot of the info on BM over the last little while and sat down tonight and got thru alot of very useful bits of info about keeping safe and such. Just a main consern is will a standard camping tent hold up out there or am i likly to need something abit more sturdy than your average?

Thanks in advance.

goathead · Post by **goathead** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:00 pm

Welcome.

I have never used a tent on the playa so I don't know.
Read the survival guide and then read it a few more times.
Hang around, you will be able to pick up lots of things here.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 6:54 pm

What is a "Standard Camping Tent"?
My husband and I had a tradition. We'd buy a tent. We'd use it. We'd struggle to pack it up at the end of the event. We'd go home. I'd go to work and he wouldn't cope with cleaning it and putting it away. We'd start to get ready for the next year. The tent would be a mess. We'd buy a new one.
It was stupid and wasteful. But you can get an okay tent for cheap enough to throw it away. God Bless Chinese Slave Labor.
If I were you, I'd be more concerned about the working in this country bit. I don't think you'll get a work visa, and, well, under the table work is problematic. Think Canada, you get some sort of Commonwealth deal there, which I think parlays into a much easier time of it all round.

Hexoatl · Post by **Hexoatl** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:36 am

the works not an issue so long as i can get a visa as i have a job i can jsut walk into with family nad a place to stay with them as well. so thats not the problem.

just what i was wondering was if i was going to have to spend a fair whack on a tent that i do plan on only using for Burning Man as there is no point in me taking a tend all the way from scotland and back just for 1 small portion of my time over there.

thanks for the help! :D

Post by **Sham** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:06 am

As far as your tent question, I bought the cheapest tent I could find when I first attended BM about 9 years back. It only had to make it through 4 or 5 days. It was a 4 person tent with all the features that I needed and very roomy for one person. All these years later I am still using the same tent. I have put a few patches on the fabric, but when I stay in it, it's like my own little vacation home in the desert.

Everyone will have their own opinion on this, but I suggest that you buy an inexpensive tent and make sure that there is not too much mesh screening for the dust to get in under the rain fly. Also, you MUST set up the tent prior to bringing it to the desert. You should know how this tent works so you are not dealing with instructions in the middle of a wind storm, or if you find pieces missing you can get parts.

I hope this helps and hopefully we will see you in two years!

Roberto Dobbisano · Post by **Roberto Dobbisano** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:40 am

i was wondering was if i was going to have to spend a fair whack on a tent that i do plan on only using for Burning Man

gosh, i just LOVE the scots.

they're just so damn THRIFTY!

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:02 am

Hex, Im, with Shambala on this one. Just look for a decent Coleman tent, at Target or Walmart for exp. and while your there buy a couple funky comforters and some office binder clips to cover the mesh with and art it up a bit. Grab a bunch of the 12" tent stakes and toss the flimsy weenie ones that come with the tent.

Also, what are your plans for a shade shelter?
Camping with a group?

And what kind of experience do you have camping in extreme environments? We do have our minimum standards after all

though some of us do slip through the cracks

motskyroonmatick · Post by **motskyroonmatick** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:59 am

Don't throw the little wimpy stakes out! They are perfect for holding a tarp or piece of carpet to the ground. Then you put your chair on that and it does not dig in to the playa. Easier to pick moop off of a tarp or carpet too.

Building shade over your tent and small hang out area will dramatically improve your quality of life out there.

Post by **Sham** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:35 pm

I use beefy steaks (stakes) 10 inches long in the corners of my tent and the wimpy (cocktail weenie) ones for the centers and sides. I also put my unopened water jugs inside the tent in the corners. It gets them out of the way and keeps the tent from taking off to Oz should the wind kick up.

While I'm offering my sage tent advice, I might suggest that a tarp be put on the ground under the tent to separate the ground from the tent. It's important NOT to have the tarp sticking out from the bottom of the tent, so it won't catch water in the case of rain. This will keep the floor of the tent dry in a rain storm.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:51 am

motskyroonmatick wrote:Don't throw the little wimpy stakes out! They are perfect for holding a tarp or piece of carpet to the ground. Then you put your chair on that and it does not dig in to the playa. Easier to pick moop off of a tarp or carpet too.

Good point, didn't think of that. I personally dont throw them out either, instead I keep them for back-up for my off-playa camping.

Post by **Elderberry** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:08 am

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

JK

Post by **Sham** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:15 am

jkisha wrote:Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

JK

Honestly JK, this is 9 days late! What have you been doing all that time?
Never mind, I think I know......

Hexoatl · Post by **Hexoatl** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:11 am

Sail Man wrote:Hex, Im, with Shambala on this one. Just look for a decent Coleman tent, at Target or Walmart for exp. and while your there buy a couple funky comforters and some office binder clips to cover the mesh with and art it up a bit. Grab a bunch of the 12" tent stakes and toss the flimsy weenie ones that come with the tent.

Also, what are your plans for a shade shelter?
Camping with a group?

And what kind of experience do you have camping in extreme environments? We do have our minimum standards after all

im doing to sort out something for shade yes. that is something i will put abit of thought into at another time just wanting to sort out the basics in my head just so as i didnt end up getting in over my head before i even started

in terms of camping i have alot of exp. just not in a hot enviroment my usual gear involves lots of water proofing and thermal sleeping bag.

the nature of my plans sofar means i will be traveling on my own but one of the resons i came looking here was to see what friend groups were around that i felt a i might get along with.

its still pretty far off so ive got loads of time to get sorted and prep'ed really just sorting out in my head the stuff that i can for my time over in the US. As its a big place and i get distracted easly. haha

(turned your quotes back on - mdmf)

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:18 am

Having a sturdy shade is key - any old crappy tent will survive and be reasonably comfortable if it has some isolation from the sun and wind. Camping with an experienced group is great for sorting this type of thing out, or there are a number of different options for rigging something yourself. Just be sure to try it out ahead of time (as much as possible given your plans) and post your ideas here for feedback.

It's not really "normal" camping where you have to prepare for being isolated in the wilderness - it's more about combating the heat and staying reasonably comfortable.

TomServo · Post by **TomServo** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:47 am

I prefer heavier canopies, but the cheap $20 10'x10' canopies from Rite Aid, work ok as a shade structure....provided you duct tape all the pipe joints and "splint" anchor each leg. I used scrap conduit...drove it in about a foot and a half, alongside the canopy leg and duct taped the leg and conduit together, with one long piece spiraled from top to bottom.

How much as camo netting in Scotland? I'm hesitant to spend the $75 or so here, for it... but works great as shade, and is less wind resistant than any tarp..

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 3:35 pm

It doesn't matter what camo netting costs in Scotland. Once you've shipped it here, it's at or past the $75 mark.

TomServo · Post by **TomServo** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 4:05 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:It doesn't matter what camo netting costs in Scotland. Once you've shipped it here, it's at or past the $75 mark.

Unless you pack it with you for the flight out. Never used the stuff, but from what I've seen it seems to work well. $75 isn't much, but not an item id put "on the cheap" list. Ill stick with my carports and t-posts...screw guylines!

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 5:11 pm

TomServo wrote:
theCryptofishist wrote:It doesn't matter what camo netting costs in Scotland. Once you've shipped it here, it's at or past the $75 mark.
Unless you pack it with you for the flight out. Never used the stuff, but from what I've seen it seems to work well. $75 isn't much, but not an item id put "on the cheap" list. Ill stick with my carports and t-posts...screw guylines!

I did think of that. Then the questions becomes, how much did it cost you to fly to Scotland, are you doing something else important to ameliorate the cost of the trip, and what didn't you pack with you so that you had room for the camo-netting, and are you going to have to post something else, or buy it and discard, so the netting fits.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 6:47 pm

Some of the high tech stuff may be lighter, like silvicool.
And in europe you can get the solid aluminet by tenax.
Ship some in to sell and help pay for your trip.

TheBurningFish · Post by **TheBurningFish** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:04 pm

Scary coincidental: I too am Scottish hoping to burn for the first time in '11! I really want to go in '10 but I can't afford it (don't even think about starting with the thrifty tripe

).

Oso · Post by **Oso** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:09 pm

This is insane.... no, it's gotta be a joke. Wait until '11?! There's still time.... get it done and make it to '10. Don't take any chances! The world may not exist as we know it in '11!

Deb Prothero · Post by **Deb Prothero** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:17 am

There's a Hollywood movie coming out next week that previews the end of the world and on that high authority, it's clear that the end of the world is not until 2012.

Oso · Post by **Oso** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:24 am

Deb Prothero wrote:There's a Hollywood movie coming out next week that previews the end of the world and on that high authority, it's clear that the end of the world is not until 2012.

Yeah.... but if you're right, this guy only gets 2 burns in before it's all over (instead of 3, if he went in '10)

Deb Prothero · Post by **Deb Prothero** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:31 am

Yes, of course, three burns would always be better than two. However flying from Scotland plus all the extra expenses of buying gear here makes it difficult if you're on a tight budget, I would imagine.