Don’t become a meme for the wet weather this year, be prepared. 
British festivals and wet weather go together like beans on toast. Around June-August in Britain, the weather seems to forget that it’s supposed to be in the height of summer and throw down days of rain, usually when you’re outside in a field at a music festival.
The rain shouldn’t ruin your weekend, if you’re prepared, and you can get yourself prepare by picking up your festival gear from GO Outdoors, and if you’re unsure what to take – check out our festival checklist.
Here are our tips to get you through.
1. Practice pitch your tent
We can’t emphasize this one enough. Always practice pitch your tent. Check it’s all there, check there aren’t any faults. The last thing you want is to try and pitch a broken or incomplete tent in sideways rain.
2. Double skinned is best
A double skinned tent is a tent where the outer and inner are separate. This is not only good for breathability, but it’ll also stop water pouring in if you accidentally touch the tent on the inside. Most tents are double skinned, but some pop up tents can be single skinned – we would not recommend these for a rainy weekend.
3. Buy a tent with a porch area
A tent with a porch area (the area between the outer door and inner door) is an ideal choice for wet weather, as it gives you an area to slip off those mud coated wellies, without getting your sleeping area wet and muddy.
4. Use your guy ropes
Guy ropes aren’t just there to make your journey back to your tent treacherous after a few ciders, if pinned out correctly these lines will keep your tent sturdy in the wind, and help to keep the tent fabric stretched. This means that water should run off easier, rather than puddle up.
5. Don’t wear jeans
There’s a reason catwalks are all inside, Your Topshop skinnies aren’t made for wet weather. Denim can take an age to dry, and while you may be fine wearing them one day, putting wet jeans on the next day is one of the most miserable experiences a festival can offer you. Take something made of lightweight material and they should dry out during the breaks in the weather.
6. Poncho or waterproof?
A poncho is always a last minute option for the unprepared, and a festival certainly knows how to charge for them. Grab yourself a packable waterproof jacket, it’ll be comfier, more fitted and in most cases, it’ll protect you much more than a poncho. Nobody has ever looked good in a poncho.
7. Take bin bags
We hope you’d be taking bin bags to collect your rubbish anyway. These can also be used to keep wet/muddy items away from the rest of your things, or to keep dry items dry.
8. Take duct tape
Duct tape is the outdoor persons best friend, and a festival is no different. The tape is there as backup for any tears/leaks that may spring up in your tent, it’s also great for broken tent poles.
9. Do not be tempted to cook inside
If you’re taking a gas cooker or charcoal barbecue, do not be tempted to cook inside or turn this on in your tent for extra heat. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is a very real danger for campers, always make sure you’re in a well ventilated area when using these products.
10. Dry out your tent
Pack away your tent dry where possible. If you must pack the tent away wet, then make sure you unpack it and dry it at the earliest possible time. This will prevent the tent getting mouldy.
Don’t forget if you’re looking for last minute festival gear, we’ve got you covered in our festival shop http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/festival-gear
