Get some top tech for festival season
Set yourself up for a comfy, connected stay at whichever music festival you’re hitting this summer, and arm yourself with a powerful smartphone camera to capture the fun
Camping at a summer festival is a rite of passage for any dedicated music fan, but such an experience can be made or ruined by the gear you take. To prepare for 2016’s festival season, we’ve rounded up the best tech to help you film your favourite bands playing live, as well as a range of camping accessories so luxurious they’ll make even seasoned glampers look like hillbillies.
Powerful cameras are a major trend among this year’s smartphones – just look at the Huawei P9’s stunning dual Leica camera lenses, or the modular design of the LG G5’s dual rear cameras, wide-angle lens and enhanced video functions. Even newer to the party is the HTC M10 (£570, htc.com/uk), a phone that’s perfect for recording your favourite bands – not only does its camera capture 4K video, the M10 is also capable of 24-bit audio recording. It has a fast-charge function, too, so it won’t take much juice from your solar-powered charger…
Speaking of which, this summer sees the release of the world’s thinnest solarpowered charger, the Yolk Solar Paper ($120/£84, yolkstation.com). Available for pre-order via Kickstarter, on a sunny day (let’s stay positive here) the Yolk will juice up your smartphone in 2.5 hours. Clip it to your backpack while you’re milling about during the day, then charge your phone when you’re back at the campsite.
The party doesn’t have to stop just because the live music is over – with the Stanley Happy Hour Cocktail Set (£40, gooutdoors.co.uk), comprising an insulated steel shaker, two rocks tumblers, a citrus reamer and a jigger, you can serve max-strength cocktails into the early hours, should you wish. Not tempted by the on-site burgers? Then try cooking your own on the neat-looking Onja Stove (¤129.95/£100, primus.eu), a compact, two-burner stove that’s housed in a hipster-style briefcase.
You can eat, drink and while the night away while lounging back in the Leki Breeze, a super-comfortable camping chair (available in three colours) that’s so easy to set up, you can do it in seconds – and after several beers, too.
Finally ready for some shuteye? Slip into a Patagonia Merino Air Crew or Hoody (£100/£110, patagonia.com), billed as one of the world’s most advanced base layers, and a pair of Nordisk Mos Down Shoes camping slippers (£25, nordisk.eu) to stay toasty inside your sleeping bag no matter how cold it gets outside. Of course, having a sleeping mat between your sleeping bag and the tent’s groundsheet is guaranteed to make any night’s kip more comfortable, and Nordisk comes to the rescue there, too, with its new-for-2016 Grip 2.5 Sleeping Mat (£80), which is ultra-lightweight and self-inflating.
As for the tent? You can never go wrong with Heimplanet’s inflatable tents (we’re fans of The Cave – ¤650/£507, heimplanet.com), while the MSR Carbon Reflex 2 Ultralight tent ($500/£350, cascadedesigns.com), with its micromesh canopy and DuraShield waterproof coating, has been redesigned for 2016.
“On a sunny day, the Yolk solarpowered charger will juice up your smartphone in 2.5 hours”