1st ever Glasto tips?

[stuartbert two hats]

1 hour ago, Jay89 said:

Quick question!

if I charge a couple of power banks on Tuesday, will they still charge later in the week or they’ll eventually lose some juice when not used? I was always alright for normal 3 days festivals, but with it being 6 days away from home, I wonder if they’ll be fine.

edit: it’s 3 banks 10000mAh each.

They'll be fine. The leakage on unused batteries is minimal over that length of time. Those banks sound ok too - how much is normally left after 3 days?

[JoeyT]

2 hours ago, Mardy said:

Hahaha. Excellent. One of my absolute favourite things is, once the tent is up and sorted on the Wednesday, sitting near one of the main drags with a pint, and saying to your mates with a shake of the head and a sigh,  'Oooof. Tell you what, wouldn't want to be arriving now'

Add me to the list of people who do that. Although I do have a twinge of sympathy as I'm sure everyone would be there as early as possible if they could.

I also get something similar when sitting at the top of the hill outside of gate C on the Tuesday evening as I watch folk carrying their stuff to the entrance to gate C. I still can't get my head around queuing through the night. Is it really worth a hanging Wednesday just to camp in a particular spot?!

Edited March 4, 2019 by JoeyT

[I feel like Pablo]

7 minutes ago, JoeyT said:

Add me to the list of people who do that. Although I do have a twinge of sympathy as I'm sure everyone would be there as early as possible if they could.

I also get something similar when sitting at the top of the hill outside of gate C on the Tuesday evening as I watch folk carrying their stuff to the entrance to gate C. I still can't get my head around queuing through the night. Is it really worth a hanging Wednesday just to camp in a particular spot?!

Speaking as a Tuesday nighter, yes! But it just means the festival starts a day early for you and you have a few hours make up sleep when the tents gone up and you've had a few cans. The only time it was not worth it was 2016 (I think) when there was torrential rain from about 4am to 7.30 when the gates opened. That was so not rainbow rhythms 

[Gilgamesh69]

Dunno if it's already been mentioned but a friend told me  a little trick if you've got boxed wine. Once you've finished with it, take the bag out, inflate it, then you can use it as a makeshift pillow

[Jay89]

58 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

They'll be fine. The leakage on unused batteries is minimal over that length of time. Those banks sound ok too - how much is normally left after 3 days?

I was always taking one with me, charged my phone about 1hr each morning, so not fully (as I wasn’t using it massively) and by Monday morning it was flat out. I feel like I have to prepare more for Glastonbury, as unlike any other festival, It’ll be only 2 of us so chances of loosing each other are quite likely plus getting up for the coach Monday morning and all that. 

It’s one of those: 

 

 

[stuartbert two hats]

1 hour ago, Gilgamesh69 said:

Dunno if it's already been mentioned but a friend told me  a little trick if you've got boxed wine. Once you've finished with it, take the bag out, inflate it, then you can use it as a makeshift pillow

Take them out of the box before you go.

[stuartbert two hats]

29 minutes ago, Jay89 said:

I was always taking one with me, charged my phone about 1hr each morning, so not fully (as I wasn’t using it massively) and by Monday morning it was flat out. I feel like I have to prepare more for Glastonbury, as unlike any other festival, It’ll be only 2 of us so chances of loosing each other are quite likely plus getting up for the coach Monday morning and all that. 

It’s one of those: 

 

 

So instead of 1 for 3 days, you're taking 3 for 6 days?  Gives you an extra buffer so you're not going to be completely flat on the last day. Sounds like a good plan to me!  

[Gnomicide]

They get a lot of stick on here but the EE chargers are great. I know they're expensive for what you get but really small, fully charges the phone and then just walk up to the stall (I've never queued for more than 5 minutes), hand it over and get a new one. They don't even restrict the number of times you can change one now so you could do it more than once a day.

[The Nal]

If you have an android phone max power saving mode is your friend.

[MetaKate]

2 hours ago, Jay89 said:

I’ll socialise alright, but tell a first timer not to take photos ? thanks, seems like I won’t need all 3 then!

One of my biggest regrets from the first year... I didnt take any photos! Dont go crazy but make sure you snap more than none.

[Quark]

Oh man, so many things to suggest and recommend!

Share your booze and smokes with those around you.  It's amazing what conversations and camaraderie can spring from passing a bottle of some boozy concoction around.

Walk around with a mentality of paying it forward.  So many little things you can do that will just elevate someone else's festival for them, and it's a great feeling.

If you're a smoker, get yourself a little wallet or empty tin / fag packet for your butts.

Make peace with the fact that whatever you do, you'll be missing out on something else. There's just no avoiding it.

Most importantly, just enjoy it.

[SighMo]

A few weeks before start saving half empty toilet rolls. Much less space in your day bag and they also fit in the front pouch of my hoodie on my early morning trip to the long drops. 

[grayfitz]

7 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

They get a lot of stick on here but the EE chargers are great. I know they're expensive for what you get but really small, fully charges the phone and then just walk up to the stall (I've never queued for more than 5 minutes), hand it over and get a new one. They don't even restrict the number of times you can change one now so you could do it more than once a day.

Did they not all get recalled a couple years ago for blowing up?

[Olshansky]

On 3/2/2019 at 8:21 AM, grumpyhack said:

 

Make friends with your neighbours.  Offer them a drink or a bite to eat.  They'll keep an eye on your tent and you can do the same for them.

 

Yes this! Tent neighbors are the best

Also, bring extra socks. I always manage to ruin most of the ones I bring.  

[Gnomicide]

19 minutes ago, grayfitz said:

Did they not all get recalled a couple years ago for blowing up?

They did, the year after they first came out but they've had new versions since then.

[Gnomicide]

Another tip - Cut your toe nails a week before you go.

[marathonsteve]

I did say previously that you should take a picture of your lock up ticket if you are going to use them .  I should have added to take a photo of your tent in relation to a local landmark which you can relate to. I have been at festivals before where people have been searching for their blue tent,  not only at night time  to no avail.

[Crazyfool01]

1 hour ago, grayfitz said:

Did they not all get recalled a couple years ago for blowing up?

These ones should have been returned but I kept mine as my pyramid stage hat needs some pyrotechnics for the last night 

[grayfitz]

1 hour ago, Gnomicide said:

They did, the year after they first came out but they've had new versions since then.

Aaah okay. Didn't realise they'd fixed it - I thought they recalled them and that was the end of it.

[Ayrshire Chris]

2 hours ago, SighMo said:

A few weeks before start saving half empty toilet rolls. Much less space in your day bag and they also fit in the front pouch of my hoodie on my early morning trip to the long drops. 

Now that’s a clever tip.

Mind you, on the (w)hole does it matter? 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Or just buy a couple of packs of own brand packs of handie andies for like a quid. Then they're packed even smaller and waterproof.

[deadpheasant]

9 hours ago, The Nal said:

If you have an android phone max power saving mode is your friend.

This. Also putting brightness to 0 helps massively.

I always make sure I bring shorts with  inside zipped pockets to put my phone in (can get them in H&M) and then wear a money belt.

[Ayrshire Chris]

10 minutes ago, deadpheasant said:

This. Also putting brightness to 0 helps massively.

I always make sure I bring shorts with  inside zipped pockets to put my phone in (can get them in H&M) and then wear a money belt.

And set to vibrate for that wee extra thrill I’ll bet 

[stuartbert two hats]

10 minutes ago, deadpheasant said:

This. Also putting brightness to 0 helps massively.

I always make sure I bring shorts with  inside zipped pockets to put my phone in (can get them in H&M) and then wear a money belt.

But beware, you may find that your phone is "broken" the next bright day. Symptoms such as a dead screen, but when you restart the phone the LED light flashes and it makes the startup sound. Fixable by going somewhere dark/covering creating an ad-hoc tent out of your coat and turning the bloody brightness up. Usually associated with the user being a bloody idiot.

[Upside down frowner]

1 hour ago, crazyfool1 said:

These ones should have been returned but I kept mine as my pyramid stage hat needs some pyrotechnics for the last night 

Still use mine occasionally when out trekking, on Sunday in fact, lot lighter than a big pack. Wonder if I can swap it still!