Gear worth bringing to Burning Man

The same sentences keep showing up from other camps. Glad I had a fan once the shade was up. Wish I had a lid on the cup. Wish the hat had stayed on. Wish the bed had a clean layer. We kept the ones that change a day, and we left the costume tips alone.

Sleep in the heat

Shade over the tent is still the first cooling. A clip fan is the second, aimed at the person on the cot, charged before gate. A sheet or a stack of pillowcases over the bag means the dust you wore home does not become the pillow. Peel one off. The next one is clean.

The bike you can live out of

A backpack on a cruiser cooks you. A front basket holds water, a layer, goggles, and a closed bottle. Many rentals already have the basket. Lights still want a hard mount or a zip tie. Adhesive pads give up once the frame is dusty. A second headlamp lives in one box by the tent door, so the search is not the errand.

Ice, wipes, feet

Block ice lasts longer than cubes. Raise the cooler, keep it shaded, and if you have two, open the food one once a day. Pour the melt water out. Don't drink it, and don't count it toward the gallons you brought. A pack of wipes in that cooler is the cold wash people mean. A splash of vinegar in a foot tub at dusk is how the alkali comes off. Moleskin goes on the hot spot the hour you feel it.

Write your name and camp address on the bike, the lamp, the bottle, and the basket. The playa is full of identical gear.

Shade, the fan, and the bag you still need at 4 a.m. are in how to sleep in Burning Man heat. The cooler, the ice, and why the melt is not drinking water are in Burning Man cooler and ice. The meal you can finish is in what food to bring to Burning Man. The hat and the walk at noon are in sun protection for Burning Man. The drops, the funnel, the marker, and the 1-ply are in what burners wish they'd brought.