A headlamp with a red mode, and costume lights that come home. Glow sticks become trash. The bike beam is the other page.
7 min read
Sits beside Burning Man camp lights/How to light and lock a Burning Man bike/Play lights/Night gear/Lights
Shop the play lights. Each piece is its own listing. We don't ship a kit as one box.
How we'd spend
The buy-once piece is the one worth a real cart. The lighter spend still does the job. A usual range is a typical price, not today's.
Each card opens the shop. Amazon links are affiliate links. Your price does not change. How the links work.
Buy once
Why this one
EL wire is the light people notice without a flashlight in the face. The kit we opened is five 1-meter strands, ice blue, with a driver and a splitter. Enough for a jacket hem, a hat, or the basket of a bike. Tape the pack where you can reach the button, and bring every scrap home.
Often about $17
Usual range, not today's price.
Amazon affiliate link. Your price does not change.
Does the job
Why this one
You cook, hunt a stake, and walk to the latrine with both hands full. A headlamp with a red night-vision mode is the one we pack. White light in a sleeping tent makes you the neighbor nobody wants. One lamp is a single point of failure, so bring a spare.
Often about $43
Usual range, not today's price.
Amazon affiliate link. Your price does not change.
The lighter spend
Why this one
A ring on a finger is the smallest light that still reads when you wave, point, or dance. Buy a pack with an on-off switch so they are not dead by Friday and not glowing in the bin. They come home. A ring left on the playa is moop, and the button cell inside it is worse.
A pack is often $8–15
Usual range, not today's price.
Amazon affiliate link. Your price does not change.
The Survival Guide says to light your bike and yourself. It says glow sticks and bracelets do not cut it and become trash. It says lasers are not bike lights. We are not softening any of that. Camp lanterns are camp lights. The beam on the bike is the bike note. This page is the body.
Each card opens the shop. Amazon links are affiliate links. Your price does not change. How the links work.
Black Diamond
Essential
Why this one
You cook, hunt a stake, and walk to the latrine with both hands full. A headlamp with a red night-vision mode is the one we pack. White light in a sleeping tent makes you the neighbor nobody wants. One lamp is a single point of failure, so bring a spare.
Often about $43
Amazon affiliate link. Your price does not change.
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The Black Diamond Spot 350 is the headlamp we pack: a red mode for camp, and a white beam for the work. The listing we opened includes three AAA cells. Bring a spare set anyway. White light in a sleeping tent makes you the neighbor nobody wants. One lamp is a single point of failure, so the camp-lights note still wants a second. We are not adding a lumen number the product page does not already carry in the name.
MaxLax
Buy once
Why this one
EL wire is the light people notice without a flashlight in the face. The kit we opened is five 1-meter strands, ice blue, with a driver and a splitter. Enough for a jacket hem, a hat, or the basket of a bike. Tape the pack where you can reach the button, and bring every scrap home.
Often about $17
Amazon affiliate link. Your price does not change.
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The play lights kit is the cart. EL wire is five 1-meter strands, ice blue, and the cells are not in the box. It is a jacket hem or a hat. It is not a bike headlight. Pocket every offcut. Clip lights pin to a strap or a hip and charge from the bank before you leave camp. Rings need a switch, and they come home. A ring on the ground is moop, and the cell inside it is worse.
A hand fan is the one you carry. The LED fan is the version with lights in the leaf. Lights in a fan do not make you visible to an art car. The flag and the bike lights do that. Glitter on a fan is moop. We are not linking a glow stick. The city already called that trash.
Lights
Worth packing
Why this one
A ring on a finger is the smallest light that still reads when you wave, point, or dance. Buy a pack with an on-off switch so they are not dead by Friday and not glowing in the bin. They come home. A ring left on the playa is moop, and the button cell inside it is worse.
A pack is often $8–15
Amazon affiliate link. Your price does not change.
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A front beam on the ground and a red light behind you are the ride. Take them with you when you lock up. EL wire on the basket is sparkle beside that job, not a substitute. A laser is not a bike light. We do not have a product for that refusal, and we are not adding one.
Shop the body on lights and the lamp on night gear. We don't ship the kit as one box.
Lights
Buy once
Why this one
EL wire is a line. A clip light is a point you can move: collar, bag, bike basket, the friend who keeps vanishing in the dust. Rechargeable clips beat a pile of button-cell toys because you can fill them from the battery bank before you leave camp.
A few clips are often $15–30
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Lights
Buy once
Why this one
The misting fan cools a spot under the shade. A hand fan is the one you carry, and it is the rave piece people actually use out here: a flick, a breeze, something to do with your hands between art cars. Bamboo ribs and a cloth leaf. Big enough to move air. It lives in the day bag, not in a bin at camp.
Often $10–20
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DAGLLGEW
Buy once
Why this one
Once the plain fan is in the bag, some people want the one that lights up. The listing we opened is a 10-inch folding fan with three light modes, and the batteries are in the box. It is a costume light and a breeze. The bike still needs a real front light and a red rear.
Often about $10
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Complete the kit
A kit is the shopping list for one job. Each piece is its own listing. We don't ship it as one box.