CAMPING | Don’t Go To A Festival This Year Without One Of These

June 13, 2023 Shell Robshaw-Bryan

Festival Camping, Homepage Feature, Latest Posts

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Trust me when I say you’ll thank us for this recommendation, because whilst music festivals are a lot of fun, the walking to and from the carpark sucks. Make it suck less with one of these.

It can be tempting to pack light and bung everything you think you’ll need on your back and if that’s your jam and you’re a seasoned lightweight backpacker, by all means, go ahead, but most people are going to want to take some essential extras.

As an absolute minimum, for a modicum of festival comfort, we’d recommend a camp chair, lantern, mallet, tent (obvs), sleeping mat, sleeping bag and a pillow.

On top of this, given the cost of some festival tickets and parking, you might want to take some of your own food and drink with you in which case you’ll need said food and drink, a cool bag and something to cook on, as well as cutlery and something to eat and drink out of.

Even when you pare your usual camping setup right down, it’s likely that you’re going to have a fair bit to transport and carrying that lot probably isn’t going to be an option unless you’re willing to make multiple trips to and from the car.

If you’re taking public transport or arriving on foot, of course, you’re going to need to take the bare minimum so you can carry it all, in which case a trolley would be cumbersome and impractical.

When I was in my late teens and early twenties I could sleep anywhere. I could happily spend an entire weekend at a big rave in the same clothes (ewww) and maybe eat an ice cream and some noodles during the whole time, so if you’re in your teens and will be taking yourself and little else, then you probably won’t need one.

If like me however, you’re not quite as hardy as that anymore, then this is what you’ll need for your summer music festival…

Folding Camping Trolley Transporters

Nordisk Cotton Canvas Transporter Wagon – Wiggle £144

BEST ALL ROUNDER: With a load capacity of 100kg, good looks and a great value price, the Nordisk Wagon makes an excellent choice for most festival needs.

Quechua Folding Transport Cart Trolley – Decathlon £89.99

BEST FOR: If you’re on a budget this is a great buy with a 50kg load capacity. I actually have this, and have been happily using it for 3 years now and have found it perfect for my needs. Families might want something bigger though.

Coleman Collapsible Camping Wagon – Amazon

BEST FOR: Value for money. Expect to pay around £90 for this wagon from camping stalwart, Coleman. It’s sturdy and quick and easy to take up and put down and holds an impressive 100kg.

Caperlan PF Fishing Trolley – Decathlon £179.99

BEST FOR: With a load capacity of 390L and 80Kg this is great for families and those with bigger tents.

Camping Trolley Buying Tips

Pay attention to the weight load, it’s there for a reason so factor in the weight of your heaviest items like your tent and in particular drinks and cool boxes
They can be used to transport tired tiny-humans around the festival site once you’ve unpacked
Make sure it folds up to a decent size and will fit along with you and all your gear inside your car before buying!
An overloaded trolley or a cheap, poor-quality one has the very real potential of failing on you halfway out of the carpark, so it’s worth spending more to get something decent
Go as rugged as possible, hopefully the weather gods will smile on you, but if it’s wet and muddy or even if the ground is just uneven, you’ll want something up to the task
Once you’ve bought one, they are actually super useful for everyday camping and trips to the beach etc. so you’ll probably get more use out of it than you might think

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Shell Robshaw-Bryan

Editor & Owner at Camping with Style

Shell loves all things travel and outdoors and is a nature-loving, comfy-camping kinda girl. Shell started the Camping with Style blog after a serious snowboarding accident which left her with a broken back. Despite this she used the outdoors and healing power of nature to aid her recovery and she continues to spend time outdoors whenever she can.

From open water swimming, snowboarding and kayaking to hill walks and meditation, Shell shares her travels and microadventures here on the blog and in various publications she's written for, Shell has a particular interest in promoting wellbeing and the many benefits of nature therapy.

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