Festival Tote Bag Essentials You’ll Actually Need

There are two types of people at festivals:

The people who pack properly.

And the people asking to borrow everything by 2pm.

A good festival tote bag makes the entire day easier. Not in an overprepared survival-guide way - just enough to stop your phone dying, your makeup melting, or everyone suddenly becoming hungry halfway through the second set.

Portable charger

This is non negotiable.

Your battery disappears faster than you think between maps, videos, group chats, and trying to find your friends in a crowd.

A portable charger instantly becomes the most valuable thing in your bag.

Snacks

Festival food is expensive and somehow there’s always a point where everyone suddenly gets hungry at the same time.

Good festival snacks need to:

• survive being thrown around in a tote bag

• be easy to share

• not melt in the heat

• actually taste good

Que Rico crisps work perfectly because they fit into everything - train journeys, picnic moments before the gates open, sitting in the grass between sets, or post-headliner midnight hunger.

Mini beauty essentials

Nobody needs a full bathroom cabinet in their tote bag. But there are a few things people always end up needing halfway through the day:

• lip balm

• mini SPF

• deodorant

• hand sanitiser

• hair clips/bobbles

• wet wipes

Small things make a massive difference after eight hours outside.

Bring something warm

Every festival day starts with people thinking they won’t get cold. And every festival night ends with people trying to borrow someone else’s hoodie, or purchasing a ridiculously expensive jacket from the merch stand.

Even in summer, evenings get colder than expected once the sun disappears. A jumper or lightweight jacket will always be worth carrying.

Good festival days are never just about the lineup

The best festival days are the ones where you can actually focus on having a good time watching your favourite artists, rather than feeling uncomfortable, stressed, or annoyed that your phone is on 2%.

Packing properly isn’t really about overpreparing. It’s just about making the small moments easier.

A hand sanitiser for the portaloo queue. A hoodie for when the sun finally disappears. Snacks for when everyone suddenly gets hungry between sets.

A packet of Que Rico crisps thrown into your tote bag somehow always ends up being a good idea - whether it’s for the train journey, sitting in the grass before the gates open, or sharing with friends halfway through the day.

Sometimes the smallest things are the reason the whole day feels better.