The best gadgets to take to a music festival

Technology is making the music festival experience even more memorable – and, thankfully, far more comfortable as well. First we took a look at the best festival cameraphones and now the O2 Gurus are back to take a look at some of the best gadgets to pack for this summer’s main events…

Cooking and cleaning

Keeping yourself fed and washed is typically the most difficult part of a festival weekend. Finding any shower, let alone a hot one, is often a real challenge, so make sure you pack a HiGear Solar Shower, an easily portable device that heats up cold water in a few hours and means the end of long queues for hasty lukewarm washes. The Biolite Camping Stove (main image) is also a nifty bit of kit. It will cook your food, but also uses heat created by burning twigs to power a generator capable of charging any device with a USB-friendly charger.

Chargers

It’s difficult to survive without a smartphone these days, even at a festival. A number of great apps have been created to improve your experience, meaning keeping your device charged is vital. Thankfully, there are loads of gadgets available to help you avoid tedious queuing at charging tents while all the good bands are on. We like the SolarGoPack 12k, a backpack equipped with a 5 watt solar panel, which means you can safely charge your devices on the go. The friendly-looking Robot Head Portable Charger, meanwhile, is capable of charging a decent smartphone two and half times, is small enough to fit in a pocket. It can even be used to charge two different devices at once.

Speakers

Yes, you’re at a music festival, but you’ll still need your favourite tunes on hand to keep you entertained once the bands have finished for the night. We recommend the EcoXGear Eco Terra speaker – it’s waterproof, shockproof and will float if you drop it in water. Meanwhile, the snazzy UE Boom wireless speaker (above) connects to your phone via Bluetooth, has a 15-hour battery life and its waterproof exterior still manages to provide excellent sound quality. The Neafra Touch Speaker tops the charts for ease of use. It uses Near Field Audio technology to pick up and amplify vibrations – all you have to do is place your mobile or mp3 player on top.

Recording

Create instant souvenirs of your festival experience with the Fujifilm Mini 8 Instant Camera, a Polaroid-style camera for the 21^st century. It may seem a bit old school but it’s a sophisticated bit of kit that includes an auto flash and brightness adjustment dial and lets you instantly print credit card sized images. If you’re looking for something a little more powerful, go for the GoPro Hero3+,the current leader of the wearable camera wave and a brilliantly versatile gadget capable of recording high-quality, hands-free video footage. It also takes 12MP photos that can be instantly uploaded to your phone, meaning you won’t have to wait until you get home to show them off.

Have we missed any of your favourite festival gadgets from this list? What would be your dream festival gadget? Let us know on our Twitter @O2.

For more on how technology is changing the world of music, tune in to LBC Radio this Saturday at 8.30pm when the O2 Gurus will be talking about the latest in movie tech.

You can also find us on O2 Guru TV or visit an O2 Guru in store.