The travel kit list: sustainable summer festival equipment for 2022
Your wellies are bound to end up muddy — but you can keep your festival footprint clean with this range of kit that champions product sustainability.
Clockwise from top left: ProQ FlatDog; Ponch Midnight Ocean poncho; Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket; Hunter Nebula Tall Wellington Boots.
1. ProQ FlatDog
As some supermarkets move to ban sales of single-use grills (more than one million end up in landfill every year), it’s time to find a robust alternative. This portable barbecue from ProQ is built to last: it packs flat, is simple to carry and set up, and, thanks to efficient airflow, is easy to light and extinguish. Weighing in at just under 5kg, it’s suitable for festival goers who don’t have too far to walk. £89.99. proqsmokers.co.uk
2. Ponch Midnight Ocean poncho
Visual artist Leif Podhajský designed the print for this packable, waterproof rain poncho, made entirely from recycled post-consumer plastic bottles. The struggle to find suitable outerwear for Glastonbury Festival and on camping trips motivated founders Sophie Mollison and Alexander Edwards to start their small business. The pair weave their passions for music, design and nature into all their products, commissioning select artists to design their prints. There’s no single-use plastic packaging at Ponch, and garment bags and tags are compostable. £99. packaponch.com
Read more: Six music festivals making an impact in 2022
3. Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket
Available in a variety of cool designs, the Rumpl Original Puffy is lightweight (the one-person blanket comes in at under a kilogram), packable into a water-resistant case and cleverly insulated using 100% recycled post-consumer materials. It comes with a cape clip, so you can wrap it snugly and securely around yourself at the campsite. It’s water repellent and machine-washable, too. From £90. rumpl.co.uk
Read more: eight festivals making a positive impact in 2022
4. Hunter Nebula Tall Wellington Boots
Soft, flexible and comfortable, these striking iridescent boots are certified vegan, made from natural rubber, have a 100% recycled-polyester inner lining and insole, and come with a two-year warranty. Under the company’s ReBoot scheme, every pair of wellies purchased from Hunter can be returned and recycled free of charge when they reach the end of their life. The boots are then transformed into surfaces for playgrounds and roads, filler for kickboxing bags and more. £120. hunterboots.com
Clockwise from top left: Cotopaxi Kapai 3L Hip Pack – Del Día; Vango Tay 300 CLR tent; AllBirds Wool Runner-up Mizzles; LifeSaver Liberty bottle.
5. Cotopaxi Kapai 3L Hip Pack – Del Día
Repurposed with the aim of reducing landfill, every one of these unique bags features vibrant offcuts of fabric, sourced from the production waste of other companies’ textile lines. They’re comfortable to wear, with contoured back panels and useful internal pockets, including a padded pouch for stowing delicate valuables such as sunglasses. £40. uk.cotopaxi.com
6. Vango Tay 300 CLR tent
Vango is an industry leader when it comes to the sustainable manufacture of tents, and this three-man dome example follows suit. New for 2022, it’s crafted from both offcut fabric and polyester made from recycled single-use plastics. Hardwearing and fully waterproof, the tent’s nightfall bedrooms shield its inhabitants from morning light, so, mercifully, you’ll get to sleep in a little later, too. £115. vango.co.uk
7. AllBirds Wool Runner-up Mizzles
Could these be the ideal festival trainers? The high tops will protect your ankles from accidental kicks in a crowd; they’re rain-repellent, soft and flexible (great for dancing); and, best of all, they’re machine-washable and won’t lose their shape. The trainers come with an impressive set of eco-credentials, too: they’re made from ZQ-certified high-welfare merino wool, have a bio-based water shield, a midsole made with sugar cane-based material, an FSC-certified natural rubber outsole, and laces made from recycled bottles. £135. allbirds.co.uk
8. LifeSaver Liberty bottle
This 400ml water bottle with an in-built purifying pump will help to keep you hydrated no matter where you are, with no need to purchase bottled water. The Liberty bottle has the same advanced filtration system as the LifeSaver’s eponymous original product, but, being smaller and lighter, it’s more portable. The carbon-disc cartridge can filter up to 2,000 litres of water in its lifetime, removing 99.999% of viruses and bacteria. £129.99. iconlifesaver.com
Discover more recommended kit for travellers
Published in the Jul/Aug 2022 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)
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