Gear Patrol

Ah, the music festival. Concert after concert under the hot sun, huge fields of camping fans, available yet astronomically priced food, and port-a-potties stretching to the horizon combine for a strange breed of “roughing it” with large doses of civilization mixed in. Prepare properly and you’re in for the weekend of a lifetime; shirk the prep and you’ll be poor and plenty grumpy come Sunday night. Here are ten pieces of gear — appropriately fitting the chaotic and not at all fashionable atmosphere you’ll come to know and love — to get your music festival experience on track for “Epic!” status. We’ll leave the collapsible peace pipe to you.

Nothing ruins a backpacking trip like a terrible night’s sleep (or a lack of clean underwear, but if you can’t figure that one out you’re beyond our help). A good sleeping bag is the key to staying warm and dry when you’re crashing under the stars — so you’re at your best crossing that next 8,000 foot mountain pass. Sleeping bag tech has made its way into the space age in the last few years: your 20-year-old bag from summer camp or the Boy Scouts is no longer up to snuff. Here’s our list of the best 20°F (or below) bags to ensure comfort and safety for three-season camping.

Whether you’re in the great outdoors when the sun goes down or at home when the power goes out (thanks, Hurricane Sandy), proper portable lighting can make the difference between life and death — or at least help you figure out where your next meal (or bath) is coming from. Sometimes a flashlight (narrow beam)…

Camping is awesome. Simple as that. Where it does get a bit hairy, though, is in the construction of your own personal nature suite, the tent. Even at the best of times, getting one put together and upright is still a chore. It gets exponentially worse with every brew you consume — a number that…