What To Bring To Warped Tour

Summer festival season has arrived, and with it, so has the Vans Warped Tour. While we have already covered what to bring to a music festival, Warped tour is a bit different, so here's our rundown of a few tips and tricks if you plan on attending the festival this year.

Essential Items

Appropriate footwear - Leave your flip flops at home! Even though it'll be a scorching hot day, chances are, you will get your feet trampled on at one point or another. If you're planning on wearing heels, don't. Wear comfy shoes. Trust us, you'll be on your feet for hours; you should be comfortable.

Sunscreen - Warped tour goes on for about 7-8 hours. Bring it with you, and reapply frequently. Remember to also cover every bit of visible skin, including your ears.

Water - You're allowed to bring one sealed bottle of water with you. Once you're inside, you can refill your bottle at one of the Cool Gear Hydration Stations (just look for the signs). Drinks will also be available for purchase onsite.

Backpack - Make sure you pack the items mentioned above, but also make room for these things:

Camera - You'll need a photopass to bring in a pro (SLR) camera, but a point and shoot will be allowed.

Marker - You never know which band you'll bump into. If you have a marker, you can get them to sign your tickets, or whatever else you have with you.

Poncho - Head to the dollar store and pick up a poncho. They don't take up much space, but they can be a lifesaver if the skies decide to open up.

Bandana - Use it to cover your mouth/nose if it gets to be a little too dusty, or wrap it around your wrist or head to use it as a sweat band.

Snacks - Bring some fruit, granola bars, candy, or anything that won't spoil in the heat. There will be food vendors onsite, but expect jacked up prices.

Tissue - Staying hydrated is super important; the problem is that you'll eventually have to pee. While port-o-potties "should" have toilet paper, chances are, they won't.

Tips for Warped Tour

When you get into the venue, check out the big inflatable schedule board. Bring a piece of paper to write down set times, or purchase a daily schedule (they usually cost $1-$2). There are multiple stages, so you'll want to plan out your day so you don't miss your favourite bands.

If you aren't into moshing, be aware of your surroundings. If you see people getting out of control near you, you'll probably want to move somewhere else because pits can grow quickly. If you like moshing, have fun. Don't forget the most important rule of a pit: if someone falls, pick them up.

During Warped, most bands will either do signings at their merch tent or at a sponsor's tent. You can find out about signing times by heading to their merch tents. If that wasn't reason enough to head to the merch booths, make sure you check them out for freebies. Most bands will give away stickers or buttons and sometimes even sampler CDs if you sign up for their mailing lists; sometimes, you don't even have to do that. If you do end up buying something, don't forget to tip their merch dude/dudette.

Are you heading to Warped with your parental units in tow? Drop them off at the reverse daycare. This is an air conditioned tent set up for the parents who are willing to accompany their kids to Warped, but who aren't willing to stand around in the heat listening to their kid's favourite bands.

Most importantly, have fun, and be safe.

We've been attending Warped Tour for the past few years; check out our coverage from 2010, 2011 and 2012