Festival season 2025: the 10 essentials to survive Glastonbury, Tomorrowland & Fuji Rock

This isn’t your cute little influencer guide with crochet tops and glitter fanny packs. This is the survival kit for people who actually live the festival - camping in the rain, dancing till sunrise, and losing their voices before the second day is over.

Each festival comes with its own hazards: Glastonbury is mud and chaos. Tomorrowland is overdrive. Fuji Rock? It’s beautiful and brutal. Whether it’s your first time or your fifteenth, here’s what you actually need to make it through in one piece.

1. Minuendo earplugs

No, this isn’t optional. Every major festival blasts over 100 decibels. That's jackhammer loud. Permanent hearing loss can kick in faster than your first drop of the night.

Minuendo earplugs are the only ear protection you’ll wear and forget you’re even wearing. No muffled sound, no pressure, just crisp, clear audio - turned down to a safe level. They use a sliding lever to control how much sound you let in (7–25dB), so you can adapt on the fly. Throw them on for the front row at Tomorrowland, and you’ll still hear every nuance.

They're not cheap. That’s the point.

2. Stool or seat pad

You will wait. For gates. For food. For sets. For your friend to finally come back from the toilets. A packable stool or fold-out seat pad is the difference between resting your legs or getting flattened into the mud.

Bonus: It makes you the most popular person at your camp.

3. Neck fan or wearable cooling gear

Tomorrowland in July? It's a furnace. Fuji Rock can turn tropical. And even Glastonbury gets its scorcher years. A rechargeable neck fan, cooling towel, or even an evaporative bandana might look ridiculous, but you’ll be the one not passing out.

This is not about fashion. It’s about survival.

4. Serious rain protection

Festival ponchos are made from tissue paper and lies. Bring an actual rain jacket. Lightweight, waterproof, and breathable. If it folds into a pouch, even better. Glastonbury and Fuji Rock both will hit you with rain. It's just a matter of when.

Skip the umbrella. It’s useless and banned in most venues.

5. Headlamp with red light mode

Your phone flashlight is a rookie move. A proper headlamp keeps your hands free and doesn’t blind your tentmates at 3 a.m. when you're digging for socks. Red light mode preserves night vision - and your friendships.

6. Heavy-duty insect repellent

Especially at Fuji Rock - the mosquitos don’t mess around. Don’t show up with lavender oil and hope. Get a proper DEET or picaridin spray that works, or prepare to get eaten alive.

7. Towel poncho

Yes, it’s a towel. Yes, it’s also a blanket, a hoodie, a changing cover, and a last-resort rain shield. Get a microfiber one that dries fast and packs small. This is the ultimate multi-tool for gross, cold, or wet moments.

8. Hard-shell sunglasses case

Sunglasses always get crushed in your bag. Always. Get a rigid case and stop re-buying gas station shades every festival.

Also: bring backup lenses. It’s one of the easiest things to lose in the chaos.

Final notes from the field

These aren’t “nice-to-haves.” These are essentials if you want to survive the full stretch without losing your voice, your hearing, or your will to live.

Start with hearing protection. Start with Minuendo. Everything else is just managing chaos from there.

Minuendo earplugs are available now - limited stock before festival season kicks off.