3 days Ago By John Lonsdale
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. The temperature had already hit 100 degrees — and there were still three full days of shows left to see. My first Coachella was off to a hot start to be sure.
The day before, I made the trek from Los Angeles to Indio to cover the annual music festival for Rolling Stone , attending as many shows as possible during Weekend One and writing about sets from Lola Young and Djo to Weezer , Hope Tala, The Dare, Fcukers, Clairo (and Bernie Sanders) , Sam Fender, to Post Malone’s headlining performance on Sunday night. For anyone who’s been to Coachella before, you know that you’re in for a ton of walking. With an Airbnb not far from the festival grounds, I ended up walking to and from where I was staying, averaging between 13,500 to over 17,300 steps a day over the course of the weekend.
But for all the Coachella cardio (and the lack of sleep), I ended up having a successful Coachella experience. Much of that was thanks to a few essentials items I made sure to pack (and a few products I bought once I arrived). Trending Stories Trump Admin Deports Teen With No Criminal Record to El Salvador Prison: Report Gayle King Defends 'Expensive' 11-Minute Space Flight After 'Disrespectful' Backlash Zak Starkey Breaks Silence on Firing From the Who: 'I’m Surprised and Saddened' The Who Part Ways With Drummer Zak Starkey After Three Decades Attending Coachella Weekend Two? Here’s what I’d recommend packing in your bag — including a few things I’d take into the festival to make sure you’ll have a kickass time.
From my go-to travel-sized sunscreen to the portable iPhone charger to lightweight cargo pants that saved me from the heat, here’s what I packed for my first Coachella. $19.95 $27.
95 29% off By the time I thought about packing earplugs, it was already too late. I was standing right in front of the stage during Clairo’s set when it dawned on me I really, really needed some sort of hearing protection. Even if you’re not seeing as many shows as I am, Coachella’s speaker volume is no joke and you’re going to want a sonic shield from time to time.
I recommend stocking up ahead of your trip in case the medical tent or on-site festival shops run out (luckily I found some at a general store). $30.00 There was a lot of dust all over my hands each day.
I packed one of these sanitizer sprays in my pocket each day of the fest as a backup. I love the compact, slim design because the spray fits neatly into any pocket. Better yet, it never leaked on my pants.
$23.46 I could feel myself getting dehydrated immediately on the first day, but luckily I’d planned ahead and packed a pack of Liquid I.V.
mix. Pour one of the small, travel-friendly packets of powder into your water bottle to get an extra dose of electrolytes, whether at the festival or recovering after a day of shows. $90 I packed cowboy boots to wear to Post Malone’s set, but I ended up rocking these Converse Chuck 70 sneakers the entire weekend instead.
That’s because they’re both comfortable to walk in, and they lend a vintage style fit for the desert. Oh, and turns out they really hold up even if you’re moving 17,000 steps a day — more than worth the money. $16.
49 $18.49 11% off Easily the MVP of Coachella for me: strong spray sunscreen. I picked up a bottle of SunBum SPF from a pharmacy ahead of my trip, but it’s also readily available on Amazon.
Go for SPF 50 and octinoxate- and oxybenzone-free to ensure you’re not going home with any painful Coachella sunburn. (Bonus: I love how it smells like summertime.) $140 The sun at Coachella can get intense, and having a quality pair of sunglasses at the ready is a must.
I packed my pair of shades from one of the coolest sunglasses brands in the game right now, Akila , but a simple pair with comfortable frames on Amazon also does the trick just fine. Coachella Weekend Two will feel a little colder than Weekend One, making these Levi’s denim carpenter pants a solid choice. I loved them for their classic pattern, but their extra pockets made it easy to store things like my disposable camera, hand sanitizer, and phone and wallet without me needing a separate pack.
Bonus: They look cool as hell paired with a simple tee and sneakers. $18.98 $26.
98 30% off From recording video all afternoon to texting friends at the fest to find a meeting spot, my phone came close to death more than a few times at Coachella. Luckily my pocket-sized portable iPhone charger saved the day and quickly recharged my phone to 100 percent so I didn’t have to worry about it the rest of the night. It’s always an essential tech accessory, but especially at Coachella.
(I also saw charging stations at the fest, but they looked crowded every time.) $89.50 These lightweight Levi’s cargo pants are just what I needed for 100-plus-degree desert heat.
Both stylish and practical, they boast ample pocket space to stash all your essentials like your phone and even a water bottle. They feel like athletic pants, but they still look trendy enough to rock at a music fest. I spilled on them, but that’s the beauty of camo — you couldn’t see the stain.
$15 $20 25% off No matter how strong the wind gets, there’s a solid chance you’re going to want a reliable bandana to shield yourself from all the dust walking to and from the festival. Plus, it pulls double duty as a stylish accessory: When you’re not covering your nose and mouth, you can roll it up and tie it around your neck. $37.
50 $50 25% off Don’t let your SPF do all of the work at Coachella — I packed a vintage trucker hat I picked up for a shop called Landers Supply House and rocked it nearly every day. No matter where you’re shopping, packing a baseball hat (like this Dodgers pick from Abercrombie ) or a cowboy hat that offers a bit of extra protection from the sun is a non-negotiable for Weekend Two..
