(Part 3) Best products from r/BurningMan

• There are some awesome Etsy shops out there - you can usually find cool things by keyword (neon, festival, burning man, steampunk, leotard, fringe, goth, whatever you're into), and filter by price range.
  
  
• Forever 21 - Yes, it's cheap, probably made by 6 year olds in Indonesia, and not the best quality, but they usually have awesome cheap leggings in crazy patterns, fun tops, inexpensive faux fur coats, etc.
  
  
• Amazon. Great for essentials like fishnets, LED lights, goggles, booze-cups, and protein shakes.
  
  
• Shoes: I really recommend a pair or two of comfortable boots. Motorcycle style, cowboy boots, combat boots, or fuzzy boots can all be very versatile. Make SURE you could walk 5 miles in them without getting crazy blisters (get some drugstore insoles for them). Do NOT plan on wearing open-toed shoes. Do NOT bring heels.
  
  
• You NEED a warm coat that is both exciting and practical.
  
  
• You need outfits for each day and each night, but don't be afraid to have a "uniform" of sorts to save packing space - e.g. 3 patterns of rainbow panties + 3 different tanktops = 3 different days.
  
  

First, foremost and most important: read the survival guide. Don't read it casually. Read it like your life depends on it. http://survival.burningman.com/

All our welcome. Not everyone is 20 and beautiful and drunk. Some are. I frankly like the fatter, older, wrinklier crowd more.

And here is what I sent today to the newbies in my camp. A shopping list of sorts:

for the newbies. Here are some things I can't live without at Burning man. You will find there are many different versions/opinions/etc. But this is what I use.

Camelbak:
You MUST carry water and several other items. Combing these into a backpack makes sense to me. We'll tag it with the camp locale when we get it so if it gets lost it has a chance of returning. Cheap ones tend to leak, so I recommend name brand on this: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_1_8?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=camelbak+hydration+pack&sprefix=camelbac%2Caps%2C310

Eye protection:
I hate goggles. Other people like them. I have tried many types. They all fog. So last time I started using very close fitting sunglasses type deal and it was awesome. For sure not as sealed, but I will trade that for eye sweat and fog. Whatever you pick, bring multiple pairs. Do not leave camp without these. Dust storms are real. I like something that's clear for night and shaded for day
http://www.amazon.com/3M-Virtua-Protective-Eyewear-11872-00000-20/dp/B00AEXKR4C/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1404329889&sr=8-6&keywords=protective+glasses
Ooh a 6 pack: http://www.amazon.com/Eyewear-SR111AR-Reclus-Glasses-Reflective/dp/B002R9DBEE/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1404329916&sr=8-16&keywords=protective+glasses

Dust Mask:
You can use a bandana. You can use a keffiyeh (middle eastern scarf thing- the old school choice for desert protection) or you can use some form of mask- be it a disposable painters mask to a high tech respirator. This is another item you do not leave camp without and you bring multiple of (or multiple changes of filters)
I have one of these: playalung.com and like it.

Skin stuff:
Your skin will be pissed. You are walking in seriously alkaline powder. For sure we will buy the costco sized bucket of baby wipes and lotion (do your feet and naughty bits a MINIMUM of twice a day). If you have a favorite lotion etc, bring it. Group sunscreen and aloe will also be purchased. If you need chafe cream, bring it.

A cup:
People want to give you booze, or soup, or flavored water or something. They are not going to give you a cup, or silverware, or a plate. If you want those things. carry them. I usually can get away with just a cup.
I have something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Coffee-Cup-Camping-Travel-3-5-diameter/dp/B005FJE5HA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1404332088&sr=8-5&keywords=metal+camping+cup
carbabiner to outside of backpack and VOILA.

Ziplock bags:
You are responsible for your trash. If you have gross trash, you are still responsible for carrying back to camp with you. Have a ziplock in your backpack for this purpose. Putting tampons, poopy wipes etc in the porta-potties is ABSOLUTELY NOT OKAY. They go in your ziplock along with candy wrappers and grilled cheese smeared napkins.

Other stuff to carry/always have:
Hand sanitizer. There is often none at the portapotties. same goes for toliet paper.
Blinky stuff/lights. Half the fun of burning man is to get lost. Sometimes you wander for so long it's dark. If you are walking in the dark without lights on you you run a very good risk of getting hit by an art car. We call these people Darkwads and they are not looked on favorably. I often carry a bunch of glow bracelets for the express purpose of tagging darkwads for their own safety. Light your front and back at a minimum. Feel free to go crazy. More is better.
*Your bike lock. If you don't lock your bike, you will lose your bike. Then your ass is walking. And its far.

Medication: I bring a costco sized bottle of ibuprofen, benadryl and immodium to camp, as well as bandage stuff, some burn cream and blister treatments.

Ear Plugs: It's loud. Depending on where you camp maybe really loud. You probably want to sleep at some point. Bring some ear plugs.

So, here is what I did. First time burner. I ordered a bunch of EL Wire off of Amazon for cheap (exact pack I got: http://www.amazon.com/Neon-Glowing-Strobing-Electroluminescent-Wires/dp/B003J9BD50/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1312231941&sr=8-4), and then went through the womens sections in a bunch of different stores. Why Women's? Because, for some reason, their clothes are more fun. At Old Navy I got an XXL Womens Turtleneck and a damaged v-neckish jacket thing. I turned the Jacket into a vest. I got 3/4 of a yard of Fur from Jo Anns, took some old pants, turned them into fur pants with fabric glue (It's really easy, honestly. Cut some fur off the yard, put glue on it, put on pants). And then, I went to Goodwill and got some more womens clothing... A long Zebra jacket that I'm gonna put EL Wire on, a small fur vest, and some white beach pants.

My outfits, basically, are -

All White fur Pants + Turtle neck + Fur Vest = Nighttime Party time
Zebra Print Jacket + Fur Pants = Zesty Night Funtastic Bombastic
Jacket-turned Vest + Sleeves from it on legs = Halfnaked Daytime Fun
Beach Pants + Jacket turned Vest = Slammin Not-naked daytime Adventuretime

I just made up those names on the spot... but you get the picture. It's pretty easy. I put the leftover fur on my bike, and on my goggles, and I still have some left. I think I'll just put it randomly on some clothes. I use the EL Wire + safety pins to highlight my clothes.

Double edit: Ask your female friends if you can raid their closets for burning man gear. Chances are, if your friends are awesome, they'll get totally excited and give you a bunch of ridiculous shit. Also, they'll probably want to get drunk and dress you up in stupid shit. It's win-win. Get out of your comfort zone! I did. It's my first burn, FUCK IT!

I used 2x 150W roof panels that I got off of ebay for $330 shipped and a cheap amazon pwm charge controller combined with 3 marine deep cycle batteries. Just keep in mind that panels these days are very cheap, you should try to pay less than a dollar a watt, I would avoid buying panels from Harbor Freight as they can end up costing over $5/W (the only advantage they have is portability which could be a big deal I suppose) (The goal zero 90W panel would cost you $5.56/W).

Here is the posting that I bough from last year, I have been very happy with the panels, keep in mind these things are heavy so with shipping $330 is a pretty darn good price. http://r.ebay.com/4SCK9w

Amazon PWM charge controller (I bought this one because the lcd displays voltage levels, current in and out, and usage over time for the input and output) http://amzn.com/B00JMLPP12

Image of the setup from last year: http://imgur.com/a/AuM03

EDIT:
The pwm controller has a built in dusk dawn timer system so you can feed your lighting right off the unit. Or for high power stuff just tap right off the batteries (fuses would probably be a good idea...). We ran a couple 12V swamp coolers, a couple inverters, and a couple lipo chargers (charged 10+ large lipo packs a day for personal led lighting). And we never even came close to using the full 300W.

Wow! Thank you you've answered all my questions about power needs.

Now all I need to figure out is details of actual wiring and construction.

Is it really as simple as this diagram would imply? Can I hook a fan like this one up to it directly or would I need an intermediary?

Would I be able to split it off into a car power thingy to charge phones and the like?

Thank you again.

*Forgot the fan. Also do you know if 90CFM is enough airflow for an air cooler? From the tutorials I've seen it should be, but more I'm thinking would be better, no?

Thanks for the advice! I think we're gonna use those for our camp area or flag pole and these for my bike so I don't have to worry about the solar panel on something essential. Plus the blinking modes on the battery powered one are way better and more interesting.

Sweet, I highly advise one. Harnessing the playa winds with a kite is veeeeery enjoyable and handing it off to a passerby for a spin may just top it off. I have one similar to this, and it rocks. Hoping it has a little more power than a standard one to lift up my camera...

https://www.amazon.com/Prism-Kite-Technology-Snapshot-Sports/dp/B000XG5ZZQ

Based on how big of a space you need you probably will need a pretty heavy duty fan.

I chose the Endless Breeze that has been discussed endlessly (haha!) for oversized swamp coolers (2.6 amps for 920cfm):
https://www.amazon.com/Fan-Tastic-01100WH-Endless-Breeze-Stand/dp/B0000AY2Z6

Also, this one is a new one that I don't know how effective it is but moves a good amount of more air (2.8 amps for 1700):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JI0KOWG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

FWIW I gotta recommend Duracell's Procell for bulk batteries. :)

Also if youre into radio stuff, have you checked out these VHF/UHF handsets? They are freaking amazing.

Actually I literally poured it down a drain last time since I had to do it in a parking lot and it was too much water to put on the ground without causing a mini-river. And also, maybe check out Pinker's guide to style. You can get a copy here:https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Style-Thinking-Persons-Writing/dp/0143127799

In it, you will learn that texts, internet comments, and tweets are commonly referenced using the "said" indicator, something that most mainstream news sites do too.

So congrats, you played yourself.

Just use additional fittings to make your shade the size you want. Black Rock Hardware sells them 10x12, I don't think I would want to go much over that but if you have been before you have probably seen flat top shade that is much bigger than 10x10. I know ours was at least 15x 40 last year.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06VY4TSNC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072Q8QBNW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://creativeshelters.com/canopy-kits/display?sku=KFRC

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Just make sure the EMT size matches the fitting size. I'd use 1" EMT when increasing the span over 10 feet or if building in an unsheltered area- say during early burn.

This is what we use. Works great, fills up five gallon cans in a couple of minutes. I think I bought it from amazon. These are siphon pumps, and will work for all sorts of liquids, including gas.
You can get battery operated ones for $15. Link to Amazon

My Crayola thermos has gone with me to two burns and again this year! I really love it. I usually have a mixed drink of my own in the thermos itself and use the crayon tip as a cup at bars and then just attach via carabiner.

you mean something like this? https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Denier-Nylon-Ripstop-Fabric/dp/B00MX4R7CU/ref=sr_1_3?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyM3Vkbuq4wIVTNbACh37ygIIEAAYASAAEgKOvPD_BwE&hvadid=241921771835&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9004153&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=8791363682047199877&hvtargid=kwd-6274883795&hydadcr=24632_10399690&keywords=waterproof+tent+fabric&qid=1562765556&s=gateway&sr=8-3

I assume that the mesh panel on my tent is unzipped/uncovered since it's a mesh panel and I need to buy something to DIY. Sorry for the redundancies, just trying to put in some orders :)

Better buy in boxes of 500. Makes shipping easier: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072193HML/ref=psdc_3742221_t3_B01AG923GI

(NOTE: this is a non-serious answer, and these only work if you're also going to control them with a separate Arduino; don't buy these on a whim expecting to just turn them on)

Congrats! If you're in that stage of pregnancy where you're peeing more than normal (which is most of it, IIRC), a urinal might be a really nice thing to have. We use things like this in the hospital, and I've taken one with me to burning man for years now, and it saves me from the trek to the portos in the middle of the night.


(Not a woman, never been pregnant, but RN. Take this with a grain of salt)

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https://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Urinal-32oz-1000ml-Standard/dp/B06ZYKY44Q/ref=sr_1_4?crid=X7FAEMO01BH4&keywords=urinals+for+men&qid=1559078770&s=gateway&sprefix=urinal%2Caps%2C863&sr=8-4

As of this writing, you can get the Dolomite for $184 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mongoose-Mens-Dolomite-Boys-Cruiser/dp/B00J7J40TM?ie=UTF8&keywords=mongoose+dolomite&qid=1462162350&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

I took the Hitch (slightly newer model of the same thing) out last year, and loved it. Both it and the Dolomite are 7-speed.

There are a whole heap of commonly-applied upgrades to these bikes that you can find here: http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/dolo-semi-wild-mongoose-dolomite-902410.html

Use mountain bike tires that have the almost continuous rubber strip down the middle. It's effectively like having a narrow tire on pavement and a fat tire on the playa. https://www.amazon.ca/Raleigh-Centre-Raised-Mountain-Presta/dp/B06Y1676JP

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I used a Mongoose Dolomite 7 speed fat tire bike this year and it was excellent. Sand dunes that made all my other friends suddenly spin were no challenge at all. The big mass of the bike makes effectively no difference when you never go up or down hills! Others would regularly complain for me to go slower, and some of them were yoga/runner types, who were just working a lot harder than me in order to maintain the same speed.

http://www.amazon.com/Mongoose-Mens-Dolomite-Boys-Cruiser/dp/B00J7J40TM

I would say that the gear shifting is probably not needed, if I were to do it again I would probably do a fixed gear bike - I very rarely was shifting, and its just another thing to deal with maintaining.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

Link to Amazon

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^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

Interesting project!

I investigated similar options a few years ago. As a ham radio operator, I was passingly familiar with APRS, which is a 20-year old networked position reporting protocol with some available hardware. It turns out that the Black Rock Amateur Radio Association for years has been running a permanent solar-powered APRS repeater on top of Razorback Mountain, which overlooks BRC. It is linked to a similar station in Gerlach, which relays to the internet. If you zoom out a bit from http://aprs.fi/#!addr=black%20rock%20city%2C%20nv you can see the stations RAZOR and GERLCH along with whoever is running APRS in the area at the moment.

The last few years, we've been putting APRS trackers on some art cars, which is accessible to anyone with an APRS receiver or via any participant network connected smartphone via an on-playa live map server (currently down) accessible to anyone on the BRC participant network.

If you have or get a ham license, you can standalone trackers for ~$120 or so, or can combine a $30 Baofeng ham radio with an old android phone running APRSDroid to do two-way position reporting.

Yea, this didn't smell at all, just keeping stuff from growing. Splash of bleach, good to go.

Going to try this Electric Radiator fan. 12VDC, 2.8 amps, 1700 CFM @ 2800 RPM

I have a 100w renology panel and this charge controller. They fed into a 100AH deep cycle battery from costco and kept my swamp cooler, cell phone charger, and LED lighting running all week last year.

You need to use a deep cycle or marine battery as they are designed to be run down lower and more often. As for wire, the panel has a short cable so I bought an extension and wired that directly to the controller. I believe I used 12 gauge solid core wire for the connection from the controller to the battery. all ,my stuff connects straight to the battery, however I want to add a terminal bank to make it easier.

A piece of PVC pipe, some LED strips or EL Wire zip tied around it in a spiral and there ya go. You could make something like that in 20 minutes.

To do it on the cheap and easy, order these, each strand is 9ft long. Take the battery pack to Home Depot and find a 10ft length of PVC that it will fit inside of, probably 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" and get a couple end caps.

Drill a hole in the end caps and stuff the battery packs inside each end, run the EL Wire out the hold and around the pole. Zip tie in place and there ya go.

Not fancy or anything, but dead simple and cheap. LED strips would be brighter.

An LED strip like this rigged to a 12v power supply, batteries stuffed into the PVC would work and be a lot brighter. Plus you'd have a remote for changing the colors.

Buy two of these, place battery packs in pockets(assuming you have pockets). Stitch light threads around coat in interesting manner. Done. Honestly, if you're wearing it at night because you're cold, adding lights is going to make it look more interesting(and functional) than trying to mess with dying/coloring it. \http://www.amazon.com/Operated-RTGS-Products-Satisfaction-Guarantee/dp/B004E328A4/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1407343277&sr=1-2&keywords=led+light+string+battery

> https://www.amazon.com/Prism-Kite-Technology-Snapshot-Sports/dp/B000XG5ZZQ

thank you for this! I actually ended up buying a sport kite a day ago - will McGyvre the Gopro to it since I cant have a kite mount shipped in time!

that'd do it; i don't know why you'd need two inverters though.

also you want a deep cycle battery rather than a regular car one as car batteries are designed for short bursts of high energy rather than a sustained drain. deep cycle batteries are used for running the electricity on boats and RVs. make sure to get one that's "100ah" or higher. that's essentially the amount of power available in the battery and the more you have the longer you can power your stuff. you can get two and connect them in parallel (google image this for a diagram) to increase your available energy.

you'll also want to get a battery charge reader so you can monitor how much charge the battery has. a full charged battery is 12.6v, and you should turn everything off and recharge if you dip down to 12v as that's around 50% charge and anything less than that will actually kill your battery and it won't charge again.

definitely don't do the gennie, we have enough air and noise pollution out there...


battery
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Power-Group-45978-Battery/dp/B0044Z8DJW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374787029&sr=8-1&keywords=UPG+UB121000

combine these two items to create a battery charge reader
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00065L2D8/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EVWDU0/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I like this one.

• small-ish means you won't get served 32 oz of mystery cocktail and forget to drink it before it gets warm and have to haul it out in your graywater
  
  
• leak proof lid
  
  
• lid loop easy to attach to your bag with a carabiner
  

Simple steel cup with a handle
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FJE5HA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

small enough if you get bad drinks
too small if you get good ones
no lid, so you might be an expert to drink and bike while bar hoping :P
Buy some carabiner to attach the cup to your belt/bag

Good tip: stick a copy of your ID on the side

http://www.amazon.com/Neon-Glowing-Strobing-Electroluminescent-Wires/dp/B003J9BD50/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407785817&sr=8-2&keywords=el+wire+kit

< 20 $ for a 4 pack...

Elwire isn't expensive...

Velcro Zip Ties + EL wire kit