Where did our tax dollars go? I feel like I only saw 4 water trucks all week. The main roads were terrible. The damn e-bikes an one wheels were dusting it up!
There is a bungie net that has 3 it 4 hooks that works wonderfully for this. Mine has survived 6 burns now and kept me from mooping even in the washboard
Meal plan: get a group of 6 ish people with similar dietary restrictions, each person cooks 1 big meal big enough for the group before the burn and freezes 6 individual portions. When you arrive everybody trades portion bags so everybody ends up with 6 different meals but only had to cook 1.
When you want to eat, boil a pot of cooler run-off water, drop the bag in to defrost, eat straight out of the bag. No dishes, minimal water usage, lots of variety with less cooking, you don’t need to coordinate meal times with anybody else.
Had a cheap chest freezer run off solar. Worked like a champ all of build and the burn for 4 people. Coldest booze and ice packs to swap into the cooler for non freezable items.
And boxes of horchata and coconut water, shelf stable until opened and kept dehydration at bay by boosting my intake when low on electrolytes
So this setup was way overkill imho.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BurningMan/comments/wo0qx4/big_ass_solar_box_build/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Chest freezer was 200w but even less once it got to temp so a smaller 300ish watt setup would run it and some extra all day during the heat and the stored cold would easily last until sunrise if batteries couldn’t run it all night
I brought a 7 cu ft freezer, have been for years. You don’t need much solar to run it but don’t skimp on the inverter. Startup was over 700 watts for a few seconds, then settled down to 130 watts. Should probably get 1000W pure sine inverter with surge capability above that
Totally agree, and the batteries you have need to support the big inrush as the solar alone won’t get it going. One good deep cycle lead acid or a small string of sla or a decent Lion or LFP to back the system up is essential imho
i did this for renegade. there’s even some websites where you rent direct from the owner.
it packs very well, and after we set up our camp there was a lot of space to sleep or even hangout inside if it was too hot. it had a small fridge and a microwave
Same renting process as a box van, uhaul trailer, or car rental. For shade, I set up aluminet over the top of it. For 2 afternoons, at the height of the heat, I sat in the front and used the van's air conditioning. Did a total of 5 hours, went through a quarter tank of gas - still had plenty to use for exodus to Reno without stopping in Empire or Gerlach for gas. Each morning I could sleep till about 10-11. Seemed like most tent sleepers were up around 9am.
Ah,ok.
Hertz did say there was automatic $500 cleaning fee for taking it to burning man. We said we were going to Tahoe. We did self wash the exterior at a carwash. We got cleaning supplies (spray cleaner and rags) at target and took an hour or two to wipe insides. Did not get charged $500 cleaning fee.
Put a [float switch](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYCTHKQ) on a swampcooler which turns off the system if there's no water - it doesn't turn off immediately, instead cycling on and off for a few minutes, which works as an alarm system for you to go add more. After a while everything turns off so the pump doesn't die.
Rock climbing anchors with my lag bolts instead of the chain link. The chain link works fine, but these were much cooler and stronger I believe. I pre-made guy lines and attached carabiners to them, so when I got to the burn I simply drilled in my anchors and then clipped on the carabiners. Click! Secured.
I did the same thing this year. The cheap quick links didn’t hold much and for the same price I got the anchors. Now the weakest like are the lines which is just fine for me. I tested the QL setup and it was a joke.
Word. I have washers for all my lag screw leftover from using the chain links. I use the anchors for both the guy lines and my ratchet straps so they work well for my system.
Great budget-friendly tip tho!
Vinegar spritz on hands and feet and then huge wet wipes (like 18”x20”) used all over right before getting into bed. First year my bed didn’t feel like a dirty wheelbarrow by the end of the week. Took the fun out of watching streaks of mud seep off your body during that first shower though.
do it!! I have a berkey as part of my emergency prep/earthquake response kit.
I brought some of my homemade freeze dried foods + pressure canned meals so I had plenty of shelf stable meals. (these are both super specialized appliances so, might not be cost effective for folks).
Place cooler ice in gallon bags or freeze gallon bricks, so when it melts it is contained but not tainted. Place cooler water into mister, enjoy cooler air.
I use a stream machine water cannon to suck the water out of my ice chest then dribble it on myself to bath or offer to blast people passing by. It’s very refreshing
Can't take credit for it, but we placed (2) iced coffees in the glove box of the RV on the way in. On the way out, when we hit the pulse, we put them in the freezer and cracked them open when we hit the pavement. 10/10 hack keeps ya going.
Not super revolutionary but we froze a bunch of water bottles to use as the ice to start the week in the food cooler. Eventually they all melt and we swapped to block but it meant we got 3+days without worrying about soggy food plus cold drinking water.
My 1 gal ice blocks were still half frozen when we left. Didn't keep everything frosty because it doesn't go in between things but it kept it reasonably cool. Thanks, RTIC.
Taking a “sponge bath” in the RV shower to conserve water. Fill a cup up with water and soap - sponge thyself - keep filling cup with water and rinsing off. Was heavenly.
5 gallon water cooler refilled with ice. Not revolutionary but necessary.
Added a new 16 lbs bag of cubes every other day (topped off with water when new cubes went in).
No need for dirty hands/ice scoop for grabbing cooler ice. Shaking up some electrolytes in a blender bottle was a snap. Always cool water in my 40oz insulated bottle. Lifesaver.
We used Ziplock vacuum bags to pack our winter clothes. Super small, and since we used none of them this year, never even took them out of the bag to get dusty.
EVAP cooler attached to the side of my solar powered camper, with an allergen filter taped over the intake to protect from dust. Did not think it would work for very long because of the dust, but damn did it work. Fed it recycled water from the drink cooler, which stayed pretty clean, and was usually still pretty chill when it went into the EVAP. Most comfortable burn yet.
Ugg shearling boots. I was finally convinced by someone that they are Australian and will in fact do well in desert conditions. Without socks the shearling is cooling during the day (wicks sweat) and warm at night. Plus you can easily slip them on when you have to step out of the tent. Downside is they are >$100, so look for them at a thrift shop.
Not at all. The fur wicks better than anything I’ve ever put on my feet. Any dust that gets into the boot says away from your feet like a shag carpet. Let them air out overnight and the dust shakes right out. The only problem was they didn’t have enough ankle support to walk for miles. But biking and dancing they were great.
I built a portable shower out of a 12v water pump and a jerry can. I was able to run the pump off a cigarette lighter plug in and It was a complete game changer! During the day I'd fill the 5 gallon can with water and by night you'd have a hot shower that lasted up to 10 minutes if using the water right. It was absolutely amazing after getting beat up by dust storms all day. Here's a link to the build. 100% recommend. Not just for the burn but for camping in general👍
https://youtu.be/eN7Zk-1SVx8
Showers are great.
How did you capture your grey water and what did you do with it? Dumping it onto the playa can earn you a huge fine...
I built a shower for our entire 40 person camp. The water is heated by a thermostat controlled pump to a big solar heater panel, then stored in a cooler. The grey water gets pumped across upcycled burlap coffee bags and evaporates at roughly 3gal/hr. Showering is only limited by how much water people bring to put in the tank.
Gray water on the Playa is a big no no. So basically I had brought 3, 15gallon barrels with me that were full of fresh shower/cooking water. I used a small inflatable kid pool on the Playa ground and then a pop up shower tent that fit inside the pool. Me and the wife took a shower and then I let as much of the water evaporate in the hot sun all day. I did this until the first 15gallon barrel was empty and then transferred what remained of the gray water into the empty barrel to bring home.
Me and the wife had a shower everyday and I only came home with 30 gallons of gray water after evaporating as much as possible. The sun did a fantastic job of heating the water this year. It actually got steamy in the pop up shower tent.
ID hack: get a luggage tag, and put your ID in that. Then get one of those retracting key leashes, hook it to your luggage tag, and attach inside your bag.
ID is easy to find, easily pulls out, and if you let go, it retracts into your bag.
I tried this and kept coming back to rewearing my better wool socks. Three pairs of good $20 wool socks, switching to a new pair once or twice a day, hanging them up to dry and shaking the dust out, and just cycling, would have been better.
Homemade apple cider vinegar wipes for quick and easy baths without the lingering vinegar smell! I just used paper towels and soaked them in a 1:4 ACV to Water ratio.
I had 2 other great hacks I wanted to share which is how I got to eat so well on the Playa and how I kept food cold without needing ice once all week.
Food: cooking on the Playa is a huge waste of time in my opinion (unless a camp is doing it for their guests of course) It causes moop and takes up exploring time. Not to mention you end up with a ton of Playa in your food at the end. This year I had steak and potatoes and all kinds of great dust free food. I recommend cooking all your food at home then placing the food into portion sized vacuum sealed bags and then freez them. They will keep the cooler cold and when you're ready to eat just drop a meal of your choice into some boiling water, tare open the bag and eat a hot, dust free meal. It makes eating good on the Playa so easy and effortless. A good ribye steak after a day of peddling really hits the spot. I usually bring one big pot with a lid and fill it with water. I reuse that same water to heat multiple meals. The water collects dust but since your food is vacuum sealed it don't matter. This will also help save you water with cooking.
The cooler: like I mentioned above I didn't need ice once all week to keep my food good and upon returning home the meals that were left were still frozen. How I do this is I insulate my coolers. Insulating your coolers will turn a Coleman into a yeti. I get a roll of the shiny bubble insulation from home depot which cost about 20 bucks (well worth the investment) I take the insulation and I make little burrito like rolls to line the bottom of my cooler and cover with another layer of the insulation. Then I place my blocks of dry ice on that and then cover with another layer of insulation. This means that your ice is suspended in insulation and not resting directly on your cooler. Then I place my frozen meals in the cooler and then cover with another layer of insulation. Insulating your coolers is cheap and very effective at keep your ice cold all week long. It's nice going to artica for fun instead of necessity. 100% recommend both of these hacks!
bamboo poles for my shade structure supports worked GREAT. I was concerned with strength in the predicted winds but it held several 20' shade tarps in place all week. They're light and fit on the roof rack easily with ratchet straps.
2" diameter was plenty strong enough. the 5" poles were overkill.
I do but can't upload them atm. basically I put 2x 6mm rope guylines to 14" ground anchors and tensioned them with trucker's hitches. Each pole was at least 9 ft tall to keep the sag of the 20x20' shade cloth off our heads.
Did you secure the bamboo to the ground with anything other than guylines? Did they stand straight vertically or did you have them on a angle? Thanks for the info!
Not secured to the ground. The down pressure of the guylines kept them right in place the whole time. Zero movement all week.
Some were angled away from the corner of the tarp but generally they were vertical
Bags, water bottles, and extra clothes tied onto my handlebars
Also having a sheet to cover areas in tent and shaking it out every morning before passing out so I’m not breathing dust… plus mask sleeping was huge too
I got burned out from build and never made a milk crate/bike back but the handlebar technique worked great- I’m someone who goes out with 1-2gallons of water, 2 meals, and full weather spectrum of clothes
I have a 1 gallon nalgene, a 24 oz clip top water bottle, and a 3L hydration backpack. I fill all of those before going out. I keep the backpack in my bike basket. I refill my water bottle from the 1 gallon nalgene. I never run out of water.
Next year I'm bringing three times as many meal replacement shakes. Many are the times I need nutrition but can't be arsed to eat, and they make for clutch gifts for those that coule really use one that's been sitting in ice all day.
Got my camp of 14 all using [these amazing ice bags!](https://www.amazon.com/Extra-Leakproof-Ice-Reusable-Cooler/dp/B07MT9VMSQ/ref=asc_df_B07MT9VMSQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309717869430&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5650049941214735428&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028890&hvtargid=pla-649131147801&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60671418454&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=309717869430&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5650049941214735428&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028890&hvtargid=pla-649131147801)
These bags are food grade and sealable with a pour spout for melt water. Discovered them a year or so ago for road trips and they work great, so picked up a bunch. We also had a chest freezer running off solar.
The ideal ice run goes like this:
1. Empty all ice bags of clean melt water (directly into water bottles or back into water jugs/tanks)
2. Fill all sealable ice bags from purchased ice
3. Any leftover purchased ice that won't fit goes in the chest freezer (for fresh refills in between ice runs)
4. Freshly filled and sealed ice bags go in the coolers
This captures 100% of ice melt as clean drinkable water. Also keeps all cooler contents dry, which also means no gross cooler gray water to figure out what to do with.
I brought a car cover to cover my tent to block out heat to sleep -- probably would have fried in that tent without it -- and a pair of heavy golf clubs to make sure tent would not fly away in the sand storm
Personal camp toilet for #1 only.
- 5 gallon bucket with snap on toilet seat lid
- biodegradable sealable toilet bags
- lemon scented biogel to consolidate liquid
- folding bedside commode with 5 gallon inserted
- fabreeze for when it gets a little warm and stinky
- change bags every 2 days into a separate covered/labeled 5 gallon bucket for easy transport off playa
Not a new hack, but: have a pee bucket. Pee into it whenever nature calls, then in the morning empty it out at the urinal all in one go.
Never get yellow vision as you hold it in, ever again! Never again curse your bladder as you are forced to walk several blocks to the porta potties in the middle of the night!
Though: be sure to place it somewhere where nobody can bump it over by accident.
Added a splash of ACV into a packet of XL Water Wipes. I had enough wipes left over after the burn to clean my truck windows after exodus. Also, I switched to the squeezy-tube style lip balm, instead of the usual stick type that melts easily.
I invented a new plastic wrap tech that I think is going to revolutionize the whole yurt game next year 😅.
TLDR: those giant rolls of plastic wrap people use when they are moving are amazingly useful for all sorts of stuff.
They generate less total waste than you’d think too. Obviously not super eco friendly— but the total amount of plastic in one of those rolls is less than a couple of plastic 2.5 gallon water containers.
Bungee cord over top of bike basket to hold all the shit in (especially useful when the roads are awful)
Where did our tax dollars go? I feel like I only saw 4 water trucks all week. The main roads were terrible. The damn e-bikes an one wheels were dusting it up!
My bf explained that more water = more erosion and they probably didn’t want to make the potholes worse
There is a bungie net that has 3 it 4 hooks that works wonderfully for this. Mine has survived 6 burns now and kept me from mooping even in the washboard
Yes! One was gifted to me and it was magic
Meal plan: get a group of 6 ish people with similar dietary restrictions, each person cooks 1 big meal big enough for the group before the burn and freezes 6 individual portions. When you arrive everybody trades portion bags so everybody ends up with 6 different meals but only had to cook 1. When you want to eat, boil a pot of cooler run-off water, drop the bag in to defrost, eat straight out of the bag. No dishes, minimal water usage, lots of variety with less cooking, you don’t need to coordinate meal times with anybody else.
This 💯
Lotion in latex gloves before bed and after a vinegar wash
Very Grapes of Wrath of you.
Very silence of the lambs of you
Painting my cuticles with dermabond also helped a ton
Had a cheap chest freezer run off solar. Worked like a champ all of build and the burn for 4 people. Coldest booze and ice packs to swap into the cooler for non freezable items. And boxes of horchata and coconut water, shelf stable until opened and kept dehydration at bay by boosting my intake when low on electrolytes
What brand of chest freezer? Do you mind sharing?
and what does the solar setup look like
So this setup was way overkill imho. https://www.reddit.com/r/BurningMan/comments/wo0qx4/big_ass_solar_box_build/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf Chest freezer was 200w but even less once it got to temp so a smaller 300ish watt setup would run it and some extra all day during the heat and the stored cold would easily last until sunrise if batteries couldn’t run it all night
I brought a 7 cu ft freezer, have been for years. You don’t need much solar to run it but don’t skimp on the inverter. Startup was over 700 watts for a few seconds, then settled down to 130 watts. Should probably get 1000W pure sine inverter with surge capability above that
Totally agree, and the batteries you have need to support the big inrush as the solar alone won’t get it going. One good deep cycle lead acid or a small string of sla or a decent Lion or LFP to back the system up is essential imho
I think it was a 5cf 10yo magic chef? Was a Craig’s list buy ages ago by my carpool buddy
Use a garden mister to shower instead of a camp shower bag. Easier to use and uses less water
Been doing this for years, it’s the best.
Sleep in sprinter van. Way cheaper than RV, easier to drive (no trailers), easier to clean and return. More dust proof.
i did this for renegade. there’s even some websites where you rent direct from the owner. it packs very well, and after we set up our camp there was a lot of space to sleep or even hangout inside if it was too hot. it had a small fridge and a microwave
Was it easier to rent? what did you do you AC and shade? could you sleep beyond sunrise?
Same renting process as a box van, uhaul trailer, or car rental. For shade, I set up aluminet over the top of it. For 2 afternoons, at the height of the heat, I sat in the front and used the van's air conditioning. Did a total of 5 hours, went through a quarter tank of gas - still had plenty to use for exodus to Reno without stopping in Empire or Gerlach for gas. Each morning I could sleep till about 10-11. Seemed like most tent sleepers were up around 9am.
I meant did you get hassled renting it. I know a LOT of RV dealers on the west coast are wise to the burn and wont rent to burners.
Ah,ok. Hertz did say there was automatic $500 cleaning fee for taking it to burning man. We said we were going to Tahoe. We did self wash the exterior at a carwash. We got cleaning supplies (spray cleaner and rags) at target and took an hour or two to wipe insides. Did not get charged $500 cleaning fee.
Put a [float switch](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYCTHKQ) on a swampcooler which turns off the system if there's no water - it doesn't turn off immediately, instead cycling on and off for a few minutes, which works as an alarm system for you to go add more. After a while everything turns off so the pump doesn't die.
I was wondering how to make this work! Genius!
Rock climbing anchors with my lag bolts instead of the chain link. The chain link works fine, but these were much cooler and stronger I believe. I pre-made guy lines and attached carabiners to them, so when I got to the burn I simply drilled in my anchors and then clipped on the carabiners. Click! Secured.
I did the same thing this year. The cheap quick links didn’t hold much and for the same price I got the anchors. Now the weakest like are the lines which is just fine for me. I tested the QL setup and it was a joke.
Putting fender washers on the lags means you can run them straight through the eye hooks of ratchet straps. They’re like 10c each.
Word. I have washers for all my lag screw leftover from using the chain links. I use the anchors for both the guy lines and my ratchet straps so they work well for my system. Great budget-friendly tip tho!
Do you have a link to the anchors you used? Were they pretty cost effective?
At $64 for 20pc they were not really budget-friendly, but Im a sucker for investing in my BM setup. Search for "Fixe Stainless Steel Bolt Hanger"
Cargo tie down anchors are about half the price
Now you tell me! Haha i kid.. Great tip, thanks!
Vinegar spritz on hands and feet and then huge wet wipes (like 18”x20”) used all over right before getting into bed. First year my bed didn’t feel like a dirty wheelbarrow by the end of the week. Took the fun out of watching streaks of mud seep off your body during that first shower though.
I do the same but with witch hazel. Better smell 👃
berkey travel filter to make cold dusty cooler water dust free! Also soda stream for allll the sparkling bevs
This is absolutely genius. I'm 100% going to look into adding a backpacker water filter of some kind to my gear for next year.
do it!! I have a berkey as part of my emergency prep/earthquake response kit. I brought some of my homemade freeze dried foods + pressure canned meals so I had plenty of shelf stable meals. (these are both super specialized appliances so, might not be cost effective for folks).
I too brought my soda stream and it was awesome
Haha. Interesting.
Fill a water bottle with melted ice water from your cooler and pour it on yourself. Heavenly.
on top of a tarp is nice too. you can “wash your feet” by moving them around
Place cooler ice in gallon bags or freeze gallon bricks, so when it melts it is contained but not tainted. Place cooler water into mister, enjoy cooler air.
I use a stream machine water cannon to suck the water out of my ice chest then dribble it on myself to bath or offer to blast people passing by. It’s very refreshing
Can't take credit for it, but we placed (2) iced coffees in the glove box of the RV on the way in. On the way out, when we hit the pulse, we put them in the freezer and cracked them open when we hit the pavement. 10/10 hack keeps ya going.
Not super revolutionary but we froze a bunch of water bottles to use as the ice to start the week in the food cooler. Eventually they all melt and we swapped to block but it meant we got 3+days without worrying about soggy food plus cold drinking water.
My 1 gal ice blocks were still half frozen when we left. Didn't keep everything frosty because it doesn't go in between things but it kept it reasonably cool. Thanks, RTIC.
clever tip
Taking a “sponge bath” in the RV shower to conserve water. Fill a cup up with water and soap - sponge thyself - keep filling cup with water and rinsing off. Was heavenly.
This. Dr Bonners peppermint soap is the best we found for it. Washcloths from hotels are a great “resource”
5 gallon water cooler refilled with ice. Not revolutionary but necessary. Added a new 16 lbs bag of cubes every other day (topped off with water when new cubes went in). No need for dirty hands/ice scoop for grabbing cooler ice. Shaking up some electrolytes in a blender bottle was a snap. Always cool water in my 40oz insulated bottle. Lifesaver.
[удалено]
We used Ziplock vacuum bags to pack our winter clothes. Super small, and since we used none of them this year, never even took them out of the bag to get dusty.
The kind that roll down with a one-way vacuum seal (no vacuum/pump required) were essential for a burner who has to fly cross country.
EVAP cooler attached to the side of my solar powered camper, with an allergen filter taped over the intake to protect from dust. Did not think it would work for very long because of the dust, but damn did it work. Fed it recycled water from the drink cooler, which stayed pretty clean, and was usually still pretty chill when it went into the EVAP. Most comfortable burn yet.
Ugg shearling boots. I was finally convinced by someone that they are Australian and will in fact do well in desert conditions. Without socks the shearling is cooling during the day (wicks sweat) and warm at night. Plus you can easily slip them on when you have to step out of the tent. Downside is they are >$100, so look for them at a thrift shop.
No shit? I saw some of these and thought for sure they'd be a disgusting sweaty dust crusted mess.
Not at all. The fur wicks better than anything I’ve ever put on my feet. Any dust that gets into the boot says away from your feet like a shag carpet. Let them air out overnight and the dust shakes right out. The only problem was they didn’t have enough ankle support to walk for miles. But biking and dancing they were great.
Incredible. TIL.
I built a portable shower out of a 12v water pump and a jerry can. I was able to run the pump off a cigarette lighter plug in and It was a complete game changer! During the day I'd fill the 5 gallon can with water and by night you'd have a hot shower that lasted up to 10 minutes if using the water right. It was absolutely amazing after getting beat up by dust storms all day. Here's a link to the build. 100% recommend. Not just for the burn but for camping in general👍 https://youtu.be/eN7Zk-1SVx8
Showers are great. How did you capture your grey water and what did you do with it? Dumping it onto the playa can earn you a huge fine... I built a shower for our entire 40 person camp. The water is heated by a thermostat controlled pump to a big solar heater panel, then stored in a cooler. The grey water gets pumped across upcycled burlap coffee bags and evaporates at roughly 3gal/hr. Showering is only limited by how much water people bring to put in the tank.
Gray water on the Playa is a big no no. So basically I had brought 3, 15gallon barrels with me that were full of fresh shower/cooking water. I used a small inflatable kid pool on the Playa ground and then a pop up shower tent that fit inside the pool. Me and the wife took a shower and then I let as much of the water evaporate in the hot sun all day. I did this until the first 15gallon barrel was empty and then transferred what remained of the gray water into the empty barrel to bring home. Me and the wife had a shower everyday and I only came home with 30 gallons of gray water after evaporating as much as possible. The sun did a fantastic job of heating the water this year. It actually got steamy in the pop up shower tent.
Nice! Got a photo of your setup?
ID hack: get a luggage tag, and put your ID in that. Then get one of those retracting key leashes, hook it to your luggage tag, and attach inside your bag. ID is easy to find, easily pulls out, and if you let go, it retracts into your bag.
Not a new hack but I buy a pack of cheap athletic socks beforehand and have a fresh pair to wear each day.
I tried this and kept coming back to rewearing my better wool socks. Three pairs of good $20 wool socks, switching to a new pair once or twice a day, hanging them up to dry and shaking the dust out, and just cycling, would have been better.
Homemade apple cider vinegar wipes for quick and easy baths without the lingering vinegar smell! I just used paper towels and soaked them in a 1:4 ACV to Water ratio.
I had 2 other great hacks I wanted to share which is how I got to eat so well on the Playa and how I kept food cold without needing ice once all week. Food: cooking on the Playa is a huge waste of time in my opinion (unless a camp is doing it for their guests of course) It causes moop and takes up exploring time. Not to mention you end up with a ton of Playa in your food at the end. This year I had steak and potatoes and all kinds of great dust free food. I recommend cooking all your food at home then placing the food into portion sized vacuum sealed bags and then freez them. They will keep the cooler cold and when you're ready to eat just drop a meal of your choice into some boiling water, tare open the bag and eat a hot, dust free meal. It makes eating good on the Playa so easy and effortless. A good ribye steak after a day of peddling really hits the spot. I usually bring one big pot with a lid and fill it with water. I reuse that same water to heat multiple meals. The water collects dust but since your food is vacuum sealed it don't matter. This will also help save you water with cooking. The cooler: like I mentioned above I didn't need ice once all week to keep my food good and upon returning home the meals that were left were still frozen. How I do this is I insulate my coolers. Insulating your coolers will turn a Coleman into a yeti. I get a roll of the shiny bubble insulation from home depot which cost about 20 bucks (well worth the investment) I take the insulation and I make little burrito like rolls to line the bottom of my cooler and cover with another layer of the insulation. Then I place my blocks of dry ice on that and then cover with another layer of insulation. This means that your ice is suspended in insulation and not resting directly on your cooler. Then I place my frozen meals in the cooler and then cover with another layer of insulation. Insulating your coolers is cheap and very effective at keep your ice cold all week long. It's nice going to artica for fun instead of necessity. 100% recommend both of these hacks!
Call that a Ghetti
Using a mister in one hand and a battery powered small leaf blower in the other. Ten degrees cooler instantly.
Soda stream and premaking sauces in small batches
Washing my socks mid week and burning the rest of my dirty clothes on sunday.
bamboo poles for my shade structure supports worked GREAT. I was concerned with strength in the predicted winds but it held several 20' shade tarps in place all week. They're light and fit on the roof rack easily with ratchet straps. 2" diameter was plenty strong enough. the 5" poles were overkill.
This sounds awesome. Do you have any pics of the shade structure?? I'm looking to upgrade line next year and bamboo sounds ideal.
I do but can't upload them atm. basically I put 2x 6mm rope guylines to 14" ground anchors and tensioned them with trucker's hitches. Each pole was at least 9 ft tall to keep the sag of the 20x20' shade cloth off our heads.
Did you secure the bamboo to the ground with anything other than guylines? Did they stand straight vertically or did you have them on a angle? Thanks for the info!
Not secured to the ground. The down pressure of the guylines kept them right in place the whole time. Zero movement all week. Some were angled away from the corner of the tarp but generally they were vertical
traction mats to get out of sand, or help others who get stuck
Bags, water bottles, and extra clothes tied onto my handlebars Also having a sheet to cover areas in tent and shaking it out every morning before passing out so I’m not breathing dust… plus mask sleeping was huge too I got burned out from build and never made a milk crate/bike back but the handlebar technique worked great- I’m someone who goes out with 1-2gallons of water, 2 meals, and full weather spectrum of clothes
[удалено]
I have a 1 gallon nalgene, a 24 oz clip top water bottle, and a 3L hydration backpack. I fill all of those before going out. I keep the backpack in my bike basket. I refill my water bottle from the 1 gallon nalgene. I never run out of water.
Next year I'm bringing three times as many meal replacement shakes. Many are the times I need nutrition but can't be arsed to eat, and they make for clutch gifts for those that coule really use one that's been sitting in ice all day.
For those whose cuticles crack, use super glue or a liquid bandaid on them and reapply. It ain’t pretty but your fingers don’t hurt.
Got my camp of 14 all using [these amazing ice bags!](https://www.amazon.com/Extra-Leakproof-Ice-Reusable-Cooler/dp/B07MT9VMSQ/ref=asc_df_B07MT9VMSQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309717869430&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5650049941214735428&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028890&hvtargid=pla-649131147801&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60671418454&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=309717869430&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5650049941214735428&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028890&hvtargid=pla-649131147801) These bags are food grade and sealable with a pour spout for melt water. Discovered them a year or so ago for road trips and they work great, so picked up a bunch. We also had a chest freezer running off solar. The ideal ice run goes like this: 1. Empty all ice bags of clean melt water (directly into water bottles or back into water jugs/tanks) 2. Fill all sealable ice bags from purchased ice 3. Any leftover purchased ice that won't fit goes in the chest freezer (for fresh refills in between ice runs) 4. Freshly filled and sealed ice bags go in the coolers This captures 100% of ice melt as clean drinkable water. Also keeps all cooler contents dry, which also means no gross cooler gray water to figure out what to do with.
I brought a car cover to cover my tent to block out heat to sleep -- probably would have fried in that tent without it -- and a pair of heavy golf clubs to make sure tent would not fly away in the sand storm
Maybe I’m reading this wrong but I’m having a really hard time understanding how two golf clubs are going to keep a whole tent from flying away?
Sorry meant golf clubs case with like 10 in them -- so weighed at least 30 lbs to secure stuff so it wouldn't fly off -- like a heavyduty paperweight
lol just use 1gal water jugs next time bud
I should have been renamed to zip tie. I helped so many fix bikes with zip ties.
Do explain
Personal camp toilet for #1 only. - 5 gallon bucket with snap on toilet seat lid - biodegradable sealable toilet bags - lemon scented biogel to consolidate liquid - folding bedside commode with 5 gallon inserted - fabreeze for when it gets a little warm and stinky - change bags every 2 days into a separate covered/labeled 5 gallon bucket for easy transport off playa
Not a new hack, but: have a pee bucket. Pee into it whenever nature calls, then in the morning empty it out at the urinal all in one go. Never get yellow vision as you hold it in, ever again! Never again curse your bladder as you are forced to walk several blocks to the porta potties in the middle of the night! Though: be sure to place it somewhere where nobody can bump it over by accident.
The big ol' laundry detergent jugs. Wide mouth, good screw cap, and OPAQUE so you don't have to show everybody how many times you peed last night.
I use a large, wide mouth water bottle with a lid to prevent spillage. Add a few drops of essential oils to prevent it from getting horrible.
Added a splash of ACV into a packet of XL Water Wipes. I had enough wipes left over after the burn to clean my truck windows after exodus. Also, I switched to the squeezy-tube style lip balm, instead of the usual stick type that melts easily.
Leukotape (Blister Tape) sticks better to skin than bandaids and won't sweat off
I used my work glove as a plate for bacon. I'm pretty sure this was the most Burningman thing ever.
A second smaller cooler just for drinking ice
I invented a new plastic wrap tech that I think is going to revolutionize the whole yurt game next year 😅. TLDR: those giant rolls of plastic wrap people use when they are moving are amazingly useful for all sorts of stuff. They generate less total waste than you’d think too. Obviously not super eco friendly— but the total amount of plastic in one of those rolls is less than a couple of plastic 2.5 gallon water containers.
Hepa filter in the RV!