The first thing I want to mention is Drizabone. I don't know about you, but I have an irrational hatred against rain clothes, especially rain jackets. Frankly, I find that any type of clothing which claims to be remotely waterproof and usually is made of some synthetic scratchy fabric, inevitably comes with the feeling of your skin being slowly suffocated in your own sweat. "Breathable fabric", my bum. And if there's something I hate, it's being cold, wet, clammy and sticky. A couple of years ago I really wouldn't have bothered much about this sort of thing, since any kind or rain/hail/snow was just another perfect excuse to stay inside with my trusty laptop and my tea. But now, I have a dog, and I've always said that if you take on the responsibility of having a dog, you better well make it a hobby and take it for walks. I can appreciate that I do live in Norway, which tends to have water falling from the sky in one form or another rather often, hence I need to find something to wear outside that won't cause my skin to drown in it's own sweat.
One day I read the word Drizabone somewhere, and from the context I could gather that it was something wearable, but that was it. In an uncharacteristic fit of curiosity I google'd it, and ended up on this site. Apparently it's a 100 year old Australian company who makes coats and gear out of oilskin, originally they made long riding coats intended for the Australian "cowboys" in the outback, and they were intended for tough wear in rough weather. Nowadays "Drizabone's" are very popular in Australia, obviously, but also with the ranchers and cowboys in the US, and with the country bumpkins in the UK who match them with their Wellies. They're not exactly fashion items, but the coats are made of natural materials, which breathes, and they're relatively cheap, at least compared to the supposedly "good" brands of foul weather clothing which is quite... Pricey. I'm getting one!
But what about the dog, you say? Nothing makes me more annoyed then seeing
pooches being pimped out in biker jackets or gangsta hoodies, clothes are for humans, not for dogs. But the fact of the matter is that I own a small poodle, which leaves me with two choices whenever the temperatures down here drop below +5 C (which they do quite often): I can either let her fur grow, which means I have a lot of work to do to keep her fur untangled, or I can have her fur cut like it is now, but that would result in her freezing her tail off. And if she gets wet, she's even more of a wuss and starts to shake uncontrollably. It's only fair that she gets one too.Earlier this evening, and I can't remember how, I ended up on a site called Joe Bananas. It's British and they specialize in selling "festival gear", and this site immediately made my gadget-radar go whoop-whoop! Here's a few of the things I found.
- Travel John: It's a bag. Which you can wee into. It contains crystals that solidifies your wee instantly, so you can close it up. Imagine lying in your underwear in a sleeping bag, realizing (very hungover) that you have to get out of the bag, get dressed, get out of the tent, walk three miles and then stand in line to wee, a thing you should've done three hours ago if possible. They claim it should work for both men and women, but I'm not so sure about the latter.
- Urinelle: A disposable cone through which women can wee standing up. Might come in handy on day 5 of the festival, when the port-a-potty looks more like the gateway to the seven circles of hell. Maybe it could be combined with the Travel John?
- Readybrush: Prepasted toothbrush!
- Solar camp shower: Pretty much self explanatory, fill it with water and leave it in the sun, it heats up the
water quickly. Of course, requires both sun and water being available. I won't recommend stuffing it with beer and hanging it over the disposable grill.- Festival pod tent: Single skin instant pop-up tent for one person, waterproof of course. How brilliant is that? "Oh dear, I have to put up my tent..." *FWOOOSH* "There we go! Nighty!"
- Wellingtons: Not exactly a gadget, but they do fit nicely under the category "nifty" when the campsite looks like a mudbath.
But I've saved the best for last. Because, in addition to the waterproof clothes, I also nurture a deep hatred for sleeping bags. Some call them cozy, I call them a torture device. They're clammy, they're too tight, I can't sleep in any of my usual spread-eagle positions, and I can't
turn around in it without it going all wonky. But NO MORE! I have found the solution! The Lippi Selk'Bag. Fantastically stupid name, I agree, but the concept is brilliant. It basically looks like an overgrown thermal jump suit with extra zippers, which you can close around your arms and legs. Or, if you want to be pedantic about it, call it a body-shaped, wearable sleeping bag. You can walk around in it, sit in it, and when you turn around, it doesn't attempt to strangle you! If I don't get this for Christmas I'm buying one myself and not stepping out of it the entire winter. Maybe I should get the tent too, then I can pitch up in my living room, turn off the heat to save money, and stay in there with my Selk'Bag and the wee bag, and never leave. Uhm. On second thought, maybe not... Ew.
