A festival goer's guide to vaping

Published by Matt Brown on 3rd Jul 2017

The sun is (currently) shining, the skies are blue and festival season is at hand. Over the next few months, the UK will play host to a huge range of music festivals - large and small. If you're going to be throwing shapes in a field this summer, our guide to vaping at festivals is a must-read.

Vaping and the great outdoors go together like strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, and a trip to a music fest is no different. Something about being out in the sunshine just makes everything seem a little bit brighter, and many vapers will enjoy using their electronic cigarettes while frantically trying to soak up as much vitamin-D as possible.

The UK is lucky enough to have an eclectic selection of popular music festivals on offer, drawing hundreds of thousands of fans to sites across the country to revel in tunes, atmosphere and (when the weather inevitably sours) muddy puddles.

For vapers, however, there are a few things other than the eternal thermals vs shorts debate to consider at such events.

Policy

First and foremost, you should take the time to check out if there is a specific vaping policy in place at your festival of choice. While most won't make a distinction between smoking and vaping, it's worth enquiring whether you'll be able to use your e-cig inside the beer tent!

Alternatively, don't forget about, Clear Steam, our range of vapourless e-liquids - perfect for when discretion is required. Also available in as a base in our picNIC quick mix bundles.

We've reached out to some of the larger music festivals in the UK for confirmation of their vaping policies and will update this article once they have gotten back in touch.

Safety

Next, safety. While we know from bitter experience what the inside of a tent can look like after 3 days of expensive beer and limited access to washroom facilities, it's especially important to look after your kit.

Batteries especially need to be treated and stored with care. Shoving your device in a pocket then running headfirst into the nearest mosh pit is not going to end well. It's also essential that you're keeping batteries in a secure location, where they're not going to be exposed to extreme heat, or can come into contact with other metal objects where the risk of a short-circuit exists.

If you're using a device which runs on removable IMR batteries, it's particularly important to store these in such a way that they are isolated from coins and keys etc.

Supplies

While we'll be covering what to pack in a separate article, it's worth mentioning here to bear in mind how long you'll be away and to take enough vape batteries to keep you vaping till the last encore.

Most festivals these days feature dedicated charge-stations, where you can plug your phone or e-cig in for a quick top-up, though such facilities may be less than ideal when you're itching to get back down the front.

For those among us who prefer glamping to camping, you may be in luck as many of the state-of-the-art caravans/futuristic sleep pods contain power-sockets, though it's a wise idea to check with the festival organisers ahead of time - you do not want to arrive to discover your solitary 900mAh battery has to last for 5 days.

If you'll be roughing it under canvas, however, our best advice is to gauge how much power you generally need per day, then double it and pack accordingly. Take enough fully charged batteries to see you through the whole event (with plenty of overhead in case of emergencies).