The bag is the part of the outfit most likely to be stopped at the gate, and the rules are neither obvious nor consistent.
The three policies you will meet
Size cap. The most common: bags no larger than roughly A4 (about 30 × 21 cm). Some festivals specify litres instead. Anything bigger goes back to the car or into a paid locker.
Clear bag only. Common at US festivals and arena-style sites, especially at main stages. A transparent PVC or mesh bag, often with a size limit as well.
Small personal item plus one clear bag. The hybrid: a small pouch that does not have to be clear, plus a clear bag within the size limit.
Always check the official site for the current edition. These policies change year to year, and they change more often than any other festival rule.
What gets confiscated that people do not expect
- Metal water bottles. Banned at many festivals, soft or plastic accepted. Bring it empty.
- Aerosols, including some sun cream sprays and dry shampoo.
- Umbrellas.
- Selfie sticks and professional cameras with detachable lenses.
- Long chains, spiked accessories and heavy metal jewellery at some gates, on the same grounds as weapons.
- Glass, in every form, everywhere.
- Your own alcohol at anything other than a campsite that explicitly allows it.
If a chain or a piece of hardware is central to your look, have a plan B.
What to actually carry
A belt bag plus a small zipped crossbody clears nearly every policy and spreads the weight. In it:
- Phone, ID, card, some cash for the stalls that do not take cards.
- Power bank and a short cable.
- Earplugs.
- SPF stick.
- Hair tie, plasters, painkillers.
- A folded poncho if rain is a possibility.
- An empty soft bottle.
That is a weekend's worth of essentials in something the size of a book.
The zip matters
Pickpocketing at large festivals is real and it targets open tote bags in crowds. A zip, worn across the body and in front of you at the main stage, solves almost all of it. Leave the bag you actually like at home.
The cloakroom question
If a festival has no cloakroom, and many outdoor sites do not. Everything you bring, you carry, for ten hours. That is the real argument for a small bag: not the gate policy, but your shoulder at midnight.
Every festival guide on this site includes the bag and gate rules that apply to that specific site, alongside the weather and footwear advice.