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Things I bring to furry cons.
10 years ago
Things I bring to furry cons – some of these are blindingly obvious but I include them for completeness's sake. Others are things I have learned to bring over the years. I don't go to cons to have sex but if you do you will need to add things to the list.
Toiletries - toothbrush, toothpaste, floss if you use it, mouthwash, deodorant. Soap if you don't like tiny hotel bar soaps, I bring a bar of Irish Spring to every con. Lately I've started bringing a suction cup soap holder too, since at BLFC the "soap shelf" in the shower was angled so the soap slid off. You will of course shower every day without fail.
I bought two tiny Listerine bottles at the travel section of Walmart and refill one with Listerine and the other with Act mouthwash for traveling. They are small enough to get through TSA without comment. Put these in a quart Ziploc bag in case they leak – all of my toiletries just barely fit in one of those.
I carry a beard trimmer to longer cons so I don't get neckbeard.
I sometimes buy cheap pump-type hand soap for people who don't want to share a bar. I don't recommend putting one of these in your luggage unless you lock it shut and put it in a plastic bag, as the pressure change while flying can make them spooge in your luggage. Another consideration is that especially smelly soap (like Irish Spring) can make your whole suitcase smell. Put it in an outside pocket of the suitcase.
A fresh pair of underwear, socks and T-shirt for each day of the con. One pair of pants should be enough for short cons, possibly bring a second for a 5-day con if you sweat a lot. Obviously you will want to bring at least a light jacket to a con in a cold area, like MFF.
Set of PJs, even if you don't wear them at home. No one wants to see you stagger to the bathroom in your tighty whities if they are awake at 2 AM.
A sweater, yes, even to summer cons. Sometimes the room you want to hang out in is right next to the Headless Lounge and is FREEZING, like Califur this year. An alternative is a long sleeve black shirt, such as some PJ tops. This can be worn under your cool T-shirt. If you bring a sweater, bring a cool one if you have it - I bring an animal face sweater from The Mountain.
Don't forget a small laundry bag so you know what to wash when you get back.
12' extension cord or even a Power Squid. Squids are nice because you can plug up to five "wall wart" adapters to one. Since extension cords are cheap I bring both a cord and a Squid if I have the room. http://powersquid.myshopify.com/ - Home Depot sells these and I think Walmart as well. A surge strip is a cheaper alternative but Squids are nice.
Chargers for everything you'll need to charge. I carry an Ipad charger, USB phone charger and car phone charger (thought I rarely need that at cons) in the pockets of my BDU pants and/or knapsack, plus USB to micro-USB cables. I even have 10' long USB to micro USBs in case I am a ways from an outlet.
If you find yourself complaining about the lighting in drawing areas - I am a light snob - bring a plug in lamp and a 12' extension cord. I actually went to Ross and bought one at FC this year, the lighting in the creator's lounge was so bad at night. In my “con stuff” area at home right now I have a hooded lamp with a 60-watt LED bulb along with a 12' extension cord.
Food - it isn't always convenient to go out and eat, depending on the con and it adds to the expense, plus, three meals a day of fast food isn't a great idea. Good things to bring with you or buy at cons are:
Instant oatmeal/Cup O Noodles or the equivalent. You can use the room coffee pot to make water for these. Bring a bowl or eat a Cup o Noodles first, cleaning and saving the cup for oatmeal.
Cereal and milk if your room has a mini fridge (I don't do this but Scotty the Minotaur swears by it. He also buys bananas.) Ask ahead of time if the hotel has mini fridges and ask for one if they don't normally provide them. They are too useful to do without.
Bagels and peanut butter! I live on these at cons. Well, one meal a day anyway. A bagel with peanut butter for breakfast lasts me until lunch.
Granola bars - put one or two in your knapsack in case you get hungry during the day.
Soda (bottled, not canned, so you can carry it with you once opened) - or just canned if you only plan to drink it in the room. You can buy it at the hotel but it is more expensive. Also pick up some bottled water or at least one bottle to refill, water in the U.S. is the safest around. I used to carry an insulated water bottle in my backpack but the pressure change when flying can make them leak and after this damaged two sketch books I learned my lesson.
Bring a spoon, knife and fork or scrounge plastic ones from a restaurant when you get to the con. If you fly to a con then don't put metal cutlery in your carry-on for obvious reasons.
Some cons have a store nearby and others you had better bring that food with you. Califur and MFF are two of the latter. BLFC has a Walmart across the street, FC has a market a ten minute walk away and so does AC, though AC's is just a pharmacy next to a McDonald's. Of course if you have access to a car things are easier.
Reference pictures of any character you may want to have drawn (printouts). Sometimes connectivity is spotty and this is convenient for artists. I know at least one fur who brings extras and leaves them in the creator's lounge/zoo area and I've drawn his characters (or at least the tips of their tails) a couple of times as a result.
Sketchbook(s), obviously, though some artists will draw in their own and send you a scan. Also art supplies like reference books if you are an artist, printouts of critters you like to draw, pencils and pens (obviously), a sharpener of some sort if you don't use mechanical pencils, Kneaded erasers, etc.
Lead pencil drawings should be sprayed with Workable Fixative (available at any art store) or hair spray and allowed to dry so they don't smear, but you can't carry the stuff on a plane so you might wait until you get home. If you don't spray them the movement of the pages in a sketchbook will eventually smear the lines.
Air mattress and pump – If I am going to con and I know bed space will be tight due to multiple roomies, I bring a camping air mattress and a plug in air pump about the size of a grapefruit. The two together will run you about $40 at Walmart. Do NOT bring a battery powered pump if you are flying, I had one turn itself on in my luggage and it got so hot the labels peeled off the batteries and it ruined the pump. It could easily have started a fire IN THE PLANE I WAS ON. Not optimal.
Don't forget your badges and any accessories you bring (like my headcrab hat).
This sounds like a lot of stuff but I can fly to a con with the mattress, pump, toiletries, clothes for 3-4 days (but not food or lamp) with just a knapsack and carry-on bag. If you are a suiter obviously this is not for you but if you are cheap and roll/fold your clothes tightly you can get quite a bit in a carry-on bag.
Try to set aside a shelf or box at home just for con stuff. I've only just done this myself and hopefully it will keep me from forgetting to bring helpful things like extension cords and laundry bags.
Toiletries - toothbrush, toothpaste, floss if you use it, mouthwash, deodorant. Soap if you don't like tiny hotel bar soaps, I bring a bar of Irish Spring to every con. Lately I've started bringing a suction cup soap holder too, since at BLFC the "soap shelf" in the shower was angled so the soap slid off. You will of course shower every day without fail.
I bought two tiny Listerine bottles at the travel section of Walmart and refill one with Listerine and the other with Act mouthwash for traveling. They are small enough to get through TSA without comment. Put these in a quart Ziploc bag in case they leak – all of my toiletries just barely fit in one of those.
I carry a beard trimmer to longer cons so I don't get neckbeard.
I sometimes buy cheap pump-type hand soap for people who don't want to share a bar. I don't recommend putting one of these in your luggage unless you lock it shut and put it in a plastic bag, as the pressure change while flying can make them spooge in your luggage. Another consideration is that especially smelly soap (like Irish Spring) can make your whole suitcase smell. Put it in an outside pocket of the suitcase.
A fresh pair of underwear, socks and T-shirt for each day of the con. One pair of pants should be enough for short cons, possibly bring a second for a 5-day con if you sweat a lot. Obviously you will want to bring at least a light jacket to a con in a cold area, like MFF.
Set of PJs, even if you don't wear them at home. No one wants to see you stagger to the bathroom in your tighty whities if they are awake at 2 AM.
A sweater, yes, even to summer cons. Sometimes the room you want to hang out in is right next to the Headless Lounge and is FREEZING, like Califur this year. An alternative is a long sleeve black shirt, such as some PJ tops. This can be worn under your cool T-shirt. If you bring a sweater, bring a cool one if you have it - I bring an animal face sweater from The Mountain.
Don't forget a small laundry bag so you know what to wash when you get back.
12' extension cord or even a Power Squid. Squids are nice because you can plug up to five "wall wart" adapters to one. Since extension cords are cheap I bring both a cord and a Squid if I have the room. http://powersquid.myshopify.com/ - Home Depot sells these and I think Walmart as well. A surge strip is a cheaper alternative but Squids are nice.
Chargers for everything you'll need to charge. I carry an Ipad charger, USB phone charger and car phone charger (thought I rarely need that at cons) in the pockets of my BDU pants and/or knapsack, plus USB to micro-USB cables. I even have 10' long USB to micro USBs in case I am a ways from an outlet.
If you find yourself complaining about the lighting in drawing areas - I am a light snob - bring a plug in lamp and a 12' extension cord. I actually went to Ross and bought one at FC this year, the lighting in the creator's lounge was so bad at night. In my “con stuff” area at home right now I have a hooded lamp with a 60-watt LED bulb along with a 12' extension cord.
Food - it isn't always convenient to go out and eat, depending on the con and it adds to the expense, plus, three meals a day of fast food isn't a great idea. Good things to bring with you or buy at cons are:
Instant oatmeal/Cup O Noodles or the equivalent. You can use the room coffee pot to make water for these. Bring a bowl or eat a Cup o Noodles first, cleaning and saving the cup for oatmeal.
Cereal and milk if your room has a mini fridge (I don't do this but Scotty the Minotaur swears by it. He also buys bananas.) Ask ahead of time if the hotel has mini fridges and ask for one if they don't normally provide them. They are too useful to do without.
Bagels and peanut butter! I live on these at cons. Well, one meal a day anyway. A bagel with peanut butter for breakfast lasts me until lunch.
Granola bars - put one or two in your knapsack in case you get hungry during the day.
Soda (bottled, not canned, so you can carry it with you once opened) - or just canned if you only plan to drink it in the room. You can buy it at the hotel but it is more expensive. Also pick up some bottled water or at least one bottle to refill, water in the U.S. is the safest around. I used to carry an insulated water bottle in my backpack but the pressure change when flying can make them leak and after this damaged two sketch books I learned my lesson.
Bring a spoon, knife and fork or scrounge plastic ones from a restaurant when you get to the con. If you fly to a con then don't put metal cutlery in your carry-on for obvious reasons.
Some cons have a store nearby and others you had better bring that food with you. Califur and MFF are two of the latter. BLFC has a Walmart across the street, FC has a market a ten minute walk away and so does AC, though AC's is just a pharmacy next to a McDonald's. Of course if you have access to a car things are easier.
Reference pictures of any character you may want to have drawn (printouts). Sometimes connectivity is spotty and this is convenient for artists. I know at least one fur who brings extras and leaves them in the creator's lounge/zoo area and I've drawn his characters (or at least the tips of their tails) a couple of times as a result.
Sketchbook(s), obviously, though some artists will draw in their own and send you a scan. Also art supplies like reference books if you are an artist, printouts of critters you like to draw, pencils and pens (obviously), a sharpener of some sort if you don't use mechanical pencils, Kneaded erasers, etc.
Lead pencil drawings should be sprayed with Workable Fixative (available at any art store) or hair spray and allowed to dry so they don't smear, but you can't carry the stuff on a plane so you might wait until you get home. If you don't spray them the movement of the pages in a sketchbook will eventually smear the lines.
Air mattress and pump – If I am going to con and I know bed space will be tight due to multiple roomies, I bring a camping air mattress and a plug in air pump about the size of a grapefruit. The two together will run you about $40 at Walmart. Do NOT bring a battery powered pump if you are flying, I had one turn itself on in my luggage and it got so hot the labels peeled off the batteries and it ruined the pump. It could easily have started a fire IN THE PLANE I WAS ON. Not optimal.
Don't forget your badges and any accessories you bring (like my headcrab hat).
This sounds like a lot of stuff but I can fly to a con with the mattress, pump, toiletries, clothes for 3-4 days (but not food or lamp) with just a knapsack and carry-on bag. If you are a suiter obviously this is not for you but if you are cheap and roll/fold your clothes tightly you can get quite a bit in a carry-on bag.
Try to set aside a shelf or box at home just for con stuff. I've only just done this myself and hopefully it will keep me from forgetting to bring helpful things like extension cords and laundry bags.
Well, since I most traveled alone, I would carry some balloons, a zentai suit (kigurumi if it was cold) and such, so that added up a bit, hehe.
I usually pack at least one extra shirt/socks/boxers in the bag than the number of days at the con and one extra pair of pants, since you never know when there's some kind of major clothing emergency, or if, say, your flight is waylaid. Also might be smart to make your spare shirt a button-up, in case you're heading out of the con and need something to cover up your ample-chested-vixen t-shirt.
I also recommend cargo-style, or BDU pants when flying, and keeping things like phones and chargers on your person, rather than in your luggage, and certainly your medication should remain on hand. It's a bit more of a bitch through security, but just plan accordingly and you'll find yourself very quickly able to dump the contents of your pockets into those grey bins. But, with how stingy airlines have become with take-ons and the sort, and how much they charge for suitcases,
Speaking of USB chargers another idea I've found useful is to bring a large USB battery. While at AC I use my phone a *lot* more than I normally do (I hardly use it at all under normal circumstances, at AC it gets used a *lot*). And that flattens the battery more quickly too so a usb battery is useful so you're not "tied to the petrol pump" so to speak, i.e. an AC charger. Charge up the large battery overnight if it goes flat, use it in the daytime.
As for food, I don't bring any at all. Not allowed really to bring anything like that through an airport these days. If I eat out I always go with friends - I'm not keen and I really don't feel safe at all wandering about by myself in the city of pittsburgh (that, and about 99% of my time through the year isn't in a city....
SP
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For me, condoms that fit me, including non-latex, and lube in flat sealed packets, all of which I carry in a badge holder hanging from a lanyard. The badge holder (forgot which con it came from) also holds money, and driver's license in case I attend a party in fursuit that serves alcohol and I'm stopped for ID at the door.
Small fan is invaluable! Keeps fursuit parts dry, and provides white noise in case a roomie snores, or makes noise while I'm sleeping.
Had a roomate that didn't bring anything.......
I generally just use the soaps from the hotel to lighten my load....(I steal the at the end).