Tech gear tips for Osheaga weekend

We went to Montréal for the Osheaga music festival with the kids this summer and I tried to keep the kit as light as humanly possible. No carry-on rules meant I could’ve gone wild, but honestly the less gear the better when you’re bouncing between a rental and the festival grounds on Île Notre-Dame. For the main trip I packed everything into my trusty Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 55L. That bag has been everywhere with me and still looks new, even after years of being tossed around trains, planes, and Airbnbs. But for the actual festival days, I wanted to be way lighter.

I carried everything in my old Patagonia small black hole sling. They don’t sell it anymore, but it’s basically the same as the Terravia Mini Hip Pack 1L. Just big enough for water, snacks, and random junk, but not so big it felt like lugging a bag. Perfect “festival size.” For ear protection I grabbed some cheap Amazon concert earplugs—not fancy Loops, just a random pair I found on Amazon. They were perfectly… fine! I could still hear the music perfectly, and I didn’t have that post-set ringing. The ones I ordered had two pairs (for my wife and I) and even came with a little tube for carrying them around.

My wife had the idea to get these collapsible water bottles. You couldn’t bring full bottles into the festival, but there were lots of refill stations and you could bring empties. I could stick mine in the sling and then clip it onto the band when it was full. We got these cheap Amazon ones which were great.

My trusty iPad mini (6th gen) was awesome for the train. Small enough to hold in one hand, great screen for reading or streaming, and the battery lasted the whole ride up. Power backup was covered by a chunky Temu MagSafe pack. This thing was… not great. It kept the phone alive but felt like taping a brick to the back. Still, it convinced me MagSafe batteries are worth it. Next time I’m grabbing the Anker Nano. It’s a nice slim charger that will do the same thing.

One other thing that saved us: Bounce luggage storage. After we checked out of the Airbnb but before heading to the show, we dropped our bags at a shop nearby for a few bucks. Wandering around Montréal bag-free for the afternoon was glorious.

If you’re heading to a fest like Osheaga, don’t overpack. A tough duffel for the trip, a tiny sling for the shows, cheap but decent earplugs, a collapsible bottle, and some kind of MagSafe battery pack cover most of what you need. Add an iPad mini for the train and a luggage drop service like Bounce, and you’re golden. More time for music, less time worrying about your stuff.