8 Best Gear for Surviving a Convention (2023): Bags, Water Bottles, and Portable Batteries

First, there are a few important things you can do to improve your experience without spending a dime. (Or, at least, without spending a dime here.) These are general tips that are useful no matter what kind of event you're attending.

• Find your nearest drugstore. At some point during the week, you'll need deodorant, bandages, painkillers, and maybe an energy drink or two. Drugstores are the best place to buy all these things at once (and without the markup on food and drinks you'll get at a hotel or convention center). Find the closest one to you on day one and thank yourself later.
• You’ll also need snacks. It’s a good idea to have pretzels or protein bars for when you need a boost between the real meals you’ll be spending money on. The drugstore you stop at should have a good selection.
• Scope out rest areas. If you get a hotel room for a convention, that's probably going to be your primary oasis. But if not, make sure you find a place (like a friend's hotel room or even your car) where you can take a nap. It's also handy to find a quiet spot near the action where you can rest your legs or scarf down a hot dog without trekking all the way back to your home base.
• Plan (and communicate) ahead. It sounds obvious, but when someone’s phone dies, you'll all be happy you already made plans to meet at the rave at 10 pm. Save your energy and your phone's energy for when plans have to change.
• Bring comfy shoes. It doesn't matter how fancy the event you're going to is, be sure to wear sensible shoes. Even if you spend a lot of your normal days on your feet, a convention can mean walking several times more than you usually do. You don't want to do it in heels.

If there's one piece of tech I can't live without at a convention, it's this specific portable battery. We have a lot of recommendations for power banks, but I use this one because it has a fold-out wall plug and built-in MicroUSB, USB-C, and Lightning cables. This one battery pack cuts down how much clutter I need to carry around. Plus, it fits perfectly in my pocket with room to spare, so I can charge my phone while walking around.

If the battery pack itself dies, the wall plug means I can charge it at any outlet I find. I wrote a part of this guide while this battery was recharging in the wall outlet next to me at SXSW. Even a small break gives me enough extra power to get through the rest of the day. Without these features, I'd need to carry around at least two extra cables. I seriously can't recommend this type of portable charger enough.

Many conventions have access to free water, sometimes from a fountain, but just as often from a water cooler designed specifically to fill up your water bottle. You might already own a reusable water bottle, but if you don’t, the Miir is one of our favorites. It comes in insulated and non-insulated versions. It's nice to drink out of, is durable, and the cap has a loop so you can clip it to your backpack. Check out our Best Reusable Water Bottles guide for other recommendations.

Be sure to check the fine print of the events you plan to go to. Most conventions let you bring your own bottle, but some events within the con have their own restrictions on full versus empty bottles. All the more incentive to finish your water.

If you're working at a convention, you'll want to carry as few productivity tools as you can, and you want them to be light. If you're a pen-and-paper sort, check out our favorite paper planners. We really love the Happy Planner, which comes in several different formats (dated and undated), and much of it is customizable to your preferences.

If you prefer something digital, a good tablet might be an excellent option for working on the go, if your laptop is too cumbersome.