Playa Or Die

By Author: Frank McGavin
Total Articles: 4762
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Any person who has been to Burning Man knows you have to illuminate yourself.If you haven't been to the see the man burn yet, here are a couple of tips. During the day, less is more. Yes, we're talking about clothes. Do you have to run around naked? No. But if you walk around in your street clothes, prepare to have some burners explain the principles of the playa.

As it turns to dark on the other hand, make it glow. Any person who already has their ticket to the Rock, make sure you plan ahead early this year, as a crazy dash of people never plan ahead for their costumes and are left out in the playadust without anything to enlighten themselves up. The1st action is deciding out the topic of Burning Man and see how you can tie yourself into that theme. This year's theme (2010) is Metropolis. This year's theme enables for a extensive variety of costuming ideas. Personally, I would love to see people build their costumes Vertically this year, as it would seem appropriate. Below, you will find a brief checklist to get your glow-self to Black Rock City.

Prepare your theme earlyish. Even if you are going more raw or over ...
... the top this year, make sure you have your general thought in mind early. There is nothing worse than getting to the playa and realizing you don't have any idea what you are doing with the two hundred feet of Electroluminescent Wire you just brought.

Make certain you know how much Electro Luminescent Wire each battery pack will hold. A thoroughly considered EL pattern is actually less important than making sure you have enough juice to power your wire. Most el wire inverters will power between 1 and 30 feet of wire. I would said this, if you have a costume with 200 feet or more of wire, make sure you have enough places to store all your drivers. Many AA-9v battery packs come with belt clips so it is much easier to store them in pockets or belt. Generally sound activated units are not as easy to store and are bulkier.

Recharge - Recharge. The Burning Man Society is the most popular pack-in pack-out society in the world. Recognize that each battery you lose will end up in a landfill eventually. Rechargeable batteries are becoming very affordable and are a great alternative to wasting 50 batteries on the playa. Solar panels are also low-priced enough to legitimize bringing your own portable EL Wire charging station nowadays. Charge your batteries with the power of the sun.

Purchase more wire than you think you will need, before it is too late. Almost every costume has more wire on it than originally anticipated. When organizing out the design make sure you have more than enough wire to accomplish your goal. Absolutely nothing is more irritating than having to cut your project short because you didn't order enough. Also, it is much easier to have one long strand of wire, than many short strands that are connected together with solder. Just about every time you aim to attach the wire, it becomes more and more delicate. Don't settle on a partially glowing project because you used too many connections. A helpful hint to hide wire is with electrical tape, or dark heat shrink tubing. This will enable you to jump a gap easily without having to break the connection. Another thing to take into consideration is making sure you don't use the wire on places that bend typically like elbows or knee region.

Regardless if this is your first Burn or 7th, suitable planning, like with anything is the key to having the best burn possible. As you are thinking about your costume design for this year, use the above tips to help make this the brightest burn you can conceptualize.
About Author:
Frank McGavin writes about all things glowing including el wire, Club Lights, LED Lights, Laser Lights and more.