Festival Season Is Here.

Your Bathroom Plan Shouldn’t Be “Hope for the Best.”

By Byrdie Lifson Pompan, Co-Founder, Boom Essentials

Key Takeaways

• Festival porta potties are consistently ranked as the worst part of the live music experience: overflowing, unsanitary, and requiring 20–30 minute waits during peak hours.

• The problem is worse for women, who face longer lines, fewer options, and clothing that makes quick stops nearly impossible.

• LoonaGo (designed for female anatomy) and Tanker (designed for male anatomy) give festival-goers a clean, private, portable alternative. No lines, no mess, no missing your favorite set.

• LoonaGo features a latch & lock leak-proof seal and a carrying handle, making it the most portable urinal in the Boom lineup — purpose-built for festivals, camping, concerts, and road trips. For at-home use, Boom also offers the award winning Loona, designed for bedside convenience.

• Both LoonaGo and Tanker are spill-proof, compact enough for a festival bag or campsite, and designed by HERBST Produkt, the firm behind Brita.

• Whether you’re at Coachella, Bonnaroo, EDC, Lollapalooza, or a local outdoor festival, a bathroom backup plan is the smartest thing you can pack.

The Bathroom Problem Nobody Warns You About

You planned the outfits. You built the playlist. You mapped out every set you want to see. And then you get to the festival, and the one thing that actually ruins your day has nothing to do with the music.

It’s the bathrooms.

If you’ve been to any major music festival (Coachella, Bonnaroo, EDC, Lollapalooza, or any multi-day outdoor event), you already know this.

Porta potties are destroyed by the end of night one. Lines stretch 20 to 30 minutes during headliners. No toilet paper. No soap. Floors you don’t want to think about. And that unmistakable chemical smell that hits you from ten feet away.

In 2025, Coachella attendees reported waiting in camping check-in lines for up to 12 hours with no access to restrooms. Festival-goers on Reddit described EDC’s portable toilets as “the most unpleasant I’ve encountered,” with one user noting they were “utterly wrecked after the very first night.”

This is not a new problem. It’s a permanent one. And every year, millions of people pack everything except a plan for the worst part of the experience.

Why Festival Bathrooms Are Worse for Women

Here’s what doesn’t get talked about enough: the porta potty experience is not equal.

Men have options. They can use a urinal, find a secluded spot, or get in and out of a porta potty in under a minute. Women don’t have those shortcuts. Every stop requires a stall, which means longer lines, more contact with unsanitary surfaces, and more time away from the reason you came.

Add festival fashion into the equation (jumpsuits, rompers, bodysuits, high-waisted everything) and a “quick” bathroom break becomes a five-minute production in a space you don’t want to spend five seconds in.

What a Bad Bathroom Situation Actually Costs You

• Missing performances. A 25-minute bathroom line during a headliner means you’re watching from the back, if you make it back at all.

• Dehydration by choice. Many festival-goers, especially women, deliberately reduce water intake to avoid using the restrooms. In 90°F+ heat, this is a serious health risk.

• Sleep disruption at camp. Multi-day festivals mean nighttime trips to distant, poorly lit portable restrooms, or holding it until morning.

• The general misery factor. A bad bathroom experience at 1 AM after a long day can sour the entire weekend.

The Festival Bathroom Toolkit You Actually Need

The standard advice (bring hand sanitizer, pack wet wipes, go early in the morning when bathrooms have been freshly cleaned) is fine. But it doesn’t solve the fundamental problem: you’re still relying on porta potties that 50,000 other people are using.

A better approach is giving yourself options that don’t depend on those facilities at all.

LoonaGo and Tanker: Your Backup Plan

LoonaGo and Tanker are not replacements for restrooms, but they serve as a backup plan for the moments when restrooms aren't an option.

LoonaGo is Boom's portable urinal designed specifically for female anatomy and built for on-the-go use. Unlike Boom's at-home Loona urinal, LoonaGo features a latch & lock leak-proof mechanism, a carrying handle for easy transport, and a 24 oz capacity — all in a compact, bottle-like form factor that fits right in your festival bag. It's the urinal that was made for exactly this scenario.

Tanker is the male counterpart, featuring a watertight twist-and-lock seal and ergonomic design.

Both products were designed by HERBST Produkt, the industrial design firm behind Brita, with Loona being recognized as a Red Dot Design Award winner. 

How to Actually Use LoonaGo and Tanker at a Festival

The most common question we get: “Where would I even use this at a festival?” Here are the scenarios:

At the Campsite

This is the number one use case. It’s 2 AM. You’re back at your tent after a long night. The nearest portable restroom is a five-minute walk across a dark field. With LoonaGo or Tanker, you don't leave your tent. Use it, latch it shut, empty it in the morning. No flashlight needed. No stumbling over tent stakes. No waiting.

In the Car

Whether it’s the seven-hour check-in line at Coachella or a road trip to Bonnaroo, the drive to a festival can be just as bad as the festival itself when it comes to emptying your bladder. LoonaGo and Tanker give you a private, spill-proof option without pulling over at a questionable rest stop. LoonaGo's latch & lock seal and carrying handle make it especially easy to stash in your car and use with confidence — no spills, no stress.

During the Fest

Stash LoonaGo or Tanker in your day bag. When you see a 30-minute line at the porta potties, you have a choice: wait, or duck behind a privacy screen at your campsite and be back in three minutes. For couples, the LoonaGo + Tanker bundle covers both of you.

The 2026 Festival Bathroom Packing List

Here’s what a complete festival bathroom kit looks like:

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you bring a portable urinal to a music festival?

Yes. Personal portable urinals like LoonaGo and Tanker are legal to bring into the camping areas of virtually every music festival. They’re compact, sealed, and designed for private use at your campsite, in your car, or anywhere you need a clean alternative to porta potties.

What is the best portable urinal for women at festivals?

LoonaGo by Boom Essentials is the ideal portable urinal for festivals. Designed specifically for female anatomy and built for on-the-go use, LoonaGo features a latch & lock leak-proof seal, a carrying handle, comfortable contours, and a 24 oz capacity. It comes in Cobalt Blue and Seafoam Green and is FSA/HSA eligible. For at-home bedside use, Boom also offers Loona, which holds 30 oz and features a soft ergonomic funnel and snap cap.

What is Tanker and who is it for?

Tanker is Boom Essentials’s personal portable urinal designed for male anatomy. It features a watertight seal, ergonomic design, and comes in two matte colors (Cement Grey, Khaki Green). It's built for the same festival, camping, and travel scenarios as LoonaGo.

How do you use LoonaGo or Tanker at a festival campsite?

Use it inside your tent or behind a privacy screen. LoonaGo's latch & lock seal keeps everything contained and leak-proof. Empty and rinse it at a water station in the morning. Pair with Boom Personal Wipes ($6.95) for a clean, fresh experience.

 

Sources:

Newsweek: Coachella 2025 Lines | Reddit: Festival Toilets 2025 | iEDM: 2026 Festival Schedule | Red Dot Design Award: Loona | Boom Essentials