Festival overtrousers

What festivals demand

Festival rain is a special kind of problem. Once fields churn into mud, everything below the knee gets coated, and your only trousers can stay wet for days because there's nowhere to dry them. Standing in a crowd you are not moving much, so you get cold. And you will be carrying everything you need all day, so you want something that packs small when the sun comes out.

Features that matter

• Packability. A pair that stuffs into its own pocket or a small bag can be clipped to a daypack all day.
• Side zips wide enough for wellies. Taking wellies off in a muddy field or a cramped tent is no fun. Full-length or 3/4 zips make life much easier.
• Worn over the welly, not tucked in, so rain and mud slide off instead of into your boots.
• Simple waist. An elasticated waist makes loo trips quicker, and bib styles, though drier, are slower in a portaloo queue.
• Price and toughness balance. You don't need a top-end hill pair for a weekend, but the cheapest disposable-style trousers can tear at the crotch the first time you sit down.

Festival survival tips

• Keep one pair of dry trousers in a sealed bag in your tent, and use overtrousers to protect the pair you're wearing.
• Bring a bin bag or dry bag to store muddy overtrousers in the tent without soaking everything else.
• Sit on your overtrousers (or a mat) on damp grass rather than straight on the ground.
• When you get home, hose or brush off the mud once dry, then wash properly before storing; left in a bag, wet mud can cause mould and smells.

Planning to take your family? Our kids & school guide covers waterproof trousers and dungarees for children.