So. What should I bring?

AcidityTom

I'm packing my bag for PAX East, so I don't forget later. What should I bring that will kill time? I'm only 14, so I'm not in a hotel. I'm only going for 1 day. Should I bring Magic cards? A DS? Someone, give me a list LOL.

61Ranchero

Your DS for sure. Nearly everyone had one for both years I went to PAX.

Other than that, there should be lots of games available for you to play. Certainly MTG will be played but I end up playing things I'm not familiar with while I'm there.

Rdr

DS
Cash
Backup or something to hold your swag
MTG or Warhammer Fantasy/40k army.

That's about it really if you're just going for one day and no hotel.

Arco

DS is standard issue equipment for PAX. Honestly, there won't be a lot of time to kill. There's way too much to do at PAX to get bored in 3 days, let alone 1.

AcidityTom

Rdr, Thats all I've put in my backpack(except for the backpack part)... :O. What's Warhammer?

mspencer

Into his general good advice he's added a plug for a tabletop game. While tabletop gaming is awesome any bunch of miniatures or cards you might bring is optional.

Wingedillidan

If you're doing BYOC, you might want the C part along with you... laptop or desktop w/e. If you plan on cosplaying, don't forget that! Some spare cash to spend on PAX merch/booth sales (or alcohol after dark, ID if you're going to do that). Drinks/snacks to survive the tourist trap. Your badge (derrr), don't want to leave home without that! SHOWER SUPPLIES! And a big empty bag/backpack for all the swag you're going to loot.

AcidityTom

Wingedillidan wrote: »

If you're doing BYOC, you might want the C part along with you... laptop or desktop w/e. If you plan on cosplaying, don't forget that! Some spare cash to spend on PAX merch/booth sales (or alcohol after dark). Drinks/snacks to survive the tourist trap. Your badge (derrr), don't want to leave home without that! SHOWER SUPPLIES! And a big empty bag/backpack for all the swag you're going to loot.

Uh. Dude... I'm 14... And I'm going for one day.. no hotel...

Wingedillidan

AcidityTom wrote: »

Uh. Dude... I'm 14... And I'm going for one day.. no hotel...

Oh... DS, Backpack, Drink(s), Snack(s), Money, basically w/e they said up there... don't forget to shower beforehand though. EVERYONE plays Magic there, whilst waiting in line or in the card game rooms. Note to that comment about boredom, you will be waiting in somewhat long lines, especially if you want to hit up the popular events.. so your DS or Magic deck can occupy you a bit, Pictochat rooms are hilarious!

Limond

Another person who shares the same interests as you. Buddy System always works...except in that Simpsons episode.

the_stamy

A backpack is much easier to carry around than a messenger bag. I made that mistake last year and ended up with really sore shoulders from hauling around cookies all weekend.

DS is a must, along with any wireless multiplayer games you have. You can almost always find someone to play with while waiting in line for panels.

If you think you might buy any posters, art, etc. or get anything signed, bring a cardboard tube to put it in. Lightweight and it will keep your stuff from getting banged up.

Snacks/drinks/etc. Easier to bring some with you than lose valuable PAX time to go stand in line for food - especially if you'll only be there for one day.

Card games (Magic, Pokemon, Flux, etc.) are played by a lot of people at PAX, and don't take up a lot of room in your bag.

Cash and a cell phone are the only other things I can think of...

LewieP's Mummy

Comfy shoes - there will be a lot of walking around and standing in a queue.
Deodorant.

Wormdundee

I had the opposite experience with the backpack or messenger bag thing, so whatever works for you.

mentok1982

Bring something for Gabe and Tycho to sign. Bring something interesting.

I had them sign my iPhone case last year and their signatures rubbed off after like 15 minutes.
This year I will have an actual plan.

ZeroHourHero

Get them to sign a samurai sword.

Wingedillidan

ZeroHourHero wrote: »

Get them to sign a samurai sword.

Oh no, not another weapons policy discussion...

[H]olyGeekboy

mentok1982 wrote: »

Bring something for Gabe and Tycho to sign. Bring something interesting.

I had them sign my iPhone case last year and their signatures rubbed off after like 15 minutes.
This year I will have an actual plan.

I have all 5 of the PA books. Am I a douche if I want all 5 autographed? Yeah, I think I am. I'll just get them to sign book 1.

Arco

The backpack/messenger bag debate is timeless. There are drawings on caveman walls about it. I, myself, am a staunch messenger bag man.

Someone mentioned snacks and drinks. Great idea, but don't put any aluminum cans in your bag. They have a tendency to rupture under pressure. Best go with plastic bottles, or a refillable bottle. Great idea, again. It's awesome to have some water and some snacks on you, rather than having to fork out $5-15 and a half hour of time buying something.

ZeroHourHero

Wingedillidan wrote: »

ZeroHourHero wrote: »

Get them to sign a samurai sword.

Oh no, not another weapons policy discussion...

It was a poorly crafted step brothers reference.

"Why do you have Randy Jacksons autograph on a samurai sword?"

"I was walking down the street and I met him and it was all I had on me."

"I wouldve done the same thing."

Arco wrote:

The backpack/messenger bag debate is timeless. There are drawings on caveman walls about it. I, myself, am a staunch messenger bag man.

I prefer my messenger bag for one big reason:

When one shoulder hurts, I can switch, when your back hurts from a back pack, theres nothing you can do.

Gundabad

I will probably bring a very light backpack as I have a hotel room I can use as "home base" but if you are only coming for the day and want to lug some decent weight around your shoulders, you should actually consider lugging that weight around on your... hips. The best thing to have in this situation is a backpack with a waistband you can tighten up. Keep the waist very tight and the shoulder straps slightly lose. You'd be surprised at how natural it feels to lug around the weight like that. It's how serious hikers do it, and how firemen carry around those heavy compressed air tanks on their backs.

ZeroHourHero

Gundabad wrote: »

I will probably bring a very light backpack as I have a hotel room I can use as "home base" but if you are only coming for the day and want to lug some decent weight around your shoulders, you should actually consider lugging that weight around on your... hips. The best thing to have in this situation is a backpack with a waistband you can tighten up. Keep the waist very tight and the shoulder straps slightly lose. You'd be surprised at how natural it feels to lug around the weight like that. It's how serious hikers do it, and how firemen carry around those heavy compressed air tanks on their backs.

TO be fair its also how we use our rucks in the army.

undead

Comfortable shoes are a must (along with socks).
Just remember the 5-2-1 rule:

5 hours of sleep per day (not a problem if you're only going for a day, though)
2 meals per day (one of them has to be a sit-down meal. Believe me, your body will, eventually, revolt at sugar in favor of a sandwich after a while).
1 shower per day (sad but true that this now has to actually be mentioned)

DHS Odium

Seems like an okay place to ask and maybe relevant to the OP: is a camera a good idea? Well, I know it should be, but I'm wondering if it's worth bringing a DSLR, or just stick with a smaller point and shoot? I'm considering getting a camera messenger bag to hold my DSLR, but I'm wondering if it's worth the trouble? Any idea how lighted everything is? I also have a Sony video camera (like a Flip) that does 720P and 5MP pictures, but it doesn't have flash and doesn't do particularly well indoors.

mentok1982

[H]olyGeekboy wrote: »

mentok1982 wrote: »

Bring something for Gabe and Tycho to sign. Bring something interesting.

I had them sign my iPhone case last year and their signatures rubbed off after like 15 minutes.
This year I will have an actual plan.

I have all 5 of the PA books. Am I a douche if I want all 5 autographed? Yeah, I think I am. I'll just get them to sign book 1.

Ask them to sign like 2 of them, then while they are doing that ask them if they can sign the other 3
after they are done signing stuff for the rest of the line.

RobinHood3000

mentok1982 wrote: »

Bring something for Gabe and Tycho to sign. Bring something interesting.

I had them sign my iPhone case last year and their signatures rubbed off after like 15 minutes.
This year I will have an actual plan.

This is why you laminate signatures with masking tape. One sheet facing up covering the autographs, bigger sheet facing down to secure it.

chupamiubre

RobinHood3000 wrote: »

mentok1982 wrote: »

Bring something for Gabe and Tycho to sign. Bring something interesting.

I had them sign my iPhone case last year and their signatures rubbed off after like 15 minutes.
This year I will have an actual plan.

This is why you laminate signatures with masking tape. One sheet facing up covering the autographs, bigger sheet facing down to secure it.

Or just use industrial sharpie.

mspencer

I think a SMALL camera is an excellent idea, but I have some reservations about recommending you bring one:

* You might bring a heavy camera and quickly get tired of lugging it around.
* You might find the entire PAX weekend has come and gone and you've never felt motivated to use your camera.
* You might focus on capturing material so much that you don't get to properly experience PAX.

Sure there's an expo hall and panels and unreleased games and all, but the real magic of PAX is in awesome social moments. Two years from now nobody will care about that picture of a screenshot of that unreleased game, but you'll fondly remember posing with that cosplayer or being beaten by those people in Mario Kart, or watching those people rock out on the Rock Band free play stage.

If you bring a camera, don't try to "cover" PAX like a photojournalist until you've had a chance to experience a PAX or two.

Just as you shouldn't be surprised if you go all weekend without taking a single picture, don't be surprised if you want to take pictures of EVERYTHING. Especially if your small handheld camera can shoot video, be sure you bring PLENTY of batteries and memory cards.

Arco

mspencer wrote: »

I think a SMALL camera is an excellent idea, but I have some reservations about recommending you bring one:

* You might bring a heavy camera and quickly get tired of lugging it around.
* You might find the entire PAX weekend has come and gone and you've never felt motivated to use your camera.
* You might focus on capturing material so much that you don't get to properly experience PAX.

Sure there's an expo hall and panels and unreleased games and all, but the real magic of PAX is in awesome social moments. Two years from now nobody will care about that picture of a screenshot of that unreleased game, but you'll fondly remember posing with that cosplayer or being beaten by those people in Mario Kart, or watching those people rock out on the Rock Band free play stage.

If you bring a camera, don't try to "cover" PAX like a photojournalist until you've had a chance to experience a PAX or two.

Just as you shouldn't be surprised if you go all weekend without taking a single picture, don't be surprised if you want to take pictures of EVERYTHING. Especially if your small handheld camera can shoot video, be sure you bring PLENTY of batteries and memory cards.

Great advice. If you want to get the whole expo on film I'd probably dedicate a few hours on one day to photographing the expo hall, freeplay rooms, jamspace, etc. in the "photojournalist" kind of style, and then the rest of the expo just keep a small, portable camera on you for those great photo moments. Don't try to capture everything on film, or you'll just miss lots of cool stuff.

Koala

I'm going to bring my little FLip cam to carry around in my pocket to capture the odd movie.
But I plan on bringing an SLR camera, bad idea?

arsonisfun

Koala wrote: »

I'm going to bring my little FLip cam to carry around in my pocket to capture the odd movie.
But I plan on bringing an SLR camera, bad idea?

Do you have a shoulder strap for the camera? Also, if you're at a hotel nearby you can always head back to drop it off if you start getting sick of carrying it.

Rdr

You guys keep forgetting that he is 14 and only staying for one day.

Basically, he is getting dropped off at PAX and at the end of the day he is getting picked up at PAX. So no hotels or weekends for this guy.

Koala, I'd say just bring the Flip cam you have and take pictures/videos for the reasons pointed out by mspencer and Arco.

Koala

Yeah I have a shoulder strap, I'll probably be carrying a backpack too.

DHS Odium

Koala, I'll be in the same boat as you. I ordered a DSLR backpack for the trip, cause the neckstrap by itself gets tiring after awhile, and there's room for more things (DSi). Little video camera like the Flip, and my main SLR with the smallest physical lens I have (50mm prime), and I should be good to go.

AcidityTom

Thanks for all the advice. I have my bag(not messenger) with my DS lite, Magic Cards, and money. My cell phone has a decent camera(with flash). Most likely buying my pass this week.

acumen101

Not sure if anyone has said it, but a jacket and umbrella would also be helpful. New England weather can be pretty tough sometimes...

AcidityTom

I know. I live in NH.

mcybela18

the_stamy wrote: »

A backpack is much easier to carry around than a messenger bag. I made that mistake last year and ended up with really sore shoulders from hauling around cookies all weekend.

DS is a must, along with any wireless multiplayer games you have. You can almost always find someone to play with while waiting in line for panels.

If you think you might buy any posters, art, etc. or get anything signed, bring a cardboard tube to put it in. Lightweight and it will keep your stuff from getting banged up.

Snacks/drinks/etc. Easier to bring some with you than lose valuable PAX time to go stand in line for food - especially if you'll only be there for one day.

Card games (Magic, Pokemon, Flux, etc.) are played by a lot of people at PAX, and don't take up a lot of room in your bag.

Cash and a cell phone are the only other things I can think of...

So PAX is allowing us to bring in food and drinks?

[H]olyGeekboy

mcybela18 wrote: »

So PAX is allowing us to bring in food and drinks?

Am curious about this as well. I'll be driving in, and will likely have snacks I'd rather be eating than "convention center food."

Coctopus

[H]olyGeekboy wrote: »

mcybela18 wrote: »

So PAX is allowing us to bring in food and drinks?

Am curious about this as well. I'll be driving in, and will likely have snacks I'd rather be eating than "convention center food."

Even if they don't allow food, the convention center is attached to a mall with a food court. There are also a ton of food options in the surrounding area including a Shaw's (a grocery store). Trust me, cheap edible food won't be hard to find.

mcybela18

Coctopus wrote: »

Even if they don't allow food, the convention center is attached to a mall with a food court. There are also a ton of food options in the surrounding area including a Shaw's (a grocery store). Trust me, cheap edible food won't be hard to find.

Awesome, so when I get bored I can go shopping next door? lol

(I'm going with my boyfriend, and I'll enjoy it but I know after a couple hours I will need a break)

the_stamy

So PAX is allowing us to bring in food and drinks?

I could be wrong on this, but I'm pretty sure PAX Prime has always allowed outside food or drink.

You just can't try to SELL food or drink in the convention center due to their vendor contracts. East should be the same. So long as you're the one who'll be eating/drinking it there shouldn't be a problem...