Every year, tens of thousands of people travel into Nevada’s Black Rock Desert and build an entire temporary city from scratch. Known as Black Rock City, it exists for roughly one week before being dismantled and returned to desert.
That event is Burning Man.
Burning Man is centered around large-scale art, creativity, community participation, self-expression, and self-reliance. Participants establish camps, build enormous art installations, organize events, travel around the playa by bicycle, and create what is effectively a functioning city in one of the more remote environments in the United States.
For 2026, Black Rock City is scheduled for August 30 through September 7, with the theme Axis Mundi.
The large population, geographic area, less-than-ideal conditions, and limited communications infrastructure makes Burning Man the perfect place for Meshtastic.
The Communication Problem on the Playa
Your smartphone may be indispensable during normal life, but Black Rock City is anything but normal.
You are placing tens of thousands of people in a temporary desert city where participants may be spread across camps, art installations, events, and miles of open playa. Traditional cellular communications can therefore be far less dependable than what most people are accustomed to at home.
And even when cellular service is available, relying exclusively on outside infrastructure doesn't fit particularly well with an event built around the principle of radical self-reliance.
Meshtastic is an open-source, decentralized, off-grid communications network that operates without cell towers or Internet service.
The best nodes for Burning Man
RAKwireless WisMesh Tag
The RAKwireless WisMesh Tag is an excellent choice for anyone who wants a Meshtastic node that is light-weight, and dust + water resistant. Its slim, card-sized design easily slips into a pocket, backpack, hydration pack, or gear pouch, while built-in GPS makes it especially useful for sharing your location with campmates as you explore Black Rock City. The 1000 mAh rechargeable battery is paired with the power-efficient nRF52840 platform, and its IP66-rated enclosure provides important protection against the dust and outdoor conditions of the playa.
RAKwireless WisMesh Pocket v2
The RAKwireless WisMesh Pocket v2 is a great all-around choice for those who want a more substantial handheld node with everything already built in. It combines an OLED display, GPS, external LoRa antenna, Bluetooth connectivity, and a large 3200 mAh rechargeable battery in a rugged enclosed package. The external antenna is particularly attractive for users who want strong radio performance while moving around the playa, while the screen lets you see useful node information without relying entirely on your phone.
RAKwireless WisMesh Solar Repeater Mini
The WisMesh Repeater Mini serves a different, and potentially extremely valuable, role at Burning Man: instead of carrying it around, use it to help strengthen your camp's mesh coverage. The Repeater Mini combines a Meshtastic-compatible RAK4631 radio, 3200 mAh rechargeable battery, integrated solar panel, and IP67-rated outdoor enclosure into a single off-grid unit. Mounting one in a good position at camp can provide a continuously powered node that helps relay Meshtastic traffic while everyone else's portable nodes roam around Black Rock City. The integrated solar charging is especially well suited to a sunny, off-grid environment like the playa, and the sealed enclosure gives it additional protection against dust and weather.
LILYGO T-Deck Plus EXT
The LILYGO T-Deck Plus EXT is a compelling option for those who want their Meshtastic device to function more like a self-contained communicator than simply a radio paired to a phone. The T-Deck platform combines a screen, physical keyboard and trackball-style controls with LoRa connectivity, allowing compatible Meshtastic firmware to provide a handheld messaging experience directly on the device. Rokland's external-antenna configurations also provide an external LoRa connection for improved antenna flexibility, and available builds can include large batteries and GPS. That makes the T-Deck especially appealing at Burning Man because you can communicate without constantly pulling out or depending on your smartphone.
Military and First Responder 
