# fursuiting at a non furry con?



## septango (Jun 9, 2013)

I've decided to use the time up untill aether con comes around to build a partial, heres what im wondering

does anyone suit at non fur related cons?, and if so how does it differ from furry cons, and do you have any tips related to those differences?


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## DMAN14 (Jun 10, 2013)

I was at a star trek/has evolved to basically everything con in Denver a few months ago to see my aunt all treked up (worth the 40 min drive) and saw a few furries. They were just walking around in full fursuit and were constantly taking pictures with people and giving high fives etc. I think its alot better if you could find another fursuiter too. Also I would have a handler.


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## Teal (Jun 10, 2013)

The only con I've suited at was a local anime con. Everything went fine. (though it was practically a furry con as well due to the theme being "furry").


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## Venu.Shade (Jun 10, 2013)

i see a lot of fursuits on occasion at AnimeNEXT here in Jersey. but i think its acceptable at Anime cons usually because of characters like Amaterasu and Kyuubi from Okami and Naruto respectively who are in a way furry in nature if cosplayed. so a furry in-suit wouldnt be a terribly odd sight


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## DarrylWolf (Jun 10, 2013)

Yes, anime conventions usually see a lot of fursuiters, as do general sci-fi conventions. If there is some sort of opportunity for either live or recorded music, then you would most definitely see fursuiters. However, I would not wear my fursuit outside the cons for a variety of reasons. The fursuit is hot, to overstate the obvious, but this is sespecially true in Texas in the summer. Secondly, even if I was going to something like a costume party, I would not want to be the token fur. There is so much misinformation about Furries and while it would be a good time to talk to my fellow college attendees about who we REALLY are, it's hard to defend a fandom all by myself. That's why college Halloween parties are out of the question. (Plus, if any of the attendees puts two and two together, I might be sent to a disciplinary meeting so I'm definitely not going in fursuit to anything on campus. Gotta find the free speech zones.)


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## Teal (Jun 10, 2013)

Just remember at other cons they aren't as used to the potential dangers to the suiter (such as heatstroke and such) and there is no headless lounge.


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## DarrylWolf (Jun 10, 2013)

Clump together in groups of other fursuiters and only put your fursuit head on for photo opportunities. Wearing your fursuit head is NOT a marathon sport, but rather something that can only be done for fifteen minutes at a time, assuming you are indoors with an air conditioner at full blast. You will need a spotter and some fellow fursuiters who would know the signs of heat exhaustion and dehydration.


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## Teal (Jun 10, 2013)

DarrylWolf said:


> Clump together in groups of other fursuiters and only put your fursuit head on for photo opportunities. Wearing your fursuit head is NOT a marathon sport, but rather something that can only be done for fifteen minutes at a time, assuming you are indoors with an air conditioner at full blast. You will need a spotter and some fellow fursuiters who would know the signs of heat exhaustion and dehydration.


 Some can go for much longer, it depends on the person, the suit, the environment and the activity.


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## DarrylWolf (Jun 10, 2013)

Teal said:


> Some can go for much longer, it depends on the person, the suit, the environment and the activity.



Installing a fan or any form of cooling system in the back of the fursuit head means you can keep going for as long as the fan has power or until you need to eat and drink, whichever come first.


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## Teal (Jun 10, 2013)

DarrylWolf said:


> Installing a fan or any form of cooling system in the back of the fursuit head means you can keep going for as long as the fan has power or until you need to eat and drink, whichever come first.


 Not necessarily.


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## Venu.Shade (Jun 10, 2013)

like Teal said, the duration you can be in suit all depends on the situation, suit and the person. Living in and working in non-air conditioned areas as made me pretty tolerant to high heat and humidity. I have worn a suit head before and it was ventilated alright but with no fan.

OP if you want to wear a suit at a con other than a furry convention keep some stuff in mind:

1. will you have a handler? if your suit will have poor ventilation or large blindspots make sure you have one! they can let other people know of this so they dont swarm you in hugs and possibly hurt you

2. Be aware there will not be a headless lounge. try to make sure you know where all of the bathrooms are, you can use them for the purpose of a headless lounge if need be.

3. make sure you have water on hand. Anime and Sci-fi cons may not have a lot of areas with water coolers for you to use as a watering hole per say. i would being some bottles of water with you and a straw incase you have to drink while in-suit.

and on a side note, if you are constructing it yourself i would highly recommend installing some kind of fan in the head so as to make your time in-suit last longer ONLY IF NEED BE.


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## septango (Jun 10, 2013)

heat is one of my main concerns, but I've been to the place where aether is held and its basicly all outdoors (unfortunatly this year was to be my first time going to the actual con but i missed it )

that being said idk if I remember actual bathrooms? eh, they have to have something, if push comes to shove I'll just use my car for air or something 


actually I think my stepdad has an old cooling thing for wearing under underarmour, prehaps I'll give that a looksie


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## Grunnolf (Jun 10, 2013)

There is a semi local (not its like 400 miles from me) anual con called baycon and i tend to suit up at that con and its quite nice. It also helps since it has a mini anthro con in it. navigating in that place sucks though because its all dim.


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## septango (Jun 10, 2013)

yeah, thats why I want to go to aether, becuse its the closest anything to where I live, and cus its cool too of corse


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## DMAN14 (Jun 10, 2013)

All this heat stroke talk just makes me wanna go fursuit skiing.


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## Batty Krueger (Jun 10, 2013)

Lol, you people have no idea what your talking about.  Yes its ok to wear your suit at other cons and if its a partial you won't overheat unless your a colossal fatass.Just wear a hydration pack(camelpack)and you'll be fine.  I go to other parties and cons and havnt had any problems.  If your running around in suit and acting like a jackass and pissing people off, then yeah you might run into problems so don't do that.


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## septango (Jun 10, 2013)

thanks, I was wondering how a partial could be so hot,   

and I have no intention on being a jackass, steampunk is'nt fun without acting posh and gentlemanly


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## Inashne117 (Jun 13, 2013)

Myself and other local furries fursuit at our local anime con (Fanime). We're pretty well received by other con goers. Any costume is better than no costume in my opinion. The big problems to keep in mind are there is no headless lounge and many attendees may not be fully aware of your restricted vision.

Basically if you need a break, you either must go back to your hotel room or break the magic in public. It's a good idea to know some areas ahead of time that are relatively secluded and away from large masses of attendees and keep a handler nearby with water.


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## kap (Jun 13, 2013)

Lots of people come to anime cons around here in suit. Sometimes they come with handlers, sometimes without. It depends on how confident you are, I guess, though I'd think that it would be a good idea to come with someone else if this is your first time.

Usually I see suiters at anime cons use the areas around bathrooms and cosplay repair areas (if there are any) as headless lounges. Also, as others have pointed out, bring something to keep yourself hydrated because there aren't really many free water stations at anime cons, or at least there weren't any at the cons I've been to.


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## Zombee-Puppy (Jul 4, 2013)

I know I've seen a lot of suiters at local anime cons here in Portland and Seattle areas. I've never noticed any of them being very ill received or anything. But who knows this is the first year I'll actually be suiting at any of these cons. @@; This thread has actually been pretty helpful ahaha...


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## DarrylWolf (Jul 5, 2013)

It's doable but be prepared for looks. If anyone objects to what you are doing, refer them to the fact that it's a free country and you will do as you please. I have thought about wearing my fursuit when I get it to college parties before realizing that the First Amendment does not really apply at a university. Plus, I do not want to be the only Furry there.


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## jorinda (Jul 5, 2013)

For anime and fantasy cons: Sure, go ahead and wear your fursuit.

For reenactment of medieval times, or similar: please don't. People there try to create an authentic atmosphere, and a random sparkledog would destroy that.


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## DarrylWolf (Jul 5, 2013)

jorinda said:


> For anime and fantasy cons: Sure, go ahead and wear your fursuit.
> 
> For reenactment of medieval times, or similar: please don't. People there try to create an authentic atmosphere, and a random sparkledog would destroy that.


General rule: If it would upstage someone at a play, don't wear it. Dress conservatively when the focus is supposed to be off of you, run wild during conventions.


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## Calemeyr (Jul 5, 2013)

Is it realistic or toony? A toony sparklefox will be out of place anywhere but a furry convention, while a realistic fox in fantasy garb would be most welcome at a fantasy convention (hell, you should fit right in).


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## Blackberry Polecat (Jul 5, 2013)

DarrylWolf said:


> I have thought about wearing my fursuit when I get it to college parties before realizing that the First Amendment does not really apply at a university. Plus, I do not want to be the only Furry there.



Also, a college party sounds like a great place to have your expensive suit ruined within seconds.


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## AviFox (Jul 7, 2013)

DMAN14 said:


> All this heat stroke talk just makes me wanna go fursuit skiing.


I have always wanted to do this!! It's actually the #1 reason I decided to commission a fursuit (and lucky for me my suit is supposed to be done in January, so I'll have it for part of ski season =] )


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## Ouiji (Jul 8, 2013)

I saw a couple at DEFCON, but only briefly


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## Falaffel (Jul 8, 2013)

AviFox said:


> I have always wanted to do this!! It's actually the #1 reason I decided to commission a fursuit (and lucky for me my suit is supposed to be done in January, so I'll have it for part of ski season =] )


I see crushed snouts and broken wallets in your future.


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## Trpdwarf (Jul 8, 2013)

I've suited at an anime con before a few times. It really just depends upon your crowd. My friend and I usually get good reactions from people and not just from our suits. Several local furries go to the same con and bring along their suits. It's usually good fun. Just be wary of your limits and time of year. Your non furry cons usually don't have headless zones set up. So you will have to take that into consideration. Also some cons simply are not comfortable with the suits being in certain areas, so that's something to keep in mind as well.


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 8, 2013)

d.batty said:


> Lol, you people have no idea what your talking about.  Yes its ok to wear your suit at other cons and if its a partial you won't overheat unless your a colossal fatass.Just wear a hydration pack(camelpack)and you'll be fine.  I go to other parties and cons and havnt had any problems.  If your running around in suit and acting like a jackass and pissing people off, then yeah you might run into problems so don't do that.



People cosplaying overheat. So no, it is an actual problem specially if it's hot in July. You're going to be as much outside waiting in long lines for events and not always have access to water waiting in line.

There were a few at Anime Expo (I guess for the ones not willing to spend money to go to the East Coast for AC and they always happen too close) - most people don't care  because people just dress up as anything these days. Anime Expo is a HUGE con, to be prepared to get bumped into very often, and enjoy everyone's body heat. Fortunately they did get smart this year and make a big gaming and cosplay-photo hall which had a lot of space. The Dealers/Exhibition hall is just a madhouse.


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## jorinda (Jul 8, 2013)

Cosplay might add another risk - getting hugged by someone with bodypaint. I'd hate to have sticky paint on my fursuit.


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## Zabrina (Jul 8, 2013)

jorinda said:


> Cosplay might add another risk - getting hugged by someone with bodypaint. I'd hate to have sticky paint on my fursuit.




Very true.


Just be anti-social and you'll be fine.


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## PapayaShark (Jul 8, 2013)

jorinda said:


> Cosplay might add another risk - getting hugged by someone with bodypaint. I'd hate to have sticky paint on my fursuit.



Only if they dont seal the paint. If its sealed it wont move at all, and if its water based it goes off with a damp cloth anyways.


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 8, 2013)

Well just to give you an idea -  Furry cons are pretty small 
Anthro Con's 2012 numbers were like 5200 attendees
Anime Expo 2012 - 130,000 attendees (and this year was even more massive)

So yeah there's a big difference, specially since we're talking July. Keep well hydrated. 
There was one furry with a neat Mammoth costume though.


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 8, 2013)

Well just to give you an idea -  Furry cons are pretty small Anthro Con's 2012 numbers were like 5200 attendees
Anime Expo 2012 - 130,000 attendees (and this year was even more massive)

So yeah there's a big difference, specially since we're talking July. Keep well hydrated. 
There was one furry with a neat Mammoth costume though.


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## Batty Krueger (Jul 8, 2013)

I see that guy every year at FC, in a matter of fact, that pic was taken outside the marriot at FC.


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## Troj (Jul 8, 2013)

The mammoth is Shuffles, and he is amazing .


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## dinosaurdammit (Jul 8, 2013)

I went to PHX comi con and had a lot of issues with patrons there. I got sexually and physically harassed. One dude bit me on the back of the head. A fucking grown ass man. I ended up seeking refuge in the umbrella corp area cause it was dark and uninhabited, apparently they are the security team along with the zombie people and they ended up being my personal army for the rest of the day. There were other furries there and they too had the same problem. PHX staff said they would try and make it more suiter friendly because it wasnt just furries it was cosplayers too. The problem is there were too many people, over 50 thousand in 3 days there. So crowded they closed the vender hall to new people, it was a fire hazard and a suiters worst night mare, the kids were alright though. I would recommend doing a lot of research into a con, asking other furs if they have been and even go as far as to contact staff in advance. I had a shit ton of fun and would totally do it again but i will ALWAYS for future events have a handler. BIIIIGEST mistake on my behalf.


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## jorinda (Jul 9, 2013)

dinosaurdammit said:


> I went to PHX comi con and had a lot of issues with patrons there. I got sexually and physically harassed. One dude bit me on the back of the head.



Dafuq? No matter what kind of event, the security should stop people from harassing other attendees.

In general, at a non-furry event, you have to expect that people do not know how to interact with fursuiters. For example, they do not know we have a limited filed of sight.


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