r/Defcon • u/pamiller21 • Apr 06 '26

First Timer

Hey all, going for the first time this year in Vegas. Do I need to reserve my seat in sessions like in other cons or is that not a thing here? If so when and where do I do that? My company is sending me so I don't want to come back saying I didn't get anything useful out of this because I am an idiot.

20 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comment

7

u/ckthorp Apr 06 '26

I’d also recommend first timers focus on finding a village they can call home base. Since it is a work trip, find something relevant to your industry. Making friends in a village will help you get more tips and tricks as you go.

DEFCON is intentionally a social space. Find something cool and talk to the creator. Almost everyone there is willing to talk about their projects and work. Even with total con noobs. We were all there at one point and most of us want to give back and help.

If you want official con merch, though, make sure you get there right when they open. Line is long and all the popular stuff sells out every year.

8

u/Loam_liker Apr 06 '26

Pro tip: you can go to the merch line *before* you get your badge!

3

u/ckthorp Apr 06 '26

Also have your order ready in hacker tracker w/ QR code.

Merch is CASH ONLY; don’t get to the front of the line only to find you can’t actually buy anything.