On our recent car camping trip we encountered high winds. 15mph to 20mph with gusts up to 35mph. The ground was decomposed granite with soft spots, i.e. no rocks, although the ground squirrels didn't seem to have too much trouble. Anchoring our tents was little bit challenging to say the least.

We used four different types of tent stakes. Simple pins, plastic stakes, metal angle, and steel pins with a plastic collar. All had there share of successes and failures.

The simple pins that typically come with the tents performed the worst simply because they were short in length and easily bent with little or no holding power. Plastic stakes fared a little better but my concern is the plastic breaking at the most inopportune time either due to hitting a rock or just being too cold. The metal angle stakes we used bent because of the thin metal used as the stake itself either striking a rock or being pulled too hard because of the wind load. Steel pins with the plastic collar seemed to work the best. They were more difficult to bend but the plastic collar would break with one errant hit.

Questions to the ETS brain trust. What do you use in a similar situation? Has anyone found the ultimate tent stake?

Hilliberg Y stake or MSR Groundhog II stakes. Both makes are 7075 T-6 aluminium.

http://www.moontrail.com/hilleberg-y-peg.php

http://www.moontrail.com/accessrs/a-stakes/moss_gh3.html

You want to place a nice big rock or equivalent right on the stake or on the line between the stake and the tent. Pic as sheltered a location as possible. Moving even a few feet can make a big difference.

For car camping, weight is irrelevant. Just get big honking, sturdy metal pins.

+1 on the MSR Ground Hog Stakes.

These stakes are strong and tough enough for just about any terrain. There are other brands out there, but the price on the Ground Hog Stakes for the quality cannot be beat and they are easier to find then the Hilliberg's.

I like these if weight is no problem. I believe you could stake down King Kong with these...

http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=540630

For hard soils like gravel, hard pan, dense clay, limestone I've found that a good bargain can be had at the big-box home center. Check out the aisle that has vinyl siding and fittings and look for giant aluminum nails sold as "skirting spikes". They sell for about $.50 each out the door. They are often sold in bags of ten.

What you get is a giant aluminum nail that is about 1/4" diameter, 7" long, and heavily textured with chevrons that help it resist pull-out. The head is sturdy and at about 9/16" diameter it is wide enough to keep light line from sliding off. The aluminum is stiff and hard enough to hammer reliably in anything short of solid rock.

In sand, snow, and softer soils aluminum angle-stock is easy to manufacture into your favorite stake design. A hacksaw and file are all the tools you need.

I've had good luck in light/casual use with commercial plastic stakes. They are cheap and easy to find. Most big-box discounters sell a no-name version that works well enough but all of them tend to get brittle over time and most can be tender in deep cold.

Go to Home Depot & Get yourself some 3/8" or 1/2" Rebar,cut it yourself with a Sawzall or Carbide bladed Circular saw,or Pay a bit more for the 1' pcs.,located in the Brick/Mortar section,they are around $2.00 ea.,Can't go wrong with the Rebar for stakes,they have ridges formed into them for added no-slip ability,you will have to beat them into next week to extract them, but they seem to like it anyways,Perfect for Car camping,Good Luck!

Ditto on the rebar: our local rental company uses them exclusively in setting up their very large canopies/tents. Their rebar-stakes have a washer slipped over the top end, then slid down about 2" from the top, and spot-welded in place at an angle to keep the tent rope from sliding up and off. A couple of half-hitches or bights around simple rebar would retain as well, but make it harder to take up slack.

I've had good luck with Kelty's aluminium stakes. Haven't camped on decomposed granite before, but I dig a hole and bury the stake if I need more security.

If you want the Mother of All Tent Stakes, get some pins used by the military to anchor Marston Matting used to form helipads. These babies are about three feet long, with a u-shaped cross section three inches wide, made of steel,and pointed at one end. They also make great rappel anchors when driven about two feet into the ground. They would probably anchor a circus tent in a hurricane.