Tent stakes

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.

Again, if weight is not a great concern, the 12" steel twist/spiral nails from hardware stores are a real problem solver.

From a technique point of view, though, I have had great luck when backpacking with the 'stone assist' method.

I know just what you're talking about. Did lots of camping in the Sierra's, Big Bear, and the San Bernadino mountains.

Sometimes, you just have to tie the darn tent down. Often I'll double up the stakes too. Ie, if I have 6 tie down points (like a hexagon shaped tent) I'll use two stakes and ropes for each point. It helps spread the load. Throwing a rock on top can help (I tend to bury the tent pegs). If need be, throw some rocks into a sleeping-bag stuff sack and use that as an anchor point (tie into it). And sometimes you just can't beat the wind.

Also, leaving your heavy gear in the tent helps a bit.

I've had good success with using two weaker pegs (assuming you have not got your 747 tie downs with you!) in an offset configuration that shares the strain across both pegs and is less likely to pull out.

That's been my strategy too Moab. Works pretty well, especially if you bury them and add a little weight, like a rock.

+1 on the orange military stakes. Very solid. I've had very good experiences with them in high wind -- wind high enough that it shredded a tarp but not one stake pulled up.

HJ

I use the MSR Ground Hogs - inexpensive for the quality you get, you can get them at several places (REI etc).

A great big thank you to the ETS Brain Trust!

All good suggestions and reminders. ;-)

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. I had plenty of stakes to double up on anchor points. (palm to forehead) But was more focused on a "quick" solution. Unfortunately there wasn't enough rocks around to cover all the anchor points.

Didn't consider burying the anchors only because of the environmental damage that I would have to do to the local grasses. I suppose if I was careful about it, it could be done.

Overall the wind in the Eastern Sierras (June Lake) was heavy due to the rapid change in the weather. The weather report was predicting high winds and heavy snow for the next couple of days which forced us to change our plans substantially. After the high winds hit we bugged out as fast as we could. This time I followed my instincts which worked out for the best, this time.

We still had a blast. I need to get out more . . .

People have already chimed in with most of what I'd say. With my tent, I noticed that it had a couple of loops midway down its main ridgeline, so I used them to add a couple more guylines for windy conditions. I don't think it would be very hard to sew on extra tie loops if one thinks wind will be a common problem.

I should clarify- don't "bury" them with a shovel. Just pound the stake in so that the top is nearly ground level. I've been able to pull up the stakes just by pulling up on the guy line 9 times out of 10.



As an aside.... do rocks really "decompose?" I'm sure there's a correct word for the process of them breaking down. Anybody know it?

"Rocks into stone, Stone into sand
Sand that slips through the hands of a man

Now the sands will shift and the earth's gonna roll.
The rocks and the rain will collect their toll.
And all I'll take is what I brought
and I may not get what I sought.
Whether I sink or whether I fall
that's up to the shifting sands after all

Before fish ever walked on land,
time was turning rocks into sand."

Bill Kirchen

Just a peripheral comment...In many locales, like the Channel Islands, 25 mph winds, gusting up into the 35 mph range, are routine and just another component of a nice day. Rig accordingly...

for permanent staking of a high wind load object ... we had a temporary tube frame, gray tarp sun shade we wanted to permenently place on a shooting range...go to a wrecking yard and get some scrapped out automobile axles, remove the threaded wheel studs, and a couple of guys to swing a 16# hammer...

[quote=MDinanaAs an aside.... do rocks really "decompose?" I'm sure there's a correct word for the process of them breaking down. Anybody know it? [/quote]

Decomposed Granite (DG for short) is the commonly used term in Geology and Soils Engineering for granitic (and often other similar igneous rocks) that has lost the bond between the individual grains. The process of weathering is responsible for the loss of bond.

Respectfully,

Jerry

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

As you've found, there's no one stake right for every condition. Here's a photo of part of my collection:

Obligatory link to the page. The ruler on the right is 24 inches.

The worst ground for me is rocky ground, when I'm driving in a stake and hit a rock that won't break. Just pull out the stake and reposition, hoping the rock is small enough I miss it.

I camp regularly in an area that's very alkaline, so it's eating my stakes as you can see from the corrosion. The top of the surfaces is dry and crumbly, and you don't get any purchase from the ground till you're about a foot down, so you need long stakes.

If I'm in a nice grassy place with reasonably moist soil, the small stakes work fine, which I like. Pulling out a two or three feet of rebar can be a pain.

(And wind? You want wind?
You got wind.

Thanks Jerry!

I bet most of us can visualize the type of rocky/gravely terrain he's in, but I've never heard a good description of that rock.

On large well organized camp sites it wasn't uncommon for someone to have an old rail-type car jack to pull up stakes.

This observation was made back in the 70s. A local company that specializes in large tents for receptions and such used steel form stakes, about 3/4" diameter, for hard soils like limestone and asphalt and shop-made stakes of what looked like 1" x 1" angle iron in two and three foot lengths for sand and soft duff. From solid limestone to beach sand the combination seems to work.

For very soft sand, what we call 'sugar sand', they put a stake in deep and tie it off to a second stake in-line behind the first or, in extreme, cases a third. When all else fails, for key anchors, they bury a length of 2by6 with a piece of rope drilled through the flat and a knot backed by a large washer as a deadman.

As of last year, the last reception I went to, most tent companies seem to use the steel form stakes for hard soils and hydraulically driven spiral anchors, mobile home anchors, for everything else. That's for very large, near circus sized, tents that have to put up with thunderstorms and high winds.

None of that is light or compact. They pretty much had one truck which carried nothing but stakes, jacks, ropes, hammers and drivers.

on sand, a short stick / branch / limb / driftwood tied off and buried out a few feet and down a foot works well. size and depth of anchor depends on wind speed expected. can also use two anchors at each corner as previously described, if you want a really, really good night's sleep.

Phillip,

Now that is a good stiff breeze!

It happens too frequently for my taste. C'est la vie.

550 cord and a sandbag. Filled. If you dig a small hole for it, all the better. The tent ain't moving.