Bombproof stakes

For 'ground': a combination of tubular stakes (like the Easton ones but I made my own, lighter) and orange Ti wires. I don't like short stakes (~6") in general; all mine are closer to 8" long.

For snow: currently using my Ti snow stakes as in
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/make_your_own_gear_titanium_snow_stakes.html
but there is a Supplement coming soon which gives some enhancements for extreme conditions. Otherwise some light Aluminium angles. Nothing under 8" long though!

I've bent my fair share of titanium shepherds hook stakes, so even though they weigh three times as much, I've learned to use MSR Groundhog stakes when I want something bomber. They'll dig into just about anything, short of solid rock. However, nail stakes are almost as good, and are a bit lighter than the Groundhogs.

> Warmlite 2R is on the way. As it depends on only 3 stakes for pitching,

I have extreme reservations about ANY tent which only uses 3 pegs in stormy weather in the snow. A few more guy ropes?

Art,
I've recently picked up both MSR Groundhog and BPL nail stakes to try as an option from my Easton stakes and Ti "shishkabob skewers". Which do you prefer and under what conditions do you use them? I usually find hard soil, sometimes with plenty of rock. Snow comes in the winter, but not enough to really worry about. I'm more concerned about rocks and mud.
Do you see the Groundhog head bending at all or even prone to bending? The V design looks like it will hold in the ground better than a nail, but I'm a little concerned about hitting it with a rock and bending/breaking the head.

The Groundhogs don't really have a "head" per se. It's basically Y-shaped rod in cross section, with a notch near the top. As far as one bending, that's either very difficult or practically impossible as I have yet to bend one of mine.

Nail stakes, in general, are going to be harder to bend than any "shishkabob skewer", shepherds hook style stake simply because they are made of a thicker gauge metal. The disadvantage compared to the shepherds hook style (aside from being 25-50% heavier) is that they can be a little more difficult to pull out of the ground when you want to pack up – well, in terms of holding power, this is not a disadvantage at all, but a display of their superiority to thin stakes. The thicker the gauge of any stake, by nature, the more surface area, and thus more friction, is presented to the soil.

I find that the shepherds hook style .2 ounce stakes work fine as long as the soil isn't too rocky. Even if it's rocky, if I can find a small rock to use as a hammer, I can usually drive in a thin stake without bending it (particularly the titanium ones are a lot stronger than the aluminum stakes I used growing up in Scouts). The problem comes in rocky soils when spare rocks to use as hammers are hard to find. Strange as it sounds, I've found myself in this situation too many times. Using my feet to drive a thin stake into rocky soil is what usually ends up bending them, if I'm not careful.

Most often, what I usually do is use a tree for my upwind ridgeline guy out on my tarp, a Groundhog stake for the opposite ridgeline guy out, and nail stakes for the corners and sides. In certain conditions, like if I expect strong winds, or if I simply expect very poor soil and don't want to mess with getting a nail stake stuck in the ground (those things are buggers to pull out sometimes), I'll bring all Groundhogs. In other conditions, if I expect a good uniform layer of topsoil, then I'll bring mostly shepherds hook stakes.

I now use MSR Groundhogs exclusively. Their Y shape helps them nest well and they are VERY stout and not too 'spensive.

I have bent just one into a slight curve by whaling away on it with a big rock when it hit another, underground rock. But it still works fine.

Years ago I made my own lightweight stakes from arrow shafts, threaded arrow head recievers and aluminum screen door clips – whose bolts, serindipitously, were the same thread as arrow heads' screw shafts. Worked fine but not nearly as strong as them ol' Groundhhogs and about the same weight.

Eric

Thanks guys. Looks like i'm getting some Groundhogs to add to my collection. :)
Point taken Roger. The tent only needs a minimum of 3 stakes, but i would use more for rough weather. I want the main 3 to be bomber.

Just checked and i have a few 7" Go-lite 'Y' stakes that look the same as the groundhogs. I work in an engineering machine shop so i'll knock off a few of your snow anchors Roger. :)

The Easton 8" tubular stakes also hold really well for about the same weight as a MSR Groundhog. Y-stakes hold well too, but you usually need to clean the dirt out of them after you pull them out, which is a nuisance. They also chew up your hands if you try to push them in or pull them out with your hands.

The MSR Groundhog stakes cost around $7 each in the UK. I bought these stakes instead, that look very similar and only cost around $14 for 6.
We’ll see if they are any good.

I use two stake types, one for hard rocky ground and one for soft ground. Both are Vargo titanium, therefore strong and lightweight and both can be hammered in with a rock and both have a hole with a string at the top for extraction. Without these features, a stake isn't a competitor.

For hard ground it's the Vargo Ultralight Nail stake (6") and for soft ground it's the Vargo Ultralight Ascent stake (6.25") shaped like a "V." They weigh 0.32 and 0.34 oz respetively.

The head of this nail stake is an integral part of the titanium metal, not another piece glued on, as is the case of the Easton aluminum nails. This glued on head, pops off while extracting it from hard ground, not to mention, the aluminum stake bends when hammered into hard ground.

I've been very pleased so far, except for the price!

The Golite Y stakes (and possible others) are pretty easy to pull out. If you take one of the stakes and hold it at 90 degrees to the stake you are going to pull out it fits perfectly in the notch at the top of the stake. It acts as a handle and makes it easy to pull out. Of course, you still need to get the first stake out, but a twig, pen, etc will work for that.

When pulling out golite y stakes, I usually loop my guyline around that notched tip and pull it out. A light kick (just light enough to move it slightly) to the stake can help loosen it to.

I use Easton 6" or 8" nail pegs for 3+ season use and SMC snow stakes for winter. Can't go wrong with the holding power of the Easton pegs.

the problem with the vargo ultralight nail and the nail from BPL is that the hole is done by flattening the section of the nail to have enough room to do it,
so the nail is prone to bind and break at this particular point.

the non ultralight vargo nail are much better in that aspect, but they weight 14g.

I've had the heads pop off the Easton stakes when trying to remove them in rocky soil, making it near impossible to remove the remaning shaft. I've also had titanium shepherd stakes bend on me when stepping on them to get them to go in. Now it's just Y stakes for me and all has been well so far.

I agree with Will and the Y stakes on the hands. I have stakes with an extra Y that also have holes for a line attachment making them easier to pull up. Thanks to Alan's tip about the heads popping off Eastons. I'll wiggle them first before pulling up.
In snow tie the Easton "nail" in the middle and lay it flat to bury it. Keep in mind, if it ices up you might have to chop it out. Using a stick in the same way with the tie-out just looped around so you can pull out the tie and forget about having to dig up the stick. If you are setting your tent to stay up when you hike, use an ice screw as one of your stakes in case a wind comes up.
Even in loose snow, I found that burying the stake and stomping on top will often harden the snow enough.
You should be able to stake down all four corners of the 2R and the vestibule.

Bombproof where I live are 8" steel gutter nails. Cheap at Lowe's.

What kind of soil conditions are you dealing with?

I agree these hold great and are relatively light weight but I have had consistent problems with the heads coming off. I've had this happen even in the cushy soil of my backyard. I've also had one fold and break in tough, rocky soil. I still carry them because they're easier to drive than the Y stakes but the Y's are certainly more durable.

I ended up carrying 3 MSR Blizzard stakes for the main guys, and a few assorted 'y's and Easton nails as back-up, and for the secondary guy points. The Blizzards were excellent in boggy ground as well as snow.

Injury stopped me from playing in the snow too much this winter, so i never really got to test the tent as much as i wanted to.

Great tent though! :)

I've been using them for a while and was pleasantly surprised by how well they held in sand while camping in Desolation Canyon last week (even in the notorious wind).

As noted, you don't want to push them with the heel of your palm, though.

I am still on the fence about which ones I like best, but the Hilleberg stock heat-treated aluminum stakes usually are the ones that end up in my pack. I think that I would go with something longer ~ 8", or so for a solid bite, if I were only taking 3 (which I would doubtful ever do).

As an aside, I wonder if anyone has tried taking 3x 1g or 2g Titanium skewer stakes, wrapped/tied the top together with cordage, and set them at approximately 30-35 degree angles from each other to make a triangular pyramid shape underground. The idea sprung to me from seeing old WWII landmines that my grandpa had when I was little and from Pin foundations, which work great for decks but are a bit overkill for tents:

Granted, the 3 skewers would require more time, but if it held well… 3g for a single stake that holds well is hard to beat. It would be easy to keep spares also. This would of course get expensive for many tents also.

You could also get crazy a la Boy Scout Pioneering and just build a 3-2-1 anchor or some variation thereof.

One other thought (on saving weight) would be to use 6" Easton stakes and use one (spare) inverted titanium nail stake as a "nail set" in order to drive the stakes down an additional 3-4" inches below ground. I would venture to guess that this may result in similar holding power to a 9" Easton stake. You would simply have a retrieval line attached to each stake, or just thread on site so that you could pull it out without digging. I would also likely use the nail stake in order to trench out a path for the guy line to tent attachment, depending on soil conditions. Any feedback?

One other bomber stake option would be to use the ULA Helix potty trowel, or similar tool in the windward-most staking point. I often do this in high wind situations in alpine environments, or if the surrounding terrain is steep and I would prefer to avoid an involuntary glissade. Sometimes, the only thing that works is rocks, chocks or ice screws… so make sure you have plenty of cordage.