Titanium Tent Stakes

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Steve

Agree about the paint flaking off. I painted all of my older bare Ti wires stakes after losing one – but I used 'safety orange' epoxy paint. It stuck.

Cheers

[Steven McAllister]

Thanks Jang-Tian about your observation of the heads coming off on the Easton stakes.

I have abused mine and have bent one hammering into hard rocky soil. They are pretty durable for their weight. Never thought that the heads could come off.

I'm more careful with them now.

The titanium stakes are good and strong, but they only hold in firm ground. I've had to substitute twigs/branches in many cases where the Eastons probably would have held if I had enough with me.

[Dean F.]

Having recently gone through tent-stake angst too, I will point out that nearly everyone stocks something so close to the Vargo shepherd's stakes as to be indistinguishable. It's what MLD stocks, it's what TD sends with their titanium Caldera Cones, etc., and I have a few of all three. For an all-purpose generic stake, I think they are quite sufficient. I do habitually lay a log or rock on them, though. Works great.

I would advise, unless you often camp in unusual circumstances like snow or sand, that you don't overcomplicate things.

[Juston Taul]

Well I just bit the bullet and bought some. I went with the Vargo 8gram Shepherd hook titanium stakes w/ orange heads. I order 12 of them just in case I lose some down the road. My V stakes hold well in just about anything i've encountered except for snow. I just can't justify carrying 3.67 oz worth of tent stakes. I'm sure the new ones will be just fine. I can improvise if need be. Like Dean said… no need to over complicate things.

8grams x 8 = 64 grams or 2.26 oz. Net savings of 1.41 oz. Not much but it all adds up.

[Denis Hazlewood]

The only stakes I use are the same ones Roger uses, BPL HiViz ones.

I've been using them for about five years, on all my tents, and have never had a problem. In sand, or soft soil, I use a buried stick for a sand anchor.

Thank whomever for the orange color.

[Brad Groves]

Just noting the "…can't justify carrying 3.67 oz" of tent stakes… it's an easy justification for me. Not saying that lighter isn't good, or that the Ti shepherds don't work well! But for me, in the terrain I travel, I have no problem carrying 14-15 gram tent stakes for a whopping 4 ounces or so. To me, it's not extra weight. I've had the 6" Eastons pull out, I've had the Ti hooks pull out… but only once when I did everything wrong have I ever had the 8" Eastons pull out. To me, the "extra" 1.67 oz of Easton stakes over Ti hooks is well worth the peace of mind. I've beaten those Eastons into all sorts of ground, never had a head pull off, never bent or broken one. They hold exceptionally well. My pack weight is under 10 pounds. Less than 2 ounces of prevention for serious storms makes a lot of sense to me.

[Paul Lippi]

I'd have to agree. 6" Eastons pull out so easily I don't bother taking them anymore. In my own unscientific experience they pull out more than ti shepherds. 9" Eastons are in a different league.

[Steven McAllister]

If you think 6" Eastons pull out, the titanium shepherds hooks have even less grab.

Either can be supplemented with a big rock or two in loose sand.

[kevin smith]

i have three tents and all had different stakes with them

i tried all of them
black diamond aluminum stakes
montbell aluminum stakes for the crescent 2
and now the big agnes aluminum stakes that came with my seedhouse sl 1

after trying them all i threw them in with my car camping tent and replaced them with msr ultralight needle stakes
i have camped above and below tree line with them in hard to moderate to soft terrain and have hammered on some of them pretty hard to date have yet to bend one and when you get them it they hold awesome
rei and sport chalet usually have them depending on your location
divr6347

[Jan Unneberg]

Franco. The new six gram Luxe ti stake you show is intriguing. Even if the stake twists in the ground, the tieout will hold. It's a thin stake and probably will have a slight amount of flex, which can be advantageous in some tenting areas where I hike. Thanks for the heads up!
Fisherman have used effective bait hooks of a similar design for years.

[Brad Rogers]

Are the Luxe stakes available in the US?

[Franco Darioli]

Hi
Not as yet and still not sure if someone will sell them over there. In fact they are not for sale here (Australia) either. I posted just to show the idea.
If I find out when they will be available over there I will post that info.
Franco

[Tim Haynes]

Up here in the VA/WV area, lots of hard and rocky ground, and I've found the Groundhogs to be worth the weight, since they are dependable in all conditions, and I haven't had one bend/break on me yet.

I recently found some of the Vargo Titanium V-stakes on clearance but haven't had a chance to see how they hold up yet. My last camping trip was in 5*F temps, and it was painful to get stakes in the ground at that temp.

What experience do folks here have with very-cold camping and Ti stakes — do they hold up to being hammered into frozen ground at ~0* temps? I'd like some feedback before I go out later this month. I don't want to bend/break all my new Ti stakes their first time out the door.

[Roger Caffin]

> Ti stakes — do they hold up to being hammered into frozen ground at ~0* temps?
Probably. Mine get hammered into rock – between the cracks of course.

The Ti stakes will last better than anything else, but a determined person can usually take anything beyond its limits. :-)

Cheers

[Dave T]

.

[Rick Dreher]

Hi Dave,

I'm guessing the colo(u)r Roger has in mind is this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_orange

PMS 804 or 805 should do the trick.

I've taken to tying bits of flourescent surveyor's twine to my Ti wire stakes but it's hard to keep it in place. I've not found paint that adheres well to Ti, and it needs to be prepared very carefully beforehand.

Cheers,

Rick

[Dave T]

.

[Roger Caffin]

I found my orange epoxy paint in the local hardware store. It was sold as a primer actually, designed to stick over all sorts of rough surfaces. It is applied from a can with a brush, just like any other thick gooey paint.

It might be worth noting that once I had the epoxy primer in place and well-cured, I could put Humbrol model paint on with the expectation that it would stick to the primer for a fair time too. Black rings on a safety orange background …

Cheers

[Christopher Kayler]

I've had a ton of luck ordering stakes through http://www.moontrail.com . You can find a ton of stakes (6g shepards, 8g shepards, 1g titanium skewer, 2g titanium skewer, etc.) under the "shelter" section … and the best part is that you can choose a dirt cheap shipping option that ships in a envelope. I hate having to pay a lot of money to ship small items … so this has been great.

[Konrad .]

Hey guys, just wanted to give a quick heads up. The Luxe stakes that Franco posted about earlier in this thread, can be found on ebay. Shipping from HK, but total price is good. Check em out, they look pretty promising

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ultralight-e-Hook-Windproof-Titanium-Stake-LOT-6-/280494660451?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414ec8db63#ht_500wt_1182

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I carry only MSR Groundhogs B/C I've found they are VERY tough (i.e. I can pound on them with a rock) and they hold well in soft and sandy soil.

Plus they are light enough for me.

[Matt Sanger]

I'm looking at these ultra-c's, 9.5g's each

http://bigskyproducts.com/Big_Sky_Ultra-C_AL_stake/peg_15.5cm.aspx

or the Y-nots at 11g's each

http://bigskyproducts.com/Big_Sky_Y-not_AL_stake/peg_14cm.aspx

[Darryl Romm]

Reading through this thread I thought I would add this option. I'm sure this will be widely available.

https://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product219.asp?PageID=106

[Ben]

I use the MSR needle stakes because they came with my tent. I also have a few groundhog stakes for soft soil. They're both bomb proof. Why is everyone using shepherds hook stakes? Is it just the weight saving or something else too?

[Travis Leanna]

I think its simply a weight issue. I also use the MSR Groundhogs and like that I can beat the crap out of them with a huge rock through concrete and they come out just fine.

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