MSR Needle Stakes

And they are also alot cheaper

A buddy and I were setting up camp at Isle Royale – he staked out his Hubba with the needle stakes, all the while chastising me for having replaced the ones for my Zoid 1 with the “heavier” (by 2 ounces, total) Y-profile Groundhog stakes. As he was dancing around, he managed to stub his toe on one of his stakes. This was followed by a loud POP and a small sag in the tent. Yes, the stake had simply snapped in half from the right-angle impact of his boot toe. He replaced it with a spare (I more confidently carried no spares), saying it must have been a fluke.

Next morning, one of his needles wouldn’t come out with a mere tug, so he tapped it with his boot to loosen it. He got half of it out: it also snapped dramatically.

My advice: replace them with Groundhog stakes. I’m still using the same set of stakes two years later.

my titanium stakes are .2 oz each and sounds like they are stronger too

Same thing happened to me first time out with the MSR needle stakes. I haven’t carried them since.

They are really hard on your hands. I’ve never experienced breakage but I have experienced thrashed hands. They go in MUCH harder than ti skewers and can be more difficult to remove. After testing tents for years, I’d discourage them and go for the ti skewers. My set has lasted for 4 years now with no bending or issues.

I used MSR needle stakes for a couple of years. They are hard on your hands, and because it is possible to break them, I would recommend against hammering them in with a rock or stomping on them with a boot. I ended up using a small plastic CPVC tee joint (or end-cap) to protect my hand. This worked reasonably well.

Several years ago I switched from MSR needle stakes to a mix of titanium stakes. I sometimes use MSR groundhog stakes if I am expecting extremely soft ground.

–mark

I have not had problems with the MSR

I use a mix of MSR needle stakes and Y-shaped stakes. Use the side of a Y stake to push in the needle stakes. No pain, lotsa gain.

It seems like a lot of the BPL testers recommend against Y-stakes that a lot of lightweight tents ship with. Are Ti needle stakes the best option? It seems like it would be hard to predict what kind of ground you’re going to encounter, and carrying two sets of stakes for varying conditions defeats the purpose of lightweight stakes in the first place… so are Ti needle stakes the best overall option, or are V stakes more reliable in a wider variety of conditions? And also, is there a middle-ground (like Easton stakes) that provide good hold in soft ground but are light and easier to handle than sharp-edged V stakes?

I don’t have a solution for rocky or very hard ground except to hammer out pilot holes for whatever stake you are using that can’t be pounded in with a mallet. But for everything else, I like ‘U’ stakes. Since no one makes them anymore, I make my own out of coat hanger wire. There are better materials, but I haven’t bothered – no need. They weigh 4 to the ounce and hold better than anything else in a wider variety of soils.

I have found U stakes in the past at garden stores. They sell them for spreading weed control fabric. Welding rod is a good material too.

Thanks, Dale. I’ll check out the weed stores.