tent stakes/pegs

I use this combo:

One Vargo titanium nail peg @ 0.5 oz. good for pounding “starter holes” on hard / compacted ground — plus appropriate number of titanium shepherd hook stakes @ 0.22oz. each.

Good for most everything except sandy beaches / deserts, snow, and “rock hard” surfaces.

Leave them behind.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ditch_your_stakes.html

I never take them to the beach or desert anymore.

I carry the same combo as Ben- except I carry two of the nail pegs- these go to secure the two trekking pole ends, I use the shepherd ones to stake out the rest

if you go this route I'd advise getting the painted ones, or paint them yourself w/ fluorescent paint- titanium it seems is the perfect camouflage :)

+1 on 2 Ti Nail or aluminum Easton type stake for the ridgeline plus the appropriate number of shepards hood stakes for the corner and side guyouts. I bring 8 shepards hook stakes on multi night trip in case I misplace one or two, and in case I encounter bad weather. That combo weighs 2.91 for me.

This article tests the holding power of various stakes.

I love the fluorescent paint idea.

There are lots of them on the market.

Any suggestions for a fluorescent paint that
1. Will not wear off titanium or aluminum, and
2. Is non-toxic.

– Elizabeth

I never had good luck with fluorescent paint. I do use a piece of luminescent tape on my tent stakes so that I can see them at night.

–B.G.–

orange or reflective tape … im sure it adds a gram or 2 … so not for ULers ;)

I've used plastikote paint- won't last forever, but will last a couple of trips at least

I've had it with skinny rod tent stakes. They can't hold well in a lot of soil types.

The best AND strongest stakes for the weight are MSR aluminum "Y" cross-section stakes.

It comes down to true functionality v.s. being a total gram weenie. Ti stakes? Don't make me laugh.

EDIT> I recant. The Vargo Ti Nail stakes would be a good choice for ULers.

(Oh dear me, I may have said something not PC in the UL world.) Well, deal with it.

I see Ti as useful in only a few areas of backpacking, such as stoves, or parts of stoves, where heat is a factor and aluminum can't be used. But cookware???? It's all a prestige thing as far as I can see with Ti pots, cups, and utensils. Hard anodized or ceramic coated aluminum cookware still transmits heat much more evenly than thin Ti cookware. And Lexan utensils and cups are far better for the tasks.

Now MAYBE a Ti knife blade, gun components, Corvette push rods….

But I digress on my digressions.

> Ti stakes? Don't make me laugh.
Funny – those shepherds hook Ti stakes are what I use most of the time. Granted, they do not hold very well in the snow (or in sand), but otherwise, great.

> And Lexan utensils and cups are far better for the tasks.
Have to agree there.

> MAYBE a Ti knife blade,
Tried that. Lousy. Pathetic. Would not hold an edge.

Cheers

I am not a true ULer so maybe that is the reason for my opinion.

MSR Groundhogs!. Pure functionality over an oz. of weight savings.

one alternative not mentioned is the MSR needle stakes- they are square shaped and hod well- they are also tough (very tough), red anodized aluminum so pretty hi-vis, and not terribly heavy @ .35 oz lifetime warranty to boot! :)

It really just depends on where you do most of your hiking. That is why some people have had great luck with Ti shepherd hooks and others think they are a joke. Different soil types require different stakes. I am assuming that by your location that you do most of your hiking in the southeast? If so than shepherd hooks should work fine, in anything but snow or sand. I use Gossamer Gear shepherd hooks and Easton 6" Blue Nail stakes for my SpinnShelter and I have been in winds up to 45 mph in that combo, no mind you I did have to put rock on top of my stakes, but they still did the job.

"It really just depends on where you do most of your hiking.

Exactly! Pick the right tools for the task at hand. Different stake types for different types of ground.

The most helpful posts are those that state the options — along with pros and cons.

Eric, I'd suggest that in the interest of productive discussion you resist pontification and excessive opinion-slinging.

Your comments re ti and aluminum stakes seem to actually concern the material not at all. Y stakes work better than needle stakes in your application and local, perfectly understandable. I suspect that, ideology aside, some ti Groundhogs would suit you, and the elasticity of titanium might help them survive encounters with rocks (I've snapped the heads off a few Groundhogs).

My dearest David,

Point taken. I really should have put a smiley face after "Deal with it." to show that I was only semi-serious.

Yes, I confess, I have used shepherd's hook stakes in the '60s and '70s. And in the past they worked sometimes, maybe 35% of the time, and that was in Pennsylvania's woods. But that 65% failure rate got me to looking for better stakes. Whereupon I made my own from discarded aluminum arrow shafts and tip inserts. Better but not optimum.

And then I discovered MSR Groundhogs and never even winked at a rod stake again, Ti, aluminum or Unobtanium.

BTW, Did I mention I don't like Ti for tent stakes or utensils? :)

ROGER> Ti is not good for knife blades? Thanks for the warning as I was considering buying a lockblade Ti knife. I felt if it had the proper Rockwell hardness number it would be OK but perhaps it has properties that defeat even a good hardness tempering.

Hi Eric

Yes, I have experimented with titanium alloys for knives. I tried putting a real edge on a bought Ti knife – failure. I tried putting a real edge on some 6Al4V alloy – failure.

I do think that a good Ti alloy could make a good butter knife for food, but not for serious cutting.

As for the other metals you mentioned – have you tried adamantium?

Cheers

“And then I discovered MSR Groundhogs and never even winked at a rod stake again, Ti, aluminum or Unobtanium.”

Speaking of unobtanium… I recently switched to Big Sky Ultra C aluminum stakes — which come in 4″ and 6″ configurations. The 4″ is actually lighter than a standard 6-in titanium shepherd hook stake while providing more “holding power”. The 6″ is just a tad heavier than a standard ti shepherd stake.

I’ve used these stakes for 5 camping nights thus far and like them even more than the ti shepherd stakes that I’ve been using for the last 6 years. Essentially comparable in weight but provide more “holding power”. And easy to push in and pull out too.

Some of my favorites. I like to carry a couple kinds. Sometimes you can use one type to get a hole started for the other. If you lose one, you can whittle one from a branch and use it in a less critical spot.

Won't hold the tent up, but geez….

Left to right:

"V" style aluminum by The North Face

"Y" style aluminum by GoLite. Similar to the MSR Ground Hog, one of the toughest and best holding for the weight.

"E" style titanium, retains line even when rotated. They are sold on eBay by alfresco_gear.

Shepherd's hook titanium

Aluminum needle. I haven't used this style much. I'm told they break easily.

Easton tubular aluminum. Tough, holds well, some have trouble with the heads coming off.

I want to try some of the nail style titanium pegs.

Side note:

The "e" stakes came in this twist-adjustable case. It weighs 0.9oz/25g, which is about the same as 4 of the stakes, but it does make for a neat package. For the lightest carry option, I roll them up in a small square of Tyvek and a rubber band. That protects my other gear from punctures and dirt.

When i can I use Ti shepherd but for some of my hikes they were useless like for cape wrath trail :

rocks every night on all stakes :)

same for artic circle trail on most nights or for my last hike in Broceliande forest.

So now when unsure i use a mix of them + 2-4 groundhogs for main guyline depending of shelter.
sometime a vargo nail ( the 14g one without a flattened section like the 8g one )

the v stakes i got with my shangri la 5 seems a not too bad

for snow i use 4 suluk 46 snow stakes for the 4 corners of my twin sisters / shangri la 5, rest is filles by snowshoes / hiking staff when i dont need them anymore

some unconventionnal use of my twin sisters :

Hi,

I'm not aware of of any non-toxic paint that would hold up…or any paint for that matter. I tried applying paint on hot stakes hoping it would "bake" the paint on. Didn't work that well. Powder coating might work well but I'm guessing would negate the weight savings an ultra-lighter would be striving for?.?. I tried a 1/2" wide strip of red duct tape on the top of each stake. It worked ok…then the tape starting peeling off making for stickiness that attracted dirt.

Something I've been meaning to try is colored shrink wrap (a ~1/2" strip on the top of the stake). It can be obtained at electronic stores, would be easy to apply and should hold up a long while.

> Any suggestions for a fluorescent paint that
> 1. Will not wear off titanium or aluminum, and
> 2. Is non-toxic.

Since no one has offered a suggestion yet, I can offer a negative data point. I have used the Rust-Oleum inverted marking paint on my Ti stakes. The fluorescent red-orange color is fantastic, but it wears off quickly dropping bright paint dust on just about everything (ground, pack, fingers, etc.). The MSDS indicates it is slightly toxic. I would not recommend it due to it’s poor durability.

acronym 10/3/2010 11:33 AM

Anyone tried tight carbon tent pegs?

I use a bright orange epoxy primer. Seems to last pretty well.

Cheers