Titanium Tent Stakes

Hey Peter,

Sorry for missing your pm. PM or email works, though I am not a huge fan of BPL pm system.. My email address is Lawson at Mountainfitter dot com and you can always reach me there. Not sure how often I miss PM's so if anyone else has tried to reach me and I haven't responded I am sorry as well.

Thanks,
Lawson

I'd love to see a titanium Y stake.

Vargo makes a Titanium V stake. My biggest issue with Titanium V stakes is how thin the sheet metal is. It has a tendency to prematurely wear out and cut your guy lines. I think aluminum shines in this area. Since its lighter then Titanium you can actually use a thicker sheet stock which would be less likely to cut or wear out your guy lines. I made some prototype V stakes a while back using some 7075-T6 Aluminum and they work great. They are about 3/4" wide after bending so they hold in sand like a dream… I think the weight was right at 12 grams but I could be wrong since its been a while since I used them..

Thanks for your reply, Lawson, but I'm confused. I thought titanium was strong enough to allow using less of it than aluminum for comparable strength at less weight.

"…using less of it than aluminum for comparable strength at less weight."

Using less means thinner. Thinner area in contact with cord, essentially means sharper, which means "a tendency to … cut your guy lines".

So, sure, less weight, but not necessarily better.

Edit:
BTW, my 6", largely perforated, Ti V stake weighs 12 grams. So, no weight savings, but the risk of sawing a line during a good blow. Hummmm………..but it is cool.

As Greg said you might as well call them Ti-Knives. I will not longer carry a Ti-V stake after one sawed through a guyline in a hoop tent. To make a long story short I spent the night in my new "bivy" since the weather was too bad to re-attach the cord.

Thanks Greg. Makes me even happier with the Groundhogs I got for my birthday.

Groundhogs are a great all around tent stake but they aren't the best in sand/snow or really hard compacted rocky stuff. The only way you can be sure you have something that will work in every soil type is to carry Ti-Eye's or Titanium Nail's for hard stuff and wide aluminum V stake's for soft soil, sand and snow.

Lawson, are we supposed to be waiting for the 14th to order or emailing you?

Right now I've got the Groundhogs, titanium nails and some 6" Eastons. I was considering some Ti Vs, so I'm grateful for your advice. I'd go with the aluminum you recommend. I was also thinking of some very light Ti shepherds. Those I would use between hardier stakes in the middle and ends of my tarp, for example. Perhaps I'd be better of with your eyes instead?
Thanks again for the help. I'm another one saving up for your Ciben dry sacks.

I've got an idea, what about offering some stakes (say 6-8) as a package with a Cuben stake bag?

The 6" Ti-Eye's will go on sale tomorrow afternoon around 5pm EST. They will be $2.00 a piece and I will upload the official product photo and discription tomorrow before they go on sale since there has been a minor change made.

Just a note: As of now the 2.95mm rod is a one time deal. This size rod is an over-run at the mill. Its a very uncommon sized rod so its almost impossible to find more. (I have been looking for weeks) After these sell out I will be switching to the 3.175mm (1/8") rod. Its a little bit stronger but heavier.

Thanks,
Lawson

Nice stakes. I missed this thread here. (New here and still lurking.) I posted about them on some other forums as well as on my blog too.

So, how many of the 2.95 mm rods will you have. Between here and hammock forums it looks like you have sold a ton of these things already! I would like to get a few of each as well, but wondering if there will be a wait on them…

I'm holding out for some of the pigtail and longer heavier ti-eyes.

Thanks Stick for posting this on you blog.

Doesn't look like they are available yet on the mountainfitter site?

Tent stakes are available. It looks like I have close to 1,000 of them.. They will not ship until the end of next week when the paint will be fully cured. The delay is due to no heat in the shop which has not allowed us to paint the stakes.. I am working on setting up a heater so I can get them painted. Sorry about the delay.

Any word on the curlies?

"Any word on the curlies?"

Same question. I want a few.

The corkscrew machine I designed and built broke last week at the beginning of the production run. I am working on fixing the problem but I am swamped with all the other products I am building so maybe 2-3 weeks. Sorry for the delay with the paint and the corkscrews.

Haha. I've got that same problem Lawson, I have to do all my cuben work at home because it's too cold in the shop to cure the bonds. ;)

Keep us posted on the corkscrews, those who know what's what are anxious! ;D

Just put an order for 8 in. It was hard not to buy more – I'm going to hold out for some curlies and the thicker ti eye's.

Thanks,

Mike

Now that the weather has warmed up a bit the paint is starting to dry faster. The first batch is almost ready to stack and ship.

Thanks,
Lawson

Did you dip, hand paint, or spray one or two coats on the stakes?

Hey Ken,

I dipped the stakes which is one of the reasons why they are taking longer to dry..

Again, how can I order these?