New Easton Nano Stakes

[Trace Richardson]

I just got what I've just learned are the older version yesterday from Hyperlite, so I will have to keep an eye on the head coming off, the Vargo Ascent titaniums bent the first time I used them, so these are to replace those …. so much stake drama. ;)

[Greg Mihalik]

Trace,
The old style heads don't just fall off. I've beat on mine for a couple of seasons and had only two come off and one loosen out of about a dozen in use over 60 nights out. And those were the gold 8". Blue 6" haven't loosened or popped off yet. From what I read above, Easton stands firmly behind the product, so you'll get replacements for the price of returning.

The real issues are 1)having a head come off and not being able to extract the stake, and 2) then being one stake short. So I carry 1 spare.

And if you are not pounding you won't have a problem.

I DO like these stakes. They will go through almost anything and they hold well as a deadman in deep dry sand.

YMMV

[Rakesh Malik]

"-I have no personal connection or motive for gain with TT. Just had excellent interactions with Henry and thought I'd share. Thanks for the reminder Rakesh."

I doubt that many people need reminders about TT and TT's customer service, based on how many people take both Henry's side and Franco's when a few fools launch into tirades against them. ;)

It is refreshing to learn that Easton is also standing behind their products and fixing flaws in them.

[ed hyatt]

I'm not sure what some people do to their pegs (not stakes chaps ;-)…

Like Greg I've probably the same nights on mine and they are fine.

[J-L]

I called Easton this morning (at the number provided above) and was simply told to talk to Campmor (where I purchased the stakes) about getting a refund/returning them.

[Marc Clark]

I received 8 brand new Easton 8" Nano stakes today. While I was pulling them from the packaging, 3 of the 8 heads "slid" off. Something is VERY wrong with these stakes. I would not rely on them in the field. When the head of one of their older 8" gold stakes came off in the field you almost need pliers to get them out of soft ground (any ultralight pliers out there?) At least with the old stakes it took a little banging and pulling before they came apart. The Nanos come apart before use.

As the number provided to us to call simply informs us to contact the retailer we purchased from, I doubt that is the customer service we thought would be provided reading the above statement from Easton. Since I have to pay for return postage, I doubt it is worth the money and effort to ship them back to my retailer at $9.95 per 4 of them.

Would Easton be interested in providing us some instructions on how best to secure the head back on our brand new stakes so that we could actually feel secure with them or even use them?

[Greg Mihalik]

Marc,
Who did you get them from?

There Is something seriously wrong, and knowing where these are showing up may help Easton. As mentioned above, Campmor was the source for the noted failures.

Thanks.

[BTW, I did PM Clint.]

[Marc Clark]

backcountry.com Also make that 4 out of 8 stakes that were defective.

[Tad Englund]

Marc,
Backcountry.com will probably pay for return shipping for something like that- I'd contact them to tell them what happened. They have always been real good to me with situations like that.
Tad

[Mark Cashmere]

I just checked the 8 Nanos that came with my Easton Kilo 1P and I couldn't tug off any of the heads (pulling for a while) and there appears to be a bead of clear bonding material around the seam between the shaft and the head of the stake. Sounds like yours made it through Q/A erroneously.

As for weight, I can kinda confirm that one stake weighs .30 (my scale only increments down to the .05 oz.) and 8 stakes weigh 2.20 oz., so .26 oz each could be close to right. I can do grams — 1 stake ~ 8 grams, 8 stakes ~ 63 grams.

I am kind of tossed between using these or just taking the set of 'e' and shepherd's hook titanium stakes I usually sub on my tents when I use them in the field.

[Clint Warner]

Sorry that some of you had problems with calling our customer service department. The last thing we want our customers to have is any more inconveniences when it comes to reconciling problems with our products. If they do, we need to make it right with as little disruption as possible. It appears that some of you tried to contact us and were referred back to your dealer. I would like to clarify that with warranty issues, we want our customers to use whichever is most convenient for them to deal with the problem, whether it be through the dealer or calling us directly, we will take care of you. The reason we suggest using the dealer is that sometimes it is easier and quicker to drive 5 minutes to a local store and get replacement product immediately then wait for us to send you replacement product. Obviously that isn't always a good option for any number of reasons and so if it is more convenient to work with us directly, that is fine too. Either way is fine with us and we should work with you.

For those who were referred back to their dealer as the only option, I apologize. I will speak to customer service and make sure that our message is a consistent one to prevent any miscommunications in the future.

Clint Warner
Sales Manager
Tubing and OEM Products

[Clint Warner]

Marc,

Please PM me with your address and we will get you taken care of.

Thanks,
Clint

[Ron Bell / MLD]

We have sold thousands of the the older style (and a thousand or so of the newer style) over the years and occasionally hear of a head coming off – BUT – it is quite rare. We always offer to ship new ones or suggest a small dab of 5min epoxy glue. I have driven then through 2X4's with a hammer with almost no deformation. Remember: Nothing light enough to carry lightweight backpacking is totally indestructible, but these are pretty darn good.

We could sell any stake out there or even have them made custom for us if we wanted , but choose this stake as one of the two we carry for two main reasons:

1: High holding power for the weight.

It has about equal moist soil holding power as the common 7.5" Y stake- 66lbs vs 67lbs and much more holding power in compacted forrest soil 66lbs vs 51lbs giving the Easton stake the highest combined holding power and combined soil holding power to weight ratio of all leading stake types.

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

Note that the newest Easton Nano stakes (older and slightly heavier ones were in the review) are lighter than the 7.5" Y stakes too. -My interpretation of the BPL tests conclusions differ and factor in the new lower weight if needed to the conclusion methodology and the Easton stakes are the clear choice.

SO, when you hear all the talk about Y stake being superior in holding power, that just ain't true unless you get a much larger and heavier Y stake.

2: Rounded edges on the head will drastically limit cut hands or shelters.

[J-L]

After talking to Clint last week, Easton sent me some new 8'' stakes to replace the ones whose caps popped off (free of charge, didn't even have to send in my old stakes!). They arrived today and I'm happy to say that none of the caps of these stakes popped off – they all seem quite solid. I'll probably be bringing some of these along on future hikes. I'm looking forward to seeing how they work out.

[Marc Clark]

In follow-up, Backcountry.com has sent me total of 16 Easton 8" Nano stakes (original purchases and as replacements). Only 5 stakes are any good. I could pull the tips off 11 of them by hand coming out of the package. Clint at Easton was to send me 8 replacements but so far I have not received them. Folks, 11/16 defective stakes is not a rare occurrence. Sorry, but I can't seem to get 6 functional stakes for my tarp.

[Greg Mihalik]

Marc,
"I could pull the tips off…"

I assume you mean the TOPS?

[Franco Darioli]

Set up a couple of tents and an ID bivvy in the snow this last w/e.
We had Easton , MSR blizzard and similar slightly larger stakes as well as the ToughStakes.
The easiest to use were the Easton (new and old) , we did not use the ToughStakes because the first tent we did had one end in shallow snow and those did not work .
( I was going to do some tests with those ToughStakes but ended up playing with a new stove and doing other things and forgot all about that…)
Franco
BTW, I did a quick calculation of how many thousands of those Easton stakes TT have shipped out.
If indeed the problem was as widespread as some think we would have had hundreds of people complaining in the forums.
But I have had failures with them too , just like with most stakes I pound in the ground (except with the Y types but I have cut myself a few times with those and yes they can be a problem with fabric and or guylines rubbing against the sharp bits)
Franco
Out of curiosity I tested 141 stakes (6 of the new type , the other old type), all new, had 1 failure

[Marc Clark]

Yes, the tops (blue top on top of the gray aluminum stake).

[Clint Warner]

Marc, PM sent.

11 of 16 bad isn't normal for us either. Rest assured, we are looking into this as we have never seen this frequency of failures before either, especially from the same package.

Since this thing came up, our QA and engineers have been working overtime to figure out the root cause and make sure that future shipments are right. Obviously, some bad product got out there and we will work with you and anyone else who may have received similarly bad stakes taken care of, this includes reaching out to whichever dealers who may have received similarly bad product that slipped through production, if needed. We are currently conducting a full investigation/inspection of all current inventory and we will take whatever action is needed to resolve the issue once we have sufficient data to know how extensive this is.

Regardless, until then we will get anyone taken care of ASAP with replacement good product. Sorry again for the trouble and I appreciate everyone's patience while we work through this.

Clint

[Scott M]

I just got 4 of the 8" Nano stakes from from an online retailer this week and after reading this thread checked to see if the stakes I got had this problem. Sure enough, I was able to pull the heads off of 3 out of the 4 stakes that I got. I did this with bare hands and light to moderate pressure. It definitely was not a struggle.

[Ken Thompson]

Why does anyone think a two piece stake makes sense? Overcomplicating what we use to do with sticks. Certainly seems like product testing before release is lacking. Unless they do all their testing on consumers.

[Greg Mihalik]

Ken,
You've followed this thread, so I know better, but otherwise you are sounding a bit like a troll.

[Warren Greer]

Let's keep this thread on track.

Thanks to Easton as well.

[Ken Thompson]

Sure. No trolling intended.

If people just on this site are pulling heads off brand new ones, how widespread is this problem? Just does not sound like enough testing was done before release. Or a flawed design(my vote).

And yes I am totally biased against these stakes. I have used and enjoyed many Easton products through the years. This is an unfortunate blemish on their record.

[Bob Gross]

"Just does not sound like enough testing was done before release."

It is cheaper for a manufacturer to do a 100% test on the design than it is to do a 100% test on production.

Too often, a design is virtually 100% perfect, but then it goes to the factory for production. Sometimes the factory foreman is trying to cut production costs as much as possible, and sometimes it boils down to one item like epoxy sealant. Instead of using five drops, maybe they use only one drop. Or, sometimes the epoxy didn't get mixed up right, so they get five drops of Part A only. If the pot life of the epoxy is wrong, they get five drops of stuff that has already set up.

To get it right, it takes continuous sampling on production, and the factory foreman who is trying to keep up with the schedule at all costs gets fired.

Yes, I think I will take a 'wait and see' stance toward more Easton stakes until this washes out.

–B.G.–

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