Nemo Airpin Stake Review

In brief – these stakes are too short to work well. Maybe Nemo should make a 9 inch version. And the self-locking notches seem much closer to gimmick than useful for lightweight backpackers.

Thanks for testing using Will’s methods so we can compare.

— Rex

Yep, this is essentially a 4.5-inch long stake. We know from winter camping in soft snow that a long and skinny stake like a trekking pole will always outperform a short fat deadman buried in shallow snow.

Here we’ve got a skinny stake that can’t go very deep…

Good first try Nemo but make it at least 8 inches in length.

I do like the *idea* of notches for no-knot tying, but there are ways to implement this that would be easier to adjust … oh wait – LineLocs!

The phrase ‘expensively stupid light’ comes to mind.

I much prefer ClamCleats CL266 over LineLocs for my guy ropes, as they seem to be a lot more reliable.

Cheers

Those look a lot like Dutch’s stakes, which he’s been making for a few years. His are 6” long. I’ve never tried them… I’ll stick with my Groundhogs and occasionally hollow Eastons.

Notched stakes (Nemo or Dutch) in a storm – a very good way to get into a disaster imho.

Cheers

I’ll stick with my MSR Groundhogs.  They’re not the lightest, but they work well.  And I can pound them into the desert ground with a rock and not worry about them.

Mathew beat me to it. Was going to say they look like Dutchware gear. In all the conditions I’ve been in, save for a couple, the Lawson UL 6.5″ 7g has always been good to me. 9 times out of 10 I’m above treeline in lots of wind. Forest duff can sometimes be problematic. Everybody seems to have their favorite stake though. Different conditions, etc.

edit: I literally had to look up ClamCleat as I’ve never heard of that before. And realized that’s the same type line locking system I use. Never knew the name.

I noticed Mark mentioned he thought these went in easier than anything else, and that these are the first stake I’ve seen w/ a full length taper.

Consider that the best holding power is a Y-stake with the flat side towards the tent.  Maybe a further optimization might be a Y or T stake with a continuous taper.  You need the most grip on the dirt at the top where it’s loosest.

In other news, I just found this article pointing out that 7″ aluminum gutter nails are a viable option.  At a claimed 0.4oz and a little over $1/ea, they seem like a great budget option.  One product listed a diameter of 5/16″.  No idea what the alloy or strength/stiffness is.  Some products look like the edge of the head could put a bit of wear on the guy line pending angles.

The cheapest tent pegs I ever got came from a bit of discarded fencing wire I found in France one time. (I had lost my bag of pegs – don’t ask.) I bent the wire until it broke into a number of bits all over 200 mm (8″) long, rounded the ends off on a rock and put hooks on one end. They worked just as well as any Ti peg.
Total cost: $0

Cheers

In other news, I just found this article pointing out that 7″ aluminum gutter nails are a viable option.  At a claimed 0.4oz and a little over $1/ea, they seem like a great budget option.

Author here. Yep, a great budget item. Being a hardware store item, the prices and weights will vary. I’ve seen them under a buck here in town for example.  Call it +/- on the weight and price.

Add some equally inexpensive and effective bank line to make a loop, and you have an effective, inexpensive, and light solution.

I tend to use MSR mini-groundhogs as my personal go-to stake, but I’ve used the gutter nails many times over years esp when loaning out gear or rigging up a tarp.

Paul, I agree on the Gutter Spikes. But, 5 shepherd’s Hooks for an ounce is very hard to beat.

I find shepherd hooks to be ineffective for most of my backpacking and gave up on them many years ago. YMMV.

@Paul
That may reflect the sort of soil you camp on?

Cheers

I’ve never had a problem with the titanium shepherds hooks. Surprisingly, even in sand. I like that they are so thin they can fit between buried rocks on hard ground. You can pound them with a rock if necessary.

i wouldn’t try them on snow.

I think Will R said it best about hooks:

“ However, they are harder to insert and cannot be pounded in very easily. Their holding power is significantly increased by placing a rock on top of the stake and guyline.”

When I thru-hiked major trails and more concerned about the Lightest. Gear. Possible. rather than effective system overall. I used to use the hooks. But I find they are often one-trick ponies best for more well-used areas. And, yes, I had to stack rocks.   Oddly enough, my overall base pack weight is lower than when I thru-hiked the major trails even if heavier stakes. ;)

Going back to Will R, and the recent update,  I find this take on the mini-ground hogs fit my overall backpacking in off-the-beaten-path areas with mixed terrain. (I am typing 40 minutes from mountains at 12k+ feet, the high desert is literally out my front door, and I often camp near riparian areas):

2019 Update: The Best Stake for the Weight

• As of November 2019, it’s still the MSR Groundhog Mini. Y-channel = strong holding power, aluminum = light, and Y-channel = durable (resists bending).

Flip side: I have bags of Y-section stakes which have been sent to me for various reasons. But I still BUY Ti wire stakes at my own expense, and that’s what I use in the field. That tells me something about how useful and effective both sorts are for me.

Cheers

Same here, Roger. Even double staking one corner leaves them about 0.4oz for a strong guyline. I have had a tarp rip before the stakes pulled out. I guess it depends on the terrain.

I can only go on my own experiences.
Some of our country is ‘rocky’ – a crumbly sort of mudstone. I can hammer a Ti wire into that stuff with a rock (except that the rock usually broke along the way), but I have zero chance of getting Y-stake to go in at all. And the cheaper Y-stakes with sharp corners – shudder.
On the other hand, in alpine grasslands, the vegetation makes a sufficiently tangled mass below the surface of the soil that Ti wires hold wonderfully.
Sand, on river banks, is different. There, I just collect some dead sticks and shove them in. Rocks on top maybe.

Now, how well they would go in deep Sierra duff, I do not know. That could be a problem, but I doubt that short Y-stakes would be much better. Long ones – sure.

Commercially, Ti wires seem to be >$4 each, while packs of Al Y-stakes from ebay are often the same price for a pack of 6 or 10. That probably counts for some differences.

I am biased. YMMV

Cheers