Pegs: Stake your Claims … :)

[Andrew Priest]

Stakes or pegs … thought there would be an endless thread on this topic but alas no and yes I did search but nothing relatively current :) As most if not all ultralight focused shelters come sans stakes I thought I would take this opportunity to get a new set of stakes more inline with the ultralight philosophy.

Care to share what your favourite stakes are or what you recommend? Likely use is sand (mostly sandy tracks like surfaces and sometimes dunes), hard surfaces (often compacted gravel type ground) and more loaming soils when in the bush.

Are titanium nail type stakes the better option? Hooked ones? Carbon fibre along the lines that Zpack sells? Easton Nanos? Combination? AliExpress special? Something else?

[Matthew / BPL]

https://backpackinglight.com/tent_stakes/

MSR Groundhogs are my choice!

[Matt Dirksen]

Here’s the most recent thread on this: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/tent-pegs/

and a BPL article on the subject: https://backpackinglight.com/tent_stakes/

Although it’s several years old, there’s some very good analysis in there.

Regardless, given the terrain you’ve mentioned, perhaps having a mix of stakes would prove to be the most reliable. (What works in sand may not be well suited for compacted gravel).

[two pints]

I hike in the east.  Most of the ground I hike on (OH, KY, TN, NC) is clay/dirt filled with roots and rocks.  For this type of ground, my favorite type of stake are titanium 6.5″ shepherd’s hook stakes with orange paint like zpacks sells.

But my stake choice would be poor in sandy loose soil.  Or if the ground is really wet, my stake choice may fail.  So I carry a couple groundhog style stakes for those times when needed.

[Jim C]

I haven’t had them long, but my new favorite are Litesmith Ankr carbon fiber stakes. A definite improvement over Ruta Locura stakes, at a comparable price.

I also bring some titanium shepherds hooks, and one Vargo titanium nail (the non-ultra light version). The nail is for if I have to pound into hard soil; use it to start a hole for your other pegs if you’re having trouble.

I don’t need the nail for trips here in the Southeast, but useful for the rocky soil out west.

[Larry De La Briandais]

+1 MSR Groundhogs

 

[Clue M]

3mm lines and large rock shaped stakes are my preference.    I use msr needle stakes and Ti hooks as backups.

[Window walker]

The terrain I hike in has many different types of ground, but there are always plenty of rocks. So, I like to take zpacks ti shepherds hooks, and usually 2 less than required for my shelter. If I cant drive the stakes I lay them sideways (or a suitable stick) through the guy line loop and pile on rocks. Or if the soil is loose, drive the stake and pile on rocks. I like rocks.

Ben

[Hoosier T]

Here in Indiana when it’s wet my ti hooks will pull right out. So, I carry 8″ Easton nanos for the two ridge line stakes so I can rely on them and will improvise with the others if the hooks slip. Usually three nanos and six hooks.

[Andrew Priest]

Tanks Matthew for the link. That did not pop up in my Google searches.

Thanks also Matt. That will teach me for searching here only for stake threads and not peg threads. For some reason I thought “stakes” was the American choice of term and didn’t consider searching for pegs… whoops.

[Andrew Priest]

Tanks Matthew for the link. That did not pop up in my Google searches.

Thanks also Matt. That will teach me for searching here only for stake threads and not peg threads. For some reason I thought “stakes” was the American choice of term and didn’t consider searching for pegs… whoops.

Thanks everyone for your input.

[Thomas Willard]

haven’t had them long, but my new favorite are Litesmith Ankr carbon fiber stakes. A definite improvement over Ruta Locura stakes, at a comparable price.

I, sadly, have have had the opposite experience. I used the Litesmith stakes a few times before my thru hike with a favorable impression. Day 2 at Justice Creek at a tent pad, I pull the stake and the top comes off. Luckily I always carry an extra stake.  Three days later I’m at Tray Mountain and the same thing happens. No spares this time so had to rig up something.  I decided then I’m sticking with solid component stakes and am sticking with MSR mini groundhogs.

 

[Russ W]

Good grief!  I have every stake known to mankind and recently purchased the Litesmith carbon stakes with optimism of another 1 oz. saved over anything else I have.  Planning to use them for the Big SEKI in August, but not so sure now. Does anyone have additional field experience…good, bad or otherwise?  These sure looked sweet and capable.

[Brad Rogers]

I usually use Easton stakes as I find they are reasonably light, hold pretty well, and are easy on the hands.  I normally use the blue 6″ stakes but do have some of the 8″ gold stakes I use for the corners when I expect especially nasty weather.  I have some MSR Groundhogs too and they work well, but are a little heavy and are very hard on the hands.   I have had them go through the sole of my trail runners trying to force them in with my foot.  I will also use Ti Shepard hooks too for mid points, etc.

For all stakes, I place a big rock on them if I expect high winds.

 

[Thomas Willard]

Russ- I can only share my experience. I was pretty pissed when the first one broke at the tent pad. A freaking groomed dirt tent pad! The top just popped off. Then at Tray mountain, the ground was hard but nothing any stake shouldn’t be able to handle. I was using a Moment DW tent so only needed 2 stakes. Currently using an Altaplex and not really a fan of the groundhogs, especially 10 of them but that’s what the local outfitter had. I am most likely shifting to Shepard hook stakes in the coming weeks.

[Brad Rogers]

Justice Creek is a hole of a campsite.  Overused hard tent sites.  I remember it rained 7″ in 24 hours when I was going through that section and I woke up to an inch of water on the tent pad, it was nasty.

[Andrew Priest]

According to my tracking of the discussions here and elsewhere the Easton Nano style tent pegs seem to be on par with the MSR Groundhog stakes as the pegs of choice. The comments on “sore hands” as probably tipped this wimp in the direction of the Easton Nano pegs :)

As I may be shopping at Zpacks and to save postage downunder I am curious as to whether anyone has any thoughts on the Zpacks 6.4″ Carbon Fiber tent stakes. Any reports of them coming apart?

[Arne L.]

As I may be shopping at Zpacks and to save postage downunder I am curious as to whether anyone has any thoughts on the Zpacks 6.4″ Carbon Fiber tent stakes. Any reports of them coming apart?

I honestly thought they were the same as the Ruta Locura Solex Stakes.

They get great reviews and are on pair with the much more expensive MSR Carbon Core-stakes.

[jh]

I always bring a mix of 4 Lawson ti-hooks and 4 Ruta Locura Solex. If I’m headed to a place known to be hard on stakes, I throw 2 Groundhog or DAC V-stakes into the mix, which means that I sometimes bring 10 stakes.

I was glad that I had all ten on a recent trip to Utah. First, due to the intense wind on the Cedar Mesa top a few nights. And second, because after three seasons of not not losing any of them, I lost three of my Lawson stakes. I never bothered to give them a coat of bright nailpolish and after 20 minutes of searching the ground near Shaw Arch, had to leave without them one morning. :(

It will be a nice surprise for whoever finds them, I guess. And unlike the pottery shards and other artifacts, you can take the stakes home with you! :)

Edit: I want to add that I’ve never had any durability issues with the Ruta Locura stakes. The carbon fiber gets scratched up, but I’ve never had a top pop off. They are probably my favorite stake.

[JCH]

As I may be shopping at Zpacks and to save postage downunder I am curious as to whether anyone has any thoughts on the Zpacks 6.4″ Carbon Fiber tent stakes. Any reports of them coming apart?

I am a very happy user of the Ruta Locura 9″ sorex stakes. Never had a failure and been pleasantly surprised at how well they work in mildly rocky situations. It *looks* like the ZPacks stakes are pretty much identical. I also notice that Ruta Locura has listed those stakes as unavailable for quite some time so just assumed that ZPacks had taken over production.

I have a collection of stakes and choose those most appropriate to the destination.

 

 

[Crow]

I own loads of different types of pegs.  My favorite all-rounder are Vargo titanitum nail pegs (not the UL variety).  These hold well and can be driven into hard ground which will just piss you off if you try to use any other type of peg (and/or bend your pegs in the process).

For really soft/soggy ground, I like the Toaks Larger V pegs, not the more common smaller variety – if I use a V-peg it’s because I want extra hold and so the larger size really delivers that best.  However, the thick nail pegs generally work okay even in soft ground, and if they don’t it’s a less frustrating problem, often remedied by a big rock set on top of each peg or something else creative, than bending up your pegs in hard ground.  I find the really thin round pegs like the UL nail pegs and shepherd hook pegs usually do not hold very well, but I find them adequate for guylines most of the time.

My tunnel tents take 16 and 18 pegs fully guyed out, and in practice, I find myself carrying along 4-6 nail pegs for the most critical points (the 4 corners, plus 2 end guylines on the heavier winter tent), a dozen UL shepherd hook pegs (for guylines and around the sides of the footprint), and 4 larger V-pegs (for the corners in soft ground, in which case I’ll still use nail pegs for the end guylines on the heavier tent).  In the winter, when the ground is below freezing or will possibly be, I just carry 18 nail pegs and nothing else, no questions asked, because they handle the hard frozen ground best.

[Matthew Perry]

I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Dream Hammocks Sidewinder stakes yet. Love mine!

http://www.dream-hammock.com/shop.html#!/Sidewinder-Tent-Stakes/p/52670790/category=4019214

 

[Peter Griffith]

Thomas,

This is the first report we’ve heard of our carbon fiber stakes pulling apart. Prior to releasing the product we tested a group of 6″ stakes in 5 different locations, each with hard compacted ground. Each stake was pounded in and then pulled out 30 times with a hammer and 20 times with a rock and we had no failures.

We’d be happy to replace the stakes with either carbon fiber stakes or titanium stakes, your choice. I’d like learn more about the conditions of your failure. I’ll send you a PM.

Peter@Litesmith

 

 

[John S.]

50 wops with rocks and hammers is not enough.

[Peter Griffith]

John,

Each stake took about 10-12 strikes to pound it in the hard ground. It was then pulled out of the ground using the cord loop. Repeat that 50 times for each stake. That’s 500-600 strikes per stake. If that’s not enough, what test would you suggest?

Peter@Litesmith

 

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