Setting up SMC snow stakes

[Adam G]

I’m thinking about buying the SMC T-anchors for snow camping with my mid. I made my own silnylon parachute anchors which are quite light, but super finicky to get a decent pitch. I’ve found that pitching it with regular stakes is a breeze. How exactly do people anchor their guylines to the SMC anchors? Is there an easy way to do this without tying a knot? I’m not exactly excited about knot tying when my hands are freezing.

[David Thomas]

I’d fix a length of 2-mm or 3-mm high-visibility cordage through the two small holes and tie a loop in the other end.  Then, after you bury the T-anchor, you have an above-grade attach point for your guy lines.

To make it as hands-free as possible, I’d affix a toggle to the anchor cordage and put a taut-line knot on each of the tent’s guy lines.  You could have multiple toggles at 2 and 4 feet from the anchor to give yourself a lot of flexibility in where to bury the anchor.

Then in summer use, take the tent with its taut-line knots and your usual stakes.  And in winter, the tent is unchanged but placing the anchors 2-3 feet further out lets those toggles serve the role of the summer tent stakes.

[David Thomas]

Googling “sewing supplies toggles” turned up lots of option from other people, but with a dowel or some bar stock (wood or plastic) and small drill and you can make your own.

I’d drill one hole and tie an overhand (or figure-8 knot) on each side of it.
If I wanted them to be really bomber, I’d run a HDPE cutting board over a table saw to get long strips, drill the holes, sand the edges, cut into lengths, then sand the ends.

[Matthew / BPL]

I like the toggle/tautline setup! It’s very simple and adjustable.

[Andreas K]

I’ve used the T-anchors a few seasons and like them a lot. David’s toggle suggestion was really clever – might give it a try next time.

They way I’ve used them so far is to first make a large-ish loop of cordage through the small holes. I’ve then connected it to a small, fixed loop on the end of my guy line with a simple “loop to loop” connection/knot. (The length of the guy line is adjusted at the tent side.) This would be easy to “tie” also with cold fingers, but could be a challenge to break open in the morning as it gets very tight. However, since the T-anchor doesn’t have any sharp edges, I’ve simply kept the tent guy lines spooled up them in between uses. You lose a bit of flexibility in guy line length, but since we’re talking snow camping the anchor can normally be placed at any distance anyway.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I’m having trouble picturing this.

David could you put up a drawing for those of us who are “spatially challenged”?

[Author]

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