Staking Strategy for Self Supporting Tent vs Trekking Pole Tent

You must find yourself in very accommodating sites if you can place so many stakes where they are needed. I am mystified by the acceptance of this burden placed on tenters. A few years ago I purchased a Tarptent which requires only two stakes and these have some flexibility in placement. It does require carrying it’s own pole but that probably weighs less than a handful of stakes. It sets up in 5 minutes and packs almost as fast. This is a one man tent but the concept could be made larger.

I’m uncertain about how you calculate ‘less’ and ‘more’ valuable stakes. do you mean, cost? Or holding power? or something else?

In any case, given that stakes are crucial and relatively inexpensive, I bring a good, dependable set for all staking points.

For a Durston XMid 2P Pro I carry 12 Ruta Locura 9” CF stakes. Use them at any location I choose to stake. Best case I only need six. Worst case I can batten down the hatches or have spares. ~3 oz for total confidence. However, I rarely find myself in terrain so rocky that they are hard to insert

I’m long past trying to shave every last gram. I value performance, reliability then weight…in that order.

For my TT Moment DW solo I use 2 end stakes most days but add 2 to 4 guy line stakes “depending”.

But for my “SUL” TT Notch Li solo I use 6 stales nice days and 4 more on fly edges for crap weather.

Thinking of trying longer (9″) tubular aluminum or CF stakes instead of 6″ Ground Hogs.

In the Sierra, and especially near or above tree-line, I often need to use a small stack of rocks to pin down stakes. The soil is far too thin to hold a stake effectively, and there’s often a layer of hard granite a quarter inch below that sandy cover. And so I like longer stakes. These offer more area for hold when I pile up rocks. And by the way, this method is easily as sturdy as driving stakes into the ground, if done right. And there are always plenty of moveable rocks near any tent site in the Sierra at altitude.

In the PNW there’s often good, deep penetrable soil available for staking. My point is that choosing stakes may depend on where one is hiking–a little! Not much.

Coming back to the OP’s specific question, I think the suggestion may have merit. The corners of a self-supporting/freestanding tent probably don’t need stakes with tremendous holding power. Shepherd crooks might be sufficient.

@JCH

My preference is also Sorex stakes. I carry them along with a single titanium nail stake in case I need to drive a pilot hole to prevent one from breaking in unforgiving soil. To date, I’ve never had to use the nail.

No offense to the OP or anyone else, but I have no idea where everyone is pitching camp that tent stake choice requires a committee. LOL

No offense to the OP or anyone else, but I have no idea where everyone is pitching camp that tent stake choice requires a committee. LOL

Seems to me that the OP is just asking a question and doesn’t deserve to be mocked. For better or for worse, virtually every gear thread on BPL involves over-thinking details, and members are often deeply engaged. It can seem a bit nitpicky, but different people care about different things, I guess.

Fair enough, Dan. Point taken. 👍🏻

Richard, my trekking pole tent will collapse if one specific state fails so Im sure that’s always staked well with my strongest stake as possible. I carry two kinds. 8″ groundhog clones and basic shepherds hooks. The former has a ton of holding power but often hard to use due rocks but the shepherds are weaker but easier to drive. So anyways I prioritize critical failure points. So yeah your guylines are you strong points so I’d go best there.

jscott, does this method involve simply laying the stakes on the ground horizontally then covering with rocks?

I sometimes do that – stake horizontal with rock on top.  If it’s a big enough rock

Maybe better is to use a stick rather than a tent stake horizontal.  Bigger diameter.  it stakes in position better.  Sometimes the stake will slide out or rotate.  Maybe a 2 or 4 inch diameter stick.

Or, put the guyline around a rock.  Either a big rock, or a small rock and then put a big rock on top of it.

“jscott, does this method involve simply laying the stakes on the ground horizontally then covering with rocks?”

Yep. But it’s always intuitive given the situation and what rocks are available. 95% of the time at altitude in the Sierra there are several dozen stones weighing 5 to 20 pounds very near your campsite. You can choose among these to build a small rock pile, with the stake horizontal at the bottom. Or you might find a heavier rock and use that to anchor the horizontal stake. BUT, you have to make sure that the cord won’t abrade! And so designing the proper rock attachment takes security and cord abrasion into account.

Often there will be some stakes that pound in securely enough that a heavy rock placed on top will ensure that the stake will hold. Other stakes at the same campsite may need the horizontal treatment.

I have a free standing 1p and a trekking pole 1p. I don’t really do anything different with stakes between the two. I always stake my tent, always. Why be irritated at  2am when the weather changes? I also use decent stakes for both tents (usually groundhogs), and bring the exact amount needed for each tent’s main tie downs and a couple additional guylines. And I also put a large rock on each stake if I can find one, or if I cannot get stakes to stay in ground, I use little rock big rock. Once I’m set up, and everything is secure, I can relax, knowing that only a tornado is going to upend my shelter.

What is “use little rock big rock”?

Little rock/big rock – I must have picked up that technique here on BPL; I think someone posted a YT video or something. I just take a small rock, maybe the size I’d use to pound in stakes, and wrap the end of a guyline around it and lay it on the ground. Then I put a really big rock, football size, on the guyline just in front of the small rock. Holds super well, even in wind. I’ve done this exclusively, no tent stakes on any part of the tent, when I couldn’t get any stakes firmly into the ground. The big rock has to be heavy; I usually pick one that is hard to carry.

Ahhh… yeah, I do the exact same thing.  Need a big rock.

Either I figured it out, or it’s in my memory banks from reading it here

I have always been of the mindset that staking strategies really vary from location to location.  That being said, I generally use 4 MSR core stakes for the corners and mini groundhogs for the doors and guy lines.  That’s more than likely overkill but it’s never failed.