Just curious to hear what everyone’s preference on tent pegs is, and why…
I have ended up with quite a few types of pegs, and am still torn between 2 or 3 types as to which is the best to carry along on a long trip with variable conditions.
There are a few fundamental designs:
- Nail pegs, which look like a big nail with a pull cord. I have Vargo Titanium nail pegs, and I think these are my favorite all-rounders. They can be pressed or hammered in with a rock in cold or hard ground, pushed in by hand in soft ground, and the large diameter of the peg makes them hold better in winds than thinner hook pegs. In the winter, they are a clear winner, but I’ve only used them outside of winter once so far. In the same soil where thinner hook pegs worked, they held a lot better!
- Hook pegs, which have a round body like a nail peg, but are thinner and lighter, and a hook on the end. I have Toaks titanium shepherd hook pegs for comparison. The hook in theory may be less prone to “letting go” of a guyline if it loosens up, but I think the main advantage is that it makes pressing them in by hand easier. Heck, if a peg is coming loose, I think I’d rather the guyline come loose than the peg getting pulled out and flying off to who-knows where. Since they are very thin metal, getting them into really hard ground is also easier than any other sort of peg, and their thin body helps them slip around rocks easier. But you can’t hammer on them with a rock, and they don’t work so well if the wind picks up. I’ve only had had one pull out and as long as I’ve gotten them well into the ground at a good angle they seem to hold “okay”, but they’ve definitely loosened up and come close as they pull through the soil fairly easily. They also don’t work well for end stakes on tunnel tents where you need to cinch down the tent against the peg to get it nice and taught, though again, I’ve used them for this purpose without regretting it yet. It seems that a larger diameter, longer aluminum version of this style is fairly common as I find one or two at campsites from time to time. Hilleberg makes a triangular variety that they ship with their lighter-weight tents – I got some with one and didn’t like the look of them so sold them without ever trying them.
- V-pegs – these were my favorites last year before the winter hit, but mainly because I hadn’t used anything else. I have Toaks titanium V-pegs, in both the standard and larger-sized varieties. The standard size is what I’ve used most, and they work alright. However, getting them into the ground is harder than either of the above round-body pegs, and hammering them can easily bend the tops if not done carefully. I’m generally careful, and I’ve only really hated them and bent a couple when on hard, dry, compacted ground at a well-used campsite, but I have battered up the tops of the pegs pretty good because I almost always have to use a rock to get them into the ground. On the bright side, when bent, they are pretty easy to straighten. The larger variety hold better than any other peg I’ve tried in soft, wet, or sandy soil, but if the ground is harder or has a lot of rocks, they are a big pain to get into the ground due to their large size, so they aren’t really ideal as an “only” peg to have along.
- Y-pegs – these came with the first (Kelty) tent I had and that was the only time I used them. I switched to V-pegs to reduce weight, and don’t miss the Y-pegs. They seemed difficult to get into the ground, and I worried that if the bent near the top, they would be very difficult to straighten. But they seem to be commonly supplied with tents designed for harsh conditions, which I guess must say something about them? They can be hammered on, and maybe the Y-shape makes them less likely to bend, but I’m not sure.
After various experiences last year, I was thinking of generally carrying a combination of the larger V-pegs as well as ultralight hook pegs for 3-season use. I did that on our last trip, and though the ground was reasonably soft and I probably could have used the V-pegs easily enough, I avoided it because I knew the hook pegs would be easier and I wanted to give them a try in the softer soil to see how they worked. After the winds picked up and one flew out I regretted that decision, and after seeing the rest surrounded by loosened up soil after cutting through it the next morning, I don’t think those are ideal. My mother-in-law came with us and carried the Vargo nail pegs along with our spare tent – those went into the ground just as easily and held perfectly, so while I was thinking of them as more of an ideal winter peg, they may be the new favorite for all-season use. What I don’t know yet is whether they will hold sufficiently well in really soggy ground when there’s a lot of rain.
Another thought is that instead of choosing just one type of peg – it may make more sense to use a mix – one type that’s harder to get in but with better hold for the 4 spots on our tunnel tent that get the most tension against them, and lighter ones for guylines, and around the base of the tent. In the winter, strong pegs along the sides of the base seem important, as snowfall results in a lot of weight pressing inward on the tent, but outside of winter, I don’t think these need to be that strong? For clarity, I am trying to figure out the most ideal stakes to carry for use in conjunction with a Hilleberg Anjan 3GT, for 3-season use on an extended trip which could mean anything from hard, dry, rocky soil to soggy wet soil. Obviously I could carry multiple options but that would mean more weight, which is what I’m trying to avoid.
So I would love to hear more opinions – what type of pegs do you like best, or would you recommend for this purpose?
