best tent pegs for hard ground

2021/05/21

This design is supposed to keep the stakes in place in soft soil, like sand or snow. But for camping on snow, the REI Co-op Snow Stake is affordable and reliable, and is our stake of choice. We may earn a small commission when you purchase items through our links. Consult our test results below for an idea of each stakes holding strength. We were also curious if putting stakes into the ground at a 45-degree angle really is stronger, so we tested each stake at 45 degrees and at 90 degrees. Once the stake hit the rock, we continued pressing on them with the toe of our boots for around 30 seconds each. Made from 100% recycled materials, these stakes are very lightweight, but rather large. Is It Cheaper To DIY? They are great for hard soil or ground with rocks. The Vargo Titanium Nail Peg Ultralight is the thinner and lighter version of the popular Nail Peg also on this list of the best tent stakes for hard ground. Titanium is the strongest but can be hard to repair if you bend and they are the most expensive too. From picking a place to pitch to figuring which pole goes wheresometimes things just dont go to plan. The Y-shape design helps increase tensile strength when hammering down which naturally suits hard ground camping very well. They work in the same way as if you were to tie your tent down with rocks instead of pegs using gravity to keep your tent taut. The Sea To Summit Ground Control Tent Peg has a three-sided design for added strength and holding power. As long as you only have to carry them 20 feet from the car to the tent, though, the Coleman 10-in Steel Tent Stake is awesome, and a great addition to anyones camping gear stash. We also did not perform these tests on the MSR ToughStake, since it is not intended to be pressed into the ground at all. Steel stakes are definitely not light, but they are some of the strongest stakes out there. If youre camping on sand, then classic tent stakes that come with the tent wont do. More suited to larger teepee-like structures and gazebos than a tarp or 2 person tent but impressive nonetheless. The average metal peg supplied with most lower medium-end tents will be made from cheap steel that is fine for the soft ground but will crumple under any significant pressure. The only struggle you might experience is getting them out of the ground. These are lightweight, and have a lot of the same advantages of Y-stakes, although weve found them to be slightly weaker. After that, we gave each one a solid 10 taps on the top with a rock. Avoid using your foot, as this is more likely to bend and damage the stake. We didnt have any issues with it during our field testing, despite driving it into some rocky soil. The Monk Industries Forged Head 12 Stake is extremely heavy in comparison to the other choices on this list but are almost indestructible. We attempted to keep the direction of pull at around 45 degrees from the ground, to simulate the direction of pull from a tent rainfly or guyline. We never had issues with it breaking, but we did have it slide out of place and down the stake a couple of times. These ultralight tent stakes are so light, youll barely feel them in your hand. But they wont break the bank, either. As an Amazon Associate 99Boulders LLC earns from qualifying purchases. Whats perfect for the car camper on soft, grassy campsites is going to be useless for the backpacker who frequently sets up camp in rocky or snowy locations. These are durable enough to be driven into harder ground with a rock, hammer, or camping hatchet if need be. One negative is that the plastic top seems fairly weak compared to the rest of the stake. Theyre also long, which helps them stay in the ground better and more securely during all types of weather conditions. These stakes might look thin, but theyre made of 7000 grade aluminum alloy. There are a variety of tent stakes on the market, all in completely different designs, shapes, sizes, and colors. We tested the small version, and MSR also sells a larger medium version. The main reason this didnt win our Best Snow Tent Stake award is that, at less than half the cost, the REI Snow Stake outperformed this one just slightly when buried as a deadman, though the difference between the two was minimal. Material: Carbon Steel | Dimensions: 10.5 in | Weight (ounces): 3.84 oz. Read on for our full reviews and for tips on how to figure out what type of tent stake is right for you. Thats what keeps them light but strong. The blunt tip didnt drive very well through the soil and almost always required a couple of good hits from a hammer. Whats more, hammering them into a very rocky terrain might cause them to bend. While we didnt have a chance to test the MSR ToughStake in deep sand, other reviews rate it highly for that purpose. It just doesnt have enough holding power for us to rely on it in anything worse than a light breeze. These are the tent stakes that last for many years and are hard to bend even if you hit a rock underground. Are you one of those people who are just plain bad at tying knots? Initially, it seemed awesome. These titanium tent stakes from Vargo are shepherds hook stakes that poke into the ground with ease. So, to make sure you buy the right tent stakes, heres what to look for and what makes each set of tent stakes different: You can have the best tent stakes around, but it wont do you any good unless you know how to properly insert a tent stake. pegs For backpackers, weight is crucial. On the other hand, they should be placed horizontally in soft snow in order to hold well. They come in three lengths and are relatively inexpensive for a pack of six even though they are made from high carbon steel. When you buy something through one of the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. So our top choice here came down to minor details: The REI Snow Stake is the lightest and cheapest option and outperformed the MSR Blizzard just barely when buried as a deadman anchor. The MSR Groundhog is a staple for most backpackers, and for good reason. The top of the stake, while it held onto tent lines with no problem, offered virtually no grip to pull the stake out. Best for: campers looking for affordable but sturdy classic stakes. The good think about tent peg hooks is that you can always rotate them to face down which makes it far less likely that any line will slip of the peg. We used a wind load calculator to determine that 40 mph winds would put somewhere from 30 to 45 lbs of pressure on a tent stake (depending on how big your tent is, how many stakes the load is distributed among, the elevation, and a number of other factors). Copyright GearAssistant.com 2022 - All rights reserved. We arent big fans of the shape of the top. Sharp tips allow you to push them into hard and rocky soil. Theyre a bit heavier than other types of stakes, but thats a must for beaches and deserts. Best for: long-distance backpackers looking for ultralight stakes to take on the trail. J-Stakes (aka V-Stakes):A lot of tents come with aluminum J-Stakes (also sometimes called V-Stakes). From camping on snow in the Tetons to camping in sandy Southern Utah, to camping in rocky Redwood forests along the California Coast, we tested these stakes in a variety of conditions. Best for: environmentally conscious campers who want a unique stake that holds well in all kinds of terrain. 10 Best Bushcraft Tents for Survival in 2022, History Channel Alone Gear List Season 9 Contestants 10 Items, 8 Ski Wax Alternatives: Eco Friendly, Household Items, and Cheaper Options, 6 Best Canvas Wall Tents for Camping 2022, What To Wear Rock Climbing Outside | Clothing Guide, 9 Best Bushcraft Jackets for Survival and Bug Out Bags 2022. Drive the stake straight into the ground at a 90-degree angle. You struggle to make one, and then you struggle even more to untie the mess you made. Snow stakes have a wide U-shape and usually feature several holes around the middle. We didnt feature any in this guide but if you check out our camping on sand guide you can see what we mean. We suspect that with the extra surface area, theyd hold incredibly well once you got them buried and set in the snow. We suspect that you could make up that gap fairly easily by just burying the MSR or REI stakes a little bit deeper, or piling more snow on top of them. Even for a full set, ultralight tent stakes will probably only save you around an ounce or less. You could wail on this beast all day with a rock or a hammer and it would barely feel it. How much force a tent stake can hold, and how durable it is, is probably the most important consideration, especially if you often camp in less than ideal conditions. If youre looking for a cheap set of reasonably lightweight backpacking tent stakes, you could do a lot worse than the REI Co-op Aluminum Hook Tent Stake. To give you some idea of how strong your stakes need to be, we did some calculations. Overall, this was a fantastic stake in snow just not great enough that wed buy and carry a full set of them when there are cheaper and lighter snow stakes that work nearly as well. Some reviewers have said that the Groundhogs tend to bend or break at the narrow neck. The reason why this design holds so well in such conditions is because the snow goes in and around the holes and keeps them in place. We had to re-do our holding strength tests multiple times because the cordage kept slipping off before the stake actually came out of the ground. After a few uses, most are hardly good at all. At 1.12 oz, the MSR Blizzard Tent Stake is also slightly heavier than the REI Snow Stake, which weighs just an ounce. Plastic tent stakes are not the best for the solid ground because they can bend and it is hard to hammer them in if there are rocks there. Theyre of standard length and weight only 0.35 ounces. In case of firm snow, hammer the stakes vertically. While most tent pegs are very similar in looks there are some things you can look for to ensure you are getting the strongest tent pegs: As we mentioned above in the different types of tent stakes, the material your tent stake is made of has the biggest impact on how well your tent stake hammers into the ground. The thickness of your hard tent stake also determines how good it is for hard ground and the thicker the better if you can live with the extra pack weight. The best way to hammer tent stakes into the hard ground is with a hammer. car camping, but it might be an issue for long-distance backpackers.. Theyre great for hard soil or rocky terrain. These look like long nails, which is probably why theyre called nail stakes Theyre usually made of titanium or steel, which makes them a sturdy option. The titanium metal is also extremely lightweight, which makes it perfect for backpacking. On top of that, the galvanized steel makes them resistant to corrosion. The bright color and reflective cord make finding the MSR stakes easy whether it is night or day. Were not engineers, so these are loose estimates. Material: Aluminum Easton | Dimensions: 7.5 in | Weight (ounces): 0.5 oz. The REI Co-op Aluminum Hook Tent Stake did much better than we expected. We expected them to bend or break easily, but they showed hardly any signs of wear throughout our field testing and durability testing. They also come with a removal tool that helps you drive them into the ground as much as possible, and get them back out again afterwards without any hassles. Theyre a couple of inches longer than standard stakes, but thats necessary for better hold in soft ground. However, this also means theyre a bit heavier than regular stakes. I hope these 8 best tent stakes for hard ground give you an idea of what you need for camping on frozen or solid ground. For car camping, you couldnt ask for a stronger stake than the Coleman 10-in Steel Tent Stake. All three of the extreme stakes we tested (the REI Co-op Snow Stake, the MSR Blizzard and the MSR ToughStake) were in the same ballpark when it came to strength. Compare The Best Tent Stakes here. Talk about bomber! This is one of the strongest aluminum alloys out there, used for making planes and cars. In our holding strength test, it held well over 50 lbs of force. In practice, though, we found just the opposite. Aluminum is the most common material for tent stakes, especially in the backpacking world. We wanted to know how easily each stake bent, so we found a spot next to a large rock and pressed the stakes in diagonally toward the rock. The MSR Carbon-Core Tent Stake is not only the lightest stake we tested its crazy light. As for price, they arent cheap. We liked the idea of the Groundhog Mini more than we liked the stake itself. If youre looking for lightweight stakes for a 1 or 2-person tent, nail stakes are a great option. As long as you take extra care to make sure that the angle of pull is perpendicular to the stake and not upwards at all, theyll work. They bent when we pressed them into the soft, slightly rocky ground where we did our strength tests. Depending on the diameter and construction, these can be quite strong. (In fact, an MSR Groundhog buried about 4 feet deep outperformed any of the snow stakes. The alternatives include using your foot, using a rock, or some wood shaped like a bat. Material: Carbon fiber core, aluminum coating | Dimensions: 6 in | Weight (ounces): 0.2 oz. The short reflective cord loops are easy to spot and can be removed quite easily. coghlan piquets pegs camping ground hard awnings tents rock metal 8mm 25cm