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titanium tent stakes-gear review
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Vargo Titanium? I have two sizes. I prefer the longer thicker tent stakes. They go between rocks where other stakes would leave me frustrated, but they are probably worthless in sand or soft soil.I am human and I need to be loved - just like everybody else does
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friggin aluminum stakes are all one needs. anything titanium is overrated and overpriced
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LoboSolo wrote:
friggin aluminum stakes are all one needs. anything titanium is overrated and overpriced
i fell for it.38 yrs of backpacking and i fell for it. the old titanium has to be good trick.
its all good -
WanderingStovie wrote:
Vargo Titanium? I have two sizes. I prefer the longer thicker tent stakes. They go between rocks where other stakes would leave me frustrated, but they are probably worthless in sand or soft soil.
they were like pieces of wire. they bent when i tried pounding them into the gravel tentsite at thunder rock campground with a mallet, and then they failed me in a thunderstorm, pulling out of the ground twice during the night.
i'm back to the msr groundhogs, which never failed me before.if it aint broken, dont fix it.its all good -
and cuben fiber. overpriced BS
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The Easton Aluminum stakes are nice.Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
Dr. Seuss
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hikerboy wrote:
they suck
hikerboy wrote:
WanderingStovie wrote:
Vargo Titanium? I have two sizes. I prefer the longer thicker tent stakes. They go between rocks where other stakes would leave me frustrated, but they are probably worthless in sand or soft soil.
they were like pieces of wire. they bent when i tried pounding them into the gravel tentsite at thunder rock campground with a mallet, and then they failed me in a thunderstorm, pulling out of the ground twice during the night.
i'm back to the msr groundhogs, which never failed me before.if it aint broken, dont fix it.
YUUUP.Changes Daily→ ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫ ♪♫♪♫♪♫ ← Don't blame me. It's That Lonesome Guitar. -
They are titanium wire. I have never tried hammering them into the ground. If I cannot force them into the ground with a twisting motion, I try a different spot or a different angle. I guess that explains the difference of opinion.I am human and I need to be loved - just like everybody else does
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there may be circumstances as you describe where they are useful, but they just cant hold soil in a moderate wind. if they dont pull out, they turn, and the tent lines come right off the hooks.
WanderingStovie wrote:
They are titanium wire. I have never tried hammering them into the ground. If I cannot force them into the ground with a twisting motion, I try a different spot or a different angle. I guess that explains the difference of opinion.
im used to it being windy and wet in the mountains, and need a 3 season stake that will do the job in all conditions, not just some, or most.
i cannot recommend them.its all good -
I took some backpacking last week. I tripped over the guy lines a few times and they pulled right out of the ground. They dig good cat holes though.Lost in the right direction.
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I use the sheppard hook type stakes. Sometimes I do have to put a rock on top of them to be sure they stay in. You can make your own from coathanger wire- just use the thicker kind. But no you can't pound them into the ground with a rock."Dazed and Confused"
Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
Plant a tree
Take a kid hiking
Make a difference -
I hold my guy lines down with rocks for wet and/or windy conditions. I have yet to experience the problems you report, HB. You probably have more experience with tents. I mostly live a sheltered life on the AT. I guess tents are required for the BMT.I am human and I need to be loved - just like everybody else does
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If you were using Dynema or Spectra lines, it is probably a good thing the stakes came out of the ground, TJ. Otherwise you would either damage your shelter or yourself.I am human and I need to be loved - just like everybody else does
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WanderingStovie wrote:
I hold my guy lines down with rocks for wet and/or windy conditions. I have yet to experience the problems you report, HB. You probably have more experience with tents. I mostly live a sheltered life on the AT. I guess tents are required for the BMT.
indeed, there arent any shelters on the bmt(actually there are 2, one in the smokies and one other one). the place the hooks failed was an open meadow, in grass with few rocks around to secure them any better. i think in most conditions the hooks are fine.its the other times i worry about
the last thing i want to do is question the integrity of my gear when i need it to work the most.i dont want the system to fail in high winds or rain or both. although very few tents are completely bombproof,still, i want my tent to perform well when i need it to.i expect different tents can use the same stakes with different results as well. i look at everything i carry as one system. if one item breaks down the system, i have to find an alternative.its all good -
hikerboy wrote:
WanderingStovie wrote:
I hold my guy lines down with rocks for wet and/or windy conditions. I have yet to experience the problems you report, HB. You probably have more experience with tents. I mostly live a sheltered life on the AT. I guess tents are required for the BMT.
indeed, there arent any shelters on the bmt(actually there are 2, one in the smokies and one other one). the place the hooks failed was an open meadow, in grass with few rocks around to secure them any better. i think in most conditions the hooks are fine.its the other times i worry about
the last thing i want to do is question the integrity of my gear when i need it to work the most.i dont want the system to fail in high winds or rain or both. although very few tents are completely bombproof,still, i want my tent to perform well when i need it to.i expect different tents can use the same stakes with different results as well. i look at everything i carry as one system. if one item breaks down the system, i have to find an alternative.
My tent was twenty feet away and held up in the same winds without problems. My stakes are aluminum.Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
Dr. Seuss -
Okay - a few words on pegs and a picture that shows my progression etc.
Hopefully you can get enough detail on the pic to see them.
If you want a better pic of any request in a comment.
From the top.
A plastic and a large aluminium (okay aluminum for you guys).
Yes they are large and relatively heavy. I usually hike with one if I am likely to have very sandy tent sites (as in my recent Cape to Cape hike). It's good to have a solid purchase on the windward side. Dual use item - carried in bag with TP. You figure it out.
Next are two small steel pegs. Useless - only kept because I don't throw stuff out much but also happy to gift to newbies from time to time.
Aluminium peg similar to steel ones. Yeah it's light but doesn't hold s##t in sand. Kept to give to newbies I might meet again.
Triangular aluminium peg. Good peg but as seen in example tends to be bendable at notch point. People making these - please put notches in two sides only! Good pegs if you're careful putting them in.
Small square profile aluminium peg - got these with a "lightweight" tent purchased a few years ago. Good peg although thinness makes for poor purchase on sand like the round profile pegs. Seems to have been cut from a solid block of aluminium. Very strong and light. Never been able to source anywhere else. I now keep as spares or for side guy rope pegs.
V shaped profile aluminium. Excellent lightweight peg. Good purchase and strong enough to push in with foot without bending. My top tip for allround peg.
Lastly the large round peg that comes with my Big Agnes. (Easton?) I carry 4 with my BA CSII and usually they are all I use. The only flaw is the round shape lacks purchase in sand (hence the dual use peg). Usually carry 2 of the V shaped or square profile pegs as extras.Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait. -
By the way I have a couple of thin titanium pegs. They're what I rest my pot on in the caldera cone.
By the way - don't assume I know what I'm talking about because I only stay in hotels and yellow blaze.....
Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait. -
OzJacko wrote:
By the way I have a couple of thin titanium pegs. They're what I rest my pot on in the caldera cone.
Same here. They make good backup pegsSometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
Dr. Seuss -
hikerboy wrote:
my cuben fiber tent stakes were even worse than the titanium ones
Coffee, EVERYWHERE.Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less. - Robert E. Lee -
OzJacko wrote:
A plastic and a large aluminium (okay aluminum for you guys).
Yes they are large and relatively heavy. I usually hike with one if I am likely to have very sandy tent sites (as in my recent Cape to Cape hike). It's good to have a solid purchase on the windward side.
You mentioned sand several times. I find that sand, very wet clay, and powdery snow are ... challenges.
Sand: There doesn't seem to be any alternative to a buried 'dead man' a lot of the time. Dig a hole, put in a rock or stick or something, tie a line around it, pile sand until it holds. I guess if you're using the big broad tent stake as a poo trowel, you use it to bury a dead man as well? That's why it serves a dual purpose?
Clay: Fortunately, in my part of the world, where there's wet clay there's always shale about. I can find flat rocks in abundance to pile atop the stakes that are trying to pull out of the soft ground.
Snow: When I'm not on the move, my snowshoes anchor the wind guys of my tent. I may also try to pack snow around my crampons to have another couple of good anchors. My ice axe, if I've brought it, does not join the party, not least because I may well need it to break the mess loose in the morning, if things congeal overnight.I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here. -
Don't have snow.
Clay here is hardpan. A long nail and large hammer would be more appropriate than a large stake.
I refer to sand that is loose, non compacted stuff - beach sand usually.
You can dig "dead men" whatevers.
I push a stake in.
Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait. -
hikerboy wrote:
WanderingStovie wrote:
I hold my guy lines down with rocks for wet and/or windy conditions. I have yet to experience the problems you report, HB. You probably have more experience with tents. I mostly live a sheltered life on the AT. I guess tents are required for the BMT.
indeed, there arent any shelters on the bmt(actually there are 2, one in the smokies and one other one). the place the hooks failed was an open meadow, in grass with few rocks around to secure them any better. i think in most conditions the hooks are fine.its the other times i worry about
the last thing i want to do is question the integrity of my gear when i need it to work the most.i dont want the system to fail in high winds or rain or both. although very few tents are completely bombproof,still, i want my tent to perform well when i need it to.i expect different tents can use the same stakes with different results as well. i look at everything i carry as one system. if one item breaks down the system, i have to find an alternative.
HB, that have gear that works "most of the time" except when you really need it reminds me of one of my roommates in college. Nice guy, but he would only borrow my umbrella on the days it rained.
The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
Richard Ewell, CSA General -
hikerboy wrote:
they bent when i tried pounding them into the gravel tentsite at thunder rock campground with a mallet, and then they failed me in a thunderstorm, pulling out of the ground twice during the night.
Shoulda used a titanium hammer.Changes Daily→ ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫ ♪♫♪♫♪♫ ← Don't blame me. It's That Lonesome Guitar. -
I used my titanium wire stakes to punch holes in steel cans for alcohol burners and windscreens. For that, I prefer the smaller ones with a wedge shaped end. The larger ones have a rounded conical end.
I talked to someone on the AT who makes pipes by heating the titanium wire red hot and burning a hole through the pipe stem.
If all else fails, maybe you can trade them for something else, HB.I am human and I need to be loved - just like everybody else does -
The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
Richard Ewell, CSA General -
its all good
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Astro wrote:
hikerboy wrote:
WanderingStovie wrote:
I hold my guy lines down with rocks for wet and/or windy conditions. I have yet to experience the problems you report, HB. You probably have more experience with tents. I mostly live a sheltered life on the AT. I guess tents are required for the BMT.
indeed, there arent any shelters on the bmt(actually there are 2, one in the smokies and one other one). the place the hooks failed was an open meadow, in grass with few rocks around to secure them any better. i think in most conditions the hooks are fine.its the other times i worry about
the last thing i want to do is question the integrity of my gear when i need it to work the most.i dont want the system to fail in high winds or rain or both. although very few tents are completely bombproof,still, i want my tent to perform well when i need it to.i expect different tents can use the same stakes with different results as well. i look at everything i carry as one system. if one item breaks down the system, i have to find an alternative.
HB, that have gear that works "most of the time" except when you really need it reminds me of one of my roommates in college. Nice guy, but he would only borrow my umbrella on the days it rained.
And which of you two was the smart one?I may grow old but I'll never grow up. -
hikerboy wrote:
i was trying to find a clip from the seinfeld episode where costanza asks jerry why anyone would ever by one, when the diner has them available in the umbrella stand every time it rains."those belong to people you know?"
couldnt find the clip.
m.imgur.com/r/seinfeld/i9MvGLRSometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
Dr. Seuss -
Drybones wrote:
And which of you two was the smart one?
Considering I graduated and got a job, while he changed to his major to an easier one and had to come back for another year, I would say I was. But as for the umbrella situation, I have to admit he did get the better of me on that.The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
Richard Ewell, CSA General -
too funny! hope ya didn't get wet because when its not pitched you do get soaked.Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you!
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I came to the computer to order some 11" Easton stakes for my hammock tarp, 10" Y stakes bent under heavy wind....got side tracked.I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
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