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Can anyone tell me if the stakes that came with my Coleman tent and shade tent (the VERY basic kind of looped tent stake) are adequate, or would it be advisable to upgrade to the heftier-looking, V-grooved stakes on sale at Dicks & other camping stores? There may be another link about this from months ago, but I couldn't find it.....
Post by spookymonster on Jun 7, 2007 8:13:11 GMT -5
Basic tent stake (the shepherd's crook) will be fine for 99% of your camping needs. From what I've heard, the 'Roo soil is hard packed, but not too rocky. The V stakes really only prove their worth in more rugged terrain - mountains, with lots of loose gravel and rocks.
If you do need to buy more stakes, just stay clear of the plastic ones. They're lightweight, and functionally identical to steel, but shatter far more easily.
As always it's better to get the better stakes. You may not need stakes at all but if you do you'll be glad you have them. If you can afford to buy better stakes, I'd say do it.
Of course, you could end up in an area where the ground is so hard you can't drive them. (This is another reason to get good ones. I've bent more than a few at Roo.)
Post by The Killer Bee Relay Team on Jun 7, 2007 8:39:34 GMT -5
We had the "standard" ones last year, and had no issues getting them in with the rubber mallet...getting them back out, however, was a totally different ordeal.
we have used that kind for the past two years. getting them out was hard if you have little girly arms like me but, they were great nothing came untied
i actually prefer the "basic" style stakes (especially in the conditions at roo), but you might want to have a few extra because they can bend and possibly snap
I have a few of the sturdier ones (both spikes and V-grooves). I'll just make one more trip to Dick's, before I head down.
Re: spike removal, I bought the Coleman basic camping kit (around $10 at Target), and it had (among other things) a nice little handle-thingy for pulling tent stakes out of the ground. Worked pretty darn well.
I use 4 12 inch steel nails for stakes just because I camped in Key West once and it was so windy that this is what you need to keep your tent in the ground. I have continued to use these ever since and have camped through some intense severe thunderstorms with 30mph + winds and the tent has never moved.
I will have extra stakes just in case there is a problem with other's tents or bad storms that may roll through.
My tent has ones similar to picture 2, lightweight aluminum, but they stay in the ground pretty well. Never had a problem getting them to hold, although removing them can be difficult when you hammer them in too deep.
I always wondered what that hook was for that was at the end of my rubber mallet. ding ding ding....maybe to pull the stakes out with? I thought it was just a handy hanger...duh
Post by freedomofmusic on Jun 7, 2007 16:18:33 GMT -5
jennaroo said:
we have used that kind for the past two years. getting them out was hard if you have little girly arms like me but, they were great nothing came untied
Saw you're an Auburn girl. WAR EAGLE!! Class of '90 here.
Back on topic, I too had Kelty stakes and they are cheap. Get some good ones for sure. I tell ya, if we don't get some rain before Bonnaroo, it will be like driving stakes into concrete. Bring a good hammer.
My Keltys' are all bent, I had plastic glow in the dark ones last year, they broke pulling them out . This year I have the V kind and the nail kind wish me luck!
No matter what type of stakes you buy, be sure to angle them inward toward the tent. This makes it more difficult for the wind to suck it up out of the ground since the stake would be angled at the opposite direction of the wind.
Expensive tent stakes are pricey because of being very light weight, relatively small, but yet very strong and giving good traction/hold. That's mostly for backpackers and others who dont want to have 20 pounds of 12 inch long steel nails in their backpacks. Kelty tends toward that market with a lot of their stakes, like the NoBendiums. If you don't care about what your stakes weigh, you can get decent strong thick nail stakes cheap, they just are heavy.
Brach's advice is perfect too. The head of the stake should point away from the tent at a 45 degree angle (base/pointy end of the stake point toward the tent, head points away from the tent). Like so:
This way when the tent tries to move it actually places the tension or pulls the side of the stake against the earth, instead of pulling the head of the stake up. If you drive the stake straight down into the ground then the tent is just going to pull the stakes straight up and out of the earth, even with good stakes. At an angle it is a lot harded to have a stake get loose.
The best reason to buy some good strong thick stakes like what Killer Bee posted is that they deal better with thick/hard ground and bend less. Those are cheap too, usually $2-$3 for a pack of four. The thin needle stakes that come with most tents will bend too easily. Likewise some of the cheaper V-grooved ones can bend easily but do have good traction if you have strong ones. The only problem with the large thick nail stakes is that some have cheap plastic heads that either break or pop off. You may want to consider not relying on those plastic heads as anchoring points.
But I've heard voices not in the head Out in the air they called ahead Through ripped out speakers Through thick and thin They found a shelter Under my skin -Evgeny Aleksandrovitch Nikolaev
take extra stakes, extra rope. a bungee, and a tarp. you might need this. when the wind gets up you may want to putsome extra stakes down. also...you can use the extra materials to make a shade leanto for your supplies.
;D
but, they were great nothing came untied
I do whatever my Rice Krispies tell me to...
