Talked to a ranger in the Adirondacks about tent stakes...

I was setting up my old aluminum ones in the rain and he mentioned he only uses 9-inch steel ones now. He said he's seen too many bent or pulled out in sudden wind, especially on the exposed sites near Marcy Dam. I always thought lighter was better, but maybe not for the stakes... anyone else switch to heavier stakes after a bad experience?

3 comments

3 Comments

martin.felix2mo ago

That ranger has a point about exposed sites. My question is, what kind of steel stakes are we talking about? The cheap ones from the hardware store can rust like crazy, but proper coated ones last forever. I bent a couple of my thin aluminum ones in a gust on a beach once and it ruined the whole night.

caleb2622mo ago

My stakes are the rusty hardware store kind, so I feel seen.

brown.gavin2mo ago

Wait, you actually use those rusty ones from the hardware store? Man, I had a set of those once and they literally snapped in half the first time I tried to drive them into dry ground. I couldn't believe how cheap they were. Your mileage may vary of course, but I'd be scared to trust a whole tent to those things in any kind of breeze. I switched to some basic coated steel ones from a camping store and never looked back.