Tent and Canopy Stakes are very useful when you are on a camping trip. Having a well-staked tent is monumental when windy weather is at hand. When I was younger, I didn’t realize this importance and had to trek down a mountainside to retrieve a wind-blown and badly damaged tent. This valuable experience gave me a keen eye to tent and canopy stakes and their value as it relates to a more pleasant camping experience.
High Stakes
I feel like I need to begin with what I avoid when searching for higher quality tent stakes. Too often I have pulled open containers and bags of stakes and there are broken plastic pieces. Too often I have been driving a plastic tent stake and boom, I have pieces of tent stake lying on and in the ground. I have had less than pleasurable experiences with plastic and polymer tent stakes. I try to stay with think aluminum and steel. Most steel will rust, and aluminum can break easier than steel, but plastic is a disaster waiting to happen. I look for steel stakes most often. They tend to be more expensive than plastic stakes but are becoming more reasonable and have been more common over the course of the last few years. I enjoy the higher quality. I enjoy the lack of concern that the stake may break when driving into the firm ground or when I tie off a canopy or when the wind blows the canopy. One style of stake specifically that absolutely will not take on camping trips is the style that has a plastic clip and top of a metal stake. The plastic clip is designed to grab and secure the D-ring or eyelet. This specific design has caused way too much misery in my life, I avoid it like the plague. Another type I normally will not use is the full plastic stake with a small plastic clip at the top, another huge drainer of fun when camping. The little plastic breaks way too often, when driving or when you accidentally kick while walking by the tent.
The Stakes Aren’t That High
When depending on equipment to make our camping trips successful, I normally opt for the best quality I can find. If you read any of the other articles, I have written you get that idea. I can find some very high quality products and often times I will buy them to use while camping. In the case of the tent stakes, this holds true…..mostly. I often see certain tent stakes that are such high quality it’s beyond sensible. I Check out these really long and strong tent stakes. I can’t justify the price. These have really no weak points and are long enough to hold against a lot of force, but the price puts them beyond sensibility.
Bigger is Better
Bigger is better, at least in most cases when dealing with Tent stakes. One thing the lower quality tent stakes lack is length. Many tent stakes or pegs are 6-7inches. When setting up a campsite, often people will choose areas that have softer ground. Typically, these areas are chosen due to the lack of rocks, which makes sense when looking for a place to set up a tent. The soft ground can become an issue with short tent stakes. Many tents will come with sub-par tent stakes. Short tent stakes are common with lower quality or even average quality tents. 6inch tent stakes just have less surface area to contact the ground once driven and are easily removed with little force. I always opt for the longer stakes. 12” or longer will hold more force than a shorted stake. As noted above, I think there is some sensibility when it comes to stake size and length. The 30” steel tent stake, for most, is out of the sensible tent stake range. 12-24” should hold with plenty of strength for most tent and or canopy uses for most campers.
Shape for Function
The shape and or design of a stake is a crucial component of effectiveness. A robust, hard, long stake that is just a straight and smooth peg doesn’t function well. The D-Ring or eyelet will easily slip right over a cylindrical peg. There must be some mechanism of attachment. Some classic designs such as the hook design work very well. Some will use a clip and some stakes will use an eye to tie a rope or string through as a way to secure the tent, tarp, canopy, or rope. Check the pictures below for an idea of how shape can be a huge factor in deciding on which stakes to use.
Plastic is Not a Good Partner
Save yourself the trouble, hassle, and hardship, and stay away from plastic tent stakes if at all possible. Too often they cause me issues while in a remote area with little to no other resources. Stick with steel if possible. Some aluminum designs can be useful but rarely are they as strong as the steel stakes. When I buy a new tent, which isn’t often, I look at the tent stakes and replace the plastic stakes with steel tent stakes.