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A guy at the trailhead in Bend told me my tent stake setup was basically a kite
He pointed out I was using the basic stakes that came with my Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 on a super windy ridge... and they were pulling right out. He said 'those are fine for dirt, but you need the MSR Groundhog kind for this'. Swapped them out and the tent didn't even flap. What other little gear swaps have saved your trip?
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evanh276mo ago
Gotta wonder if we're overthinking stakes sometimes... I've used those basic ones on plenty of windy nights and been fine. Maybe the ground was just extra loose that day. People act like you need special anchors for every condition, but half the time it's just about pushing them in deeper at a better angle.
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aaron1975mo ago
Man yeah exactly this. I've had nights where I forgot my good stakes and just used the cheap ones that came with the tent, jammed them in at a steeper angle under a rock, and woke up fine with everything still tight. People get way too caught up in buying the titanium whatever instead of just taking two extra minutes to set up right. I remember one trip near the coast where the wind was howling and I just buried my stakes deeper at a 45 degree angle and buried the tops under some heavy driftwood. Never moved an inch. It's like most gear problems are actually technique problems in disguise. Good stakes help in really nasty ground like sand or frozen dirt but for normal campouts the basics work if you just pay attention to what you're doing.
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val_sullivan46mo ago
I've seen guys at Joshua Tree use just six basic stakes for a big rainfly in 40 mph gusts. They spent twenty minutes finding the perfect rock placements and hammering them in at sharp angles. Sometimes the best gear upgrade is just more patience with what you already have.
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