Selecting the best stakes for guy lines can make or break your camping tent's stability in challenging surface. We try to find risks that hold well and are light-weight for backpackers counting every ounce. We additionally think about longevity metrics like whether the stake can be wacked with a mallet without breaking or bending.
1. Product
For those that are attempting to save every last ounce in their packs, the product made use of for the risks can be an important consideration. Aluminum and titanium risks provide great toughness at a practical weight, while carbon fiber risks are ultralight but can be a lot more vulnerable to breaking or snapping under tension.
The Toaks Titanium V-shaped stakes are lightweight and load to a remarkably little size. They're easy to drive into rocky dirt and have a plastic top that shields the metal from rocks and origins. Though they do not included a pull cord, there is an opening to include one and an opening for permanently attaching guy lines. The only downside is their frailty. The blunt ends aren't as resilient to impacts from a club as a few other risks, and they might break under too much stress in an extreme storm. Regardless of this, they remain our choice for a light backpacking risk.
2. Length
This statistics is important nearly exclusively for backpackers, considering that every ounce counts when you're hoofing it through the wild on a 10- to twenty-mile walk every day. We seek stakes that pack down tiny and that are simple to mount with a mallet and by hand, while supplying ample resilience for the problems you will certainly experience on the trail.
Needles (or fixes) are cylinder-shaped stakes with sharp ends and a head or notch on one end for guy-line accessory. They are most convenient to pound into the ground, but are prone to flexing. Guard's hook risks, which have a similar shape to needle risks but a head on just one end, are extra durable than needle stakes, however require an extra action in setup to protect the line. V-stakes, which have a weather resistance v-shaped body that supplies better surface area and are much more immune to flexing, are also an option. Some included a paracord loophole, that makes it easier to remove the stake when you require to relocate camp.
3. Tip
The stake suggestion's capability to withstand flexing and turn is a key metric for those using person lines on rough surface where the line could rub against the rocks. The stakes with a rounded point, like needle stakes or shepherd's hook stakes, tend to bend and turn a lot more conveniently than those with a level or V-shaped pointer. They can also cause the line to fray as it scrubs against the rock. Lastly, for the ounce counters available, we gauged each risk's weight and just how small it packs down into its stuff sack. The very best risks load to an extremely tiny dimension.
