How to use tent pegs in all conditions---Complete guide 2021

Gravity and tent stakes keep your tent attached to the ground when you go camping.

It is essential to know how to use tent stakes since gravity is out of your control.

The tent stakes, also called tent pegs, are physical anchors to the ground that can provide structure to your tent and prevent it from blowing away.

Whoever has chased their tent after being caught by a gust of wind knows how critical this is.

We will examine tent stakes and their use in light of the conditions you are likely to encounter during four-season trips.

If you want to learn from our decades of experience of using stakes and ease your camping experience, then continue reading. Also if you are planning to go out ith family for camping adventurethe nlook at the Best 5 person Tent for Camping 2021 to have great experience.

Grab a tent stake and let's get started!

How To Use Tent Stakes? The right practice

The best way to place tent stakes will depend on the type of surface that you are using.

Here are some tips for driving tent stakes into different types of soil.

Use tent pegs in soft soil or sand

Tent stakes are the easiest to drive into this type of soil. Despite its low holding power, this type of soil does not work as well as other soil types. When you need more holding power, this is not ideal.

You can press the stake into soft soil by hand. Pushing down with your boot may work if it is too firm for that. Put the peg in at an angle of roughly 90 degrees to the pull direction. If this is the case, you will be angling the tip toward the tent. It can be minimized by doing this.

You can also dig into a sticky layer that tends to be denser if you are on the sand (after hiking a beach trail, for example). Stakes placed in this layer will generally hold better.

Once the stake is in the ground, compress the dirt around it to improve its holding power. It is better to have more holding power.

Consider carrying screw-in pegs while car camping, as they will hold better in sandy soil.

Once you have attached the guy line to the buried peg, you may want to bury a flat rock on top. If you prefer to use a v-blade or tri-blade, you may want to use a pennant stake with a generous surface area.

Don't forget that the lines can maximize your tent's interior space. Of course, if used properly.

When your tent is in the wind, the extra weight can keep the anchor buried.

Use tent pegs for dirt or grass.

It is usually the easiest type of soil to stake your stakes in and have them hold. You can either push them in with your foot or hand.

You can pound them gently with a rubber mallet or piece of wood if the ground is firm but there are no rocks. It won't take much effort.

If possible, avoid using stones to hammer in the pegs, as they can damage the pegs. It's disappointing to end up with broken stakes. I found that a rubber mallet worked quite well after extensive research and testing.

Occasionally, you can use a flat rock.

To maximize holding power, angle the peg perpendicular to the cord you are attaching to it.

Use tent pegs Rocky Ground

When the soil has many rocks in it, the thinner shepherd's hooks or nail-style pegs can be useful because they can fit between the stones. Using the shepherd's hook, gaps between the rocks can be found by twirling them back and forth.

With the stones in the soil, you have fewer options than with angles, but this is less of an issue since the rocks tend to hold the pegs well.

It is possible to use rocks to anchor your tent even if they are too large to be inserted into the ground with tent stakes. A small pile of rocks can be used to weigh down the guy line and peg.

Use tent pegs in snow and frozen ground

Using tent stakes to anchor your tent in winter will depend on the depth of the snow (even on the toughest ground).

You'll need to use a nail-type peg if you can get to the bare ground, as frozen soil is too hard to install any other type of peg.

Due to the hardness of the surface, tent stakes will need to be pounded to obtain an adequate depth.

It will take a mallet, the back of an ax, or a heavy piece of wood to generate enough force to drive the stakes deep enough. Don't use your hand or food as this applies uneven pressure.

The shepherd's hook style will bend them if you use it. You can use thin tri-blade pegs in a pinch, but they tend to break when driven into the frozen ground.

Snow stakes will be needed if you're setting up in deeper snow, as the holding power of snow is even lower than sand.

Generally speaking, you should position all pegs so that they are 90 degrees away from the direction in which they are being pulled. To increase the stake's holding power, pack down the snow around it.

Tent stake angle is important

We mentioned it earlier, but you need to pay attention to the angle you set your tent stakes. If you push them straight down on the ground, they will have less holding power than if you get them on an angle.

The shaft of the peg should be angled away from the tent, so the lines pull perpendicular to the tent and not upwards. As much dirt as possible should resist the pull of the guy lines.

When you stake out the body of your tent, it is usually acceptable to push the pegs straight in since there is less load on them.

How to and not drive tent stakes?

Tent stakes are driven differently depending on the type of tent

Tap the nail style, tri-blade, and v-shape into the place using a mallet or piece of wood. In a pinch, you can use a rock, but you are much more likely to damage the peg this way.

With shepherd's hook stakes, they are best put in by hand, either pushing them in or twisting. If you need more force, use the sole of your boot rather than hitting them as they bend easily. If you happen to wear guarding boots, the better.

How to remove tent stakes

In the past, we have discussed how to put tent stakes into the ground. However, it is equally important to know how to remove them.

In some cases, tent pegs may be too difficult to remove by hand, depending on the ground conditions.

Because of this, it is recommended that you attach your stakes with a loop of strong cords. The breaking strength of paracord can be up to 550 pounds, which makes it a good material for this.

When tied, the loops should be 3-4 inches long. Tent stakes usually have a hole specifically for this purpose.

You can use this cord loop to attach a trekking pole or stick so that you can pull with both hands.

On the frozen ground, you may need to break it loose by hitting the top of the peg.

Tent pegs with knots for attaching guy lines

When it comes to attaching your tent to the ground, stakes are only one part of the equation. You also need to know how to connect your guy lines to the pegs.

The loop of cord on many tents includes a self-tightening adjuster, so after making sure the loop is on the hook or in the notch at the top of the peg, you can move on to tightening the rope.

In the absence of an adjuster, you need to know how to tie a couple of knots. A trucker's hitch tightens the line without using any hardware.

A friction wrap with a half hitch will prevent the cord from coming off the peg if your peg does not have a small hook or notch.

Using the bowline knot is the fastest way to attach new guylines to your tent. It allows you to tie an easy to untie loop that won't tighten on itself, won't slip, and won't slip.

How many tent stakes do you need?

As for how many stakes you will need, it will depend on the tent's specifications, but generally, you will need stakes for the tent's corners, vestibule, and guy lines.

When fully anchored out, the 2-person MSR Hubba Hubba tent requires ten tent stakes. To maximize holding power, use that.

It's not necessary to peg every anchor point every time, depending on the weather. Unless the wind is high and gusting, I rarely attach guy lines.

At least one extra tent stake is a good idea since it isn't uncommon for them to break when being pounded into the ground.

The number of tent stakes you need to secure your tent fully is greater than most people think, so you must take the weight into account.

It's also important for staking your tent properly. Always bring extra stakes with you.

That could be really useful in high winds. Occasionally, high winds can be quite dangerous.

To keep your weight down and stake down your tent properly, aluminum stakes or titanium pegs are optimal for backpacking. Ideal for anyone who needs to lose weight.

The MSR Mini-Groundhog is the most widely available ultralight tent stake. Ten of these pegs weigh only 3.5 ounces (100 grams). Ultralight backpacks are excellent. Additionally, they have excellent holding power.

When you need tent stakes for strong winds, we recommend the MSR Ground Hog.

Tent stake types

It's important to know the different types of tent stakes before you can use them correctly.

Let me briefly explain them. It is important to note that they often have different lengths. In addition, length is important.

Shepherd's hook

Stakes with Shepherd's hooks are simply stiff pieces of wire with a bend on one end. Metals such as aluminum, steel, and titanium can be used for making these.

In soft soil, they don't have the best holding power because they are lightweight and easy to use. These pegs can be twisted into the ground with the hook, which can be helpful since the stake is prone to bending if pounded.

A nail-type device

The nail's stakes have a straight shaft or a spiral shaft, as the name implies. To aid in pounding in the ground and retaining your tent guy lines, these pegs feature a button head.

Steel is the most common metal used for them, but other metals can also be used. It has the advantage that they are more robust for pounding into dense or rocky terrain.

Nail-type stakes aren't very effective when placed into soft surfaces, such as sand, due to their lack of surface area. Sand pegs don't have the numerous holes that they do.

Tri-blade

Tent pegs with tri-blades are usually made from aluminum and have three lobes that dramatically increase their surface area and stiffness. These qualities make them good stakes for a variety of soil types.

A good example of this type of peg is the MSR Groundhog and Mini Groundhog. Lightweight, they hold well even on softer surfaces and can be used in mildly rocky soil.

A V-shaped blade

A V-blade tent stake is made from a flat piece of metal bent at roughly 90 degrees like a miniature piece of angle iron.

It increases stiffness and surface area, but not as much as tri-blade stakes.

Plastic

Tent pegs made of plastic are light, bright, and inexpensive. They hold well on medium to soft soil because they have a lot of surface area.

Especially in rocky soil, they don't tend to stand up to being pounded in.

Screwed in

Screw-in tent stakes are a good option if you have a large tent (such as those recommended for warm weather) or soft conditions.

Installation may take a bit more effort, but they hold well both at an angle and straight out.

Due to their bulk and weight, they are best suited for car camping, where you don't have to carry them.

Stakes in the snow

A tent can be set up on deep snow because it is the softest surface. To anchor your tent guy lines, you will need a larger surface area.

Snow stakes are much larger and have holes, so once they're placed, the snow will fill them in and harden.

If there are no rocks in the way, snow stakes can also be used as sand anchors.

Snow stakes are often made from Y beams.

Conclusion

If you don't have tent stakes, your day will go wrong if you don't get excited about them.

In order to maximize tent stakes' usefulness and reduce the risk of breaking them, it is important to know how to use them effectively.

By choosing the right tent pegs and learning how to use them, you can reduce the possibility that a gust of wind will carry your tent away.

You can laugh at this as long as you aren't the one watching their tent tumble away.