Anyone else dislike ti shepherd hook tent stakes?

[Just Bill]

With a fairly extreme angle (45* or so) and sinking them until the tip of the hook digs in as mentioned they work fairly well fer what they are.

Making sure your line is on the shank (not the hook) is a big help too.

Although for once- I can claim a distinct advantage over you eastern and western folks for being in the Midwest

knew there had to be one...

[Just Bill]

That last line is in fact why I am replacing mine with different stakes. The easton stakes worked great for me during three season use, but I lost a few to frozen ground in the winter, the heads of stakes broke off when removing them and there was noting I could do to get the rest of the stake out. I am a bit confused as to why they didn't simply drill the rope hole through the body instead just through the glued on head. If they had done that then I could put a piece of string through to get some leverage when removing them.

Tap them IN first- helps break the bit of frost/ice that is pinning them in.
Course Ol' Man Willy would tell you the proper way is to pee on them.

You used to (like when I was in Scouts) be able to pound the head down so the rope hole overlapped the shaft- then re-drill it. Though been a long bit since I used one of these and had the chance to try it.

If not- you could probably drill a fresh hole a bit lower on the cap I'd imagine, or worst case through the shaft just below the head.

I've always like the Y or V profile if I needed a bit more oomph over the Easton pegs.

[Miles 2 Go]

I've been using Tent Tools tent stakes. They are similar to MSR groundhog but use 7075 aluminum. Eight stakes are around $17.00 on Amazon and have a life time warenty, which I've used to replace two bent/damaged stakes with no hassle at all.

[Miles 2 Go]

Oh and also to clean them I just use what ever tree leaves that are laying around to wipe them down. That or rinse in a stream if I'm camped by one. I did the same when I used the Easton nail stakes.

[Another Kevin]

I haven't had one of the Easton stakes that came with my TarpTent fail yet. I figure that the replacements are 10 for about five bucks at the hardware store - alumin(i)um gutter spikes. They're an inch or so longer than the Easton stakes and weigh a couple of grams more. I can drill them just below the head and thread a piece of Spectra or Dyneema through, or maybe just tie a Prusik in a tiny loop of Spectra or Dyneema cord. Thanks to Mags for the tip.

[saltysack]

With a fairly extreme angle (45* or so) and sinking them until the tip of the hook digs in as mentioned they work fairly well fer what they are.

Making sure your line is on the shank (not the hook) is a big help too.

Although for once- I can claim a distinct advantage over you eastern and western folks for being in the Midwest

knew there had to be one...

The way the solong6 has 2 lines per corner(top and bottom) makes it almost impossible to achieve shank holding because it needs to be driven all the way it to hold......

[AfterParty]

I am gonna try this gutter nail thing I don't like the hooks that came with my tent.

[Hosh]

Gram for dollar the Easton gold nails are hard to beat. They fit lots of different conditions, albeit I have had some caps come off. The DAC aluminum "v" shape stakes that accompany BA tents are good in many conditions, just heavier. I have some of the titanium "v" shaped slotted stakes, from Zpacks, and you have to be very careful not to bend them. Zpacks demonstates putting them in with modest foot pressure.

Ground hogs are warriors, heavier and more difficult to clean, but dependable and long lasting.

[Just Bill]

I am gonna try this gutter nail thing I don't like the hooks that came with my tent.

One of the best deals going- Our scout troop just bought 50LB boxes since scouts ain't always so great at keeping track of stakes.

Depending on where you live- they are called gutter spikes too.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/7-in-Alum...5043/100080771

Pole Barn nails are a bit of a different thing, but you can occasionally find them in aluminum (lighter)
Kinda like this- http://www.homedepot.com/p/Grip-Rite...0HGC/100178333

Big old #14 deck and post screws work decent too- http://www.homedepot.com/p/FastenMas...8-12/202284482

[Franco]

"So I disliked the ground hogs because you've got three different grooves to clean out.
By contrast, the J stakes are V-shaped and therefore only have one groove to clean out."
Well it takes me exactly the same time to clean a V stake than it does a Y stake and that is done with one pass (fingers or cloth)
Not sure how it is different for you...

To overcome the problem with twisting hook stakes a mate of mine had some made that had a different head.
He sold them on E Bay for a while but no more.
They do work..
shepherd hook stakes.jpg

[MuddyWaters]

Both lawson and ruta locura have good ti stakes . the rutas bend a little easy.

[Ercoupe]

I have used z packs T- hooks for 4 years on a hexamid. Learning curve to not lose them. Must handle them one at a time, or they slip thru my arthritic hands, never to be seen again.

I push (step on) them fully into the ground so they can't spin, and will place a stick, rock on top of it, if the soil is loose. They have even worked in sand, stick on top and cover with sand. Removal is one at a time grabbing the line and pulling straight out. Immediately place the stake in the bag. and move to the next one.

Good choice for the z-pack tents as there is no tensioner. Easy to reposition.

I have used them on frozen ground, they would be worthless on deep snow.

[saltysack]

Both lawson and ruta locura have good ti stakes . the rutas bend a little easy.

I'm going to bend the head more to see if it helps as CR did...these look identical to the crappy ones you posted.


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[MuddyWaters]

I'm going to bend the head more to see if it helps as CR did...these look identical to the crappy ones you posted.


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I got bunch that look like that. SMD gives them free with shelters. Along with tyvek. I don't use them. Good ones have apex inline with shaft to not bend when press in. And hook positioned behind shaft not to induce turning

[saltysack]

I bent them....will give it a test if not I'll replace.


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[colorado_rob]

I bent them....will give it a test if not I'll replace.


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I'd bend them more. Might even consider taking the kink out below the curved head. then close up the head to about a 3/8" or so gap, to bring the head-tip down, so that it bites into the ground better.

Here is my complete suite of Ti stakes, a dozen total; 6-7" and 6-6" stakes. All but one of these are what we are calling the "good" Ti shepards hook stakes, I believe. The four on the top are original. The next 7 down are bent to close the heads a bit.

The one on the bottom is one that was originally like you have, the "bad" kind with shallow hooks on top (I must have found it at a camp spot somewhere). I bent that one to the shape shown (at the bottom), and that's what I recommend. This one bites and holds fine, as do the other 7. I wanted to keep 4 original in case this little mod didn't work well. It does, so now I'll bend those four as well.

[saltysack]

I'd bend them more. Might even consider taking the kink out below the curved head. then close up the head to about a 3/8" or so gap, to bring the head-tip down, so that it bites into the ground better.

Here is my complete suite of Ti stakes, a dozen total; 6-7" and 6-6" stakes. All but one of these are what we are calling the "good" Ti shepards hook stakes, I believe. The four on the top are original. The next 7 down are bent to close the heads a bit.

The one on the bottom is one that was originally like you have, the "bad" kind with shallow hooks on top (I must have found it at a camp spot somewhere). I bent that one to the shape shown (at the bottom), and that's what I recommend. This one bites and holds fine, as do the other 7. I wanted to keep 4 original in case this little mod didn't work well. It does, so now I'll bend those four as well.

Perfect...thx...


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[fastfoxengineering]

I have a mix of stakes.

2 Full sized msr ground hogs for the the ridgeline tieouts of my ground tarp (rectangular set up in an A-frame)

dealing with anything else just isn't worth the weight savings.

also, I use ti shepherd hooks and a few gutter nails on the other tie outs.

[Casey & Gina]

I have tried LOTS of types of stakes, and have at several varieties of titanium stakes in my possession now.

Don't like anything aluminum, because it bends in an unfortunate manner, with the bend happening in one place, and is difficult to get back to straight. And anything aluminum WILL bend, in time.

Not a fan of the Y style stakes like Groundhogs besides, because they are too difficult to get into hard ground. For soft ground, they don't really hold any better than a V style stake. For really soft ground, the best hold is achieved by large V-style stakes, such as these: http://toaksoutdoor.com/titaniumvshapedpeg-10.aspx I sometimes carry along 4 of them for the main points on my tunnel tent, just in case the ground is very soft. However, I rarely use them and thus usually don't bother carrying the extra weight.

The main problem with the shepherd hook stakes is their thin diameter. It's amazing how much better hold you get from the slightly thicker diameter aluminum shepherd hook stakes, but those are more difficult to get into the ground and bend easily if you, say, try to press them in using your foot. The first titanium stakes I got were smaller V-style ones (http://toaksoutdoor.com/titaniumvshapedpeg-6.aspx), and I was generally content with those, however that contentedness fails as soon as you're on really hard ground, because the smaller V-style stakes can bend near the top when hammered and are difficult to straighten back to original form. Bends in the thin sheet metal are more catastrophic in nature than in round stakes, and since they always bend in the same place, I worry that repeated bending and straightening will weaken the titanium at that point. However, I think it's less catastrophic to bend one of these than a Y-style stake.

THE best stakes in all the ones I've tried, and the ones I carry religiously, are titanium nail stakes with a thicker diameter than the ultralight ones. These are a bit heavier (about 3 grams each) than the thin diameter guys, but the nail design makes them easy to hammer into hard ground, and they don't bend easily. I bent one ONCE ever so far, hammering them into frozen ground in the winter and not realizing I was hammering into a rock. The bend was gradual along the entire length of the stake, and it was not hard to hammer back to straight. I've used them many dozens of times and other than that haven't managed to bend any. I regularly press them in using my shoe, pressing on them with a rock, or outright hammering them. I don't ever worry about damaging or bending the stakes, and the hold is great in most ground. In all honesty, if you're on really soft ground where these don't hold well, even the larger V-style stakes won't hold all that great either, though they do offer more surface area and will be marginally better as a result. The ones I use are from Vargo: http://www.vargooutdoors.com/titanium-nail-peg.html Hilleberg makes a similar stake sold separately from their tents as an upgrade option (Stinger Titanium, http://us.hilleberg.com/EN/tent/tent-accessories/), but the price is substantially more at over twice the cost of the Vargo stakes of identical length, diameter, and weight. The design of the head on the Hillebergs is slightly better as there is more of a lip to ensure a guyline doesn't come loose, but with the stakes driven it at a proper angle this is not a concern anyways. The loop of pull cord on each stake helps hold a guyline in place anyways...I've never had to get out and re-attach a guyline, though I *have* had to do that with shepherd hook stakes.

For a while, I carried a mix of stakes using lighter shepherd hook stakes just for guylines, but the nail stakes perform so much better that that's now all I carry.

[Blaze12]

I switched from ti shepherds back to Y stakes, I had my guide lines came of many times too. Having said that I always take 2 ti stakes for back up.

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