Got told my tent stakes were too lightweight after a windy night left me sleeping under a tarp last June in the Smokies

Guy in the next site said I needed 8-inch shepherds hooks for anything over 20 mph winds and once I switched I haven't had a single stake pull out even in a thunderstorm, anyone else had to learn the hard way about stake weight?

3 comments

3 Comments

alice_barnes351mo ago

Pulled my brand new tent out of the bag last spring and realized I left the stakes at home. Had to use rocks and sticks. Woke up with the whole thing twisted around me like a burrito. Now I have a dedicated stake bag with orange paracord tied to each one so I can find them in the dark. Never again.

fiona_lewis3710d ago

Wait did you seriously have to sleep like that the whole night? I've done the rock-and-stick thing before and it's honestly just a matter of time before you're eating nylon for breakfast. The paracord trick is genius, I just stick mine in a separate ziploc bag with a little handwarmer taped to it so they're warm in winter.

val_taylor1mo ago

Yeah I used to think any old stake would do the trick, figured wind just comes with the territory and you deal with it. But after a night in the Ozarks where the gusts flipped my tent like a pancake I ordered a set of heavy duty ones the next morning. Now I get why folks swear by them, makes a huge difference in real wind.