[pct-l] tent stakes

Sat Apr 9 07:07:20 CDT 2011

Good morning, Brandon,

Ten-times the holding power of a Y-shaped stake vs. a traditional, round
cross-section, skewer-type stake is a bit of an experienced-based
guesstimate but not without some logical basis.  The best general-case
definition of a stake’s holding potential – given equal length – is its
projected width:  The wider the stake, the more soil it will engage, and the
more load it will accept.  The Y-shape, Go-Lite stakes that I often use have
a projected width of 0.51 inches.  The diameter – read width – of
skewer-type stakes varies quite a bit by model and manufacturer, but on the
small side the ultra-lite models have a material diameter of 0.07
inches.  That’s
a width advantage of about 7.3:1 for the Y-stake.

I expect a V-shaped stake of appropriate width would do every bit as well as
a Y-shape, but some of the ultra-lite V-stakes I’ve seen seem to be of
rather thin material and may collapse or bend when pushed, and would be
subsequently difficult to straighten.  I wouldn’t trust any but those made
of good titanium alloy.

What I find is that greater width offers a disproportionate increase in
practical holding power, apparently because such is more likely to engage
soil irregularities such as pebbles, rootlets, etc. while the very thin
stakes may knife-through -- or around -- any such irregularities, reducing
their apparent engagement.  How great this effect may be will depend upon
the soil makeup, but I estimate the advantage to move from about 7:1 up to
10:1.

In actual on-trail practice I don’t find the difference is that pronounced
because I rarely rely upon pure soil engagement for stake holding
power.  If/when
I do pitch my shelter I don’t stake it directly to the ground:  I use
tie-out cords.  In the even-more-rare event I use a tent I have short
tie-out cords on the normal peripheral tent-side loops. The result is I
don’t have to install a stake where the profile of the shelter or tent
dictates; I have many options of anchor types and stake location.

If I don’t like how a stake feels when I push it in the ground, I just move
it till I’m satisfied.  Most often I first look for natural features to
anchor my tie-outs, and my tie-out cords are fairly long to allow a good
choice.  I look for limbs, bushes, roots, rocks, down-fall timber, etc.  The
stakes are used as a last-resort: That’s why I usually only carry about 4 of
them.

Most often I try to push the stake in just past something resistant such as
a rock or a root.  If, as it often happens, I push the stake in a short
distance and feel an object, I just probe the ground further away to try to
get behind the object for much better holding power.  In desert country a
valuable anchor can be bunch grass which commonly grows in clumps on
otherwise bare sand/dirt.  These tight little grass communities have a good
root system and a fairly tough surface mat to accept a stake – of any kind.

Rocks are a good anchor, but often it’s difficult to tie a cord to a rock.
I sometimes pile rocks on top of an installed stake, but most often I loop
the cord around the center of a stick or a stake, place it flat and
crosswise on the ground, then pile rocks on top.

Another personal reason I like the Y-stakes is because, being larger, they
are much more easily noticed on the ground.  Skinny skewer stakes –
particularly those made of gray, low-luster titanium -- have an unfortunate
way of disappearing in plain sight.  To reduce this probability I add some
color to the tops, such a small piece of orange plastic flagging, or paint.
At the Kick-Off Mr. Switchback offers a stake-painting service which I
recommend.

Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09

On Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 5:43 PM, Brandon McGinnity <bmcginnity at gmail.com>wrote:

> Is that true, Steel-Eye, that Y shaped stakes have 10x the holding power of
> a round stake? How do V shaped ones compare, do you think?
>
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 6:14 PM, CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net>wrote:
>
>>  Good afternoon, White Jeep,
>>
>> http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=263806
>>
>>  Steel-Eye
>>
>> Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
>>
>> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
>>
>> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 3:57 PM, David Lippke <lippke.list at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > My wife and I are here staring at our collective pile of tent stakes
>> > wondering how to divide them up (since we are mostly camping separately)
>> > and
>> > which ones to leave behind.
>> >
>> > What type or mix of stake types do you experienced PCT hikers bring?
>> Do
>> > you bring two full sets of different types?   Just several more than a
>> full
>> > set so that you have a mix?   Just enough of some type and simply deal
>> with
>> > the misfit situations as they come up?    Inquiring minds want to know.
>> >
>> > Thanks much,
>> >     David - White Jeep
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>
>
>
> --
> ~ Moccasin
>
>