- Joined
- Sep 6, 2007
- Messages
- 1,473
Steel, aluminum or titanium?
In 15+ years of camping, I have never had a steel peg that didn't break, rust or bend so hard that it became useless. (or course, there is no such thing as a high-end steel stake for tents, they are all made of bottom of the barrel steel no matter the brand). I had better luck with aluminum, but the rounded ones will still bend, but they are hard to break and obviously will never rust. They need an Hex-shape in order to be strong, or something like the red on the right (MSR Ground Hog)
Now I'm the process of replacing all my old steel and aluminum stakes for titanium, hoping to get the ultimate strength in tent fixation and still save weight.
I just received some stakes from the mail now, the Ascent Ultralight from Vargo Titanium, made for sandy and snow soil, and some heavy duty Ti-Nail Pegs for some serious pounding into hard soil. They were cheap, not much more than regular MSR stakes or similar brands.
Vargo Ti-Nail Peg:
Vargo Ascent:
I'm extremely impressed how light they feel on my hand, I can backpack with 30 extra-stakes like these without feeling them. However, I live in the city and haven't got a chance to test 'em yet.
What do you think of these Titanium stakes, are they really strong?
Is there any other type of material or type of stake in the market that I should be looking at or this the real deal?
Please, share your thoughts and experiences. :thumbup:
P.S - My current tents are:
- Nemo Losi 2P
- MSR Elbow Room 2
In 15+ years of camping, I have never had a steel peg that didn't break, rust or bend so hard that it became useless. (or course, there is no such thing as a high-end steel stake for tents, they are all made of bottom of the barrel steel no matter the brand). I had better luck with aluminum, but the rounded ones will still bend, but they are hard to break and obviously will never rust. They need an Hex-shape in order to be strong, or something like the red on the right (MSR Ground Hog)

Now I'm the process of replacing all my old steel and aluminum stakes for titanium, hoping to get the ultimate strength in tent fixation and still save weight.
I just received some stakes from the mail now, the Ascent Ultralight from Vargo Titanium, made for sandy and snow soil, and some heavy duty Ti-Nail Pegs for some serious pounding into hard soil. They were cheap, not much more than regular MSR stakes or similar brands.
Vargo Ti-Nail Peg:

Vargo Ascent:
I'm extremely impressed how light they feel on my hand, I can backpack with 30 extra-stakes like these without feeling them. However, I live in the city and haven't got a chance to test 'em yet.
What do you think of these Titanium stakes, are they really strong?
Is there any other type of material or type of stake in the market that I should be looking at or this the real deal?
Please, share your thoughts and experiences. :thumbup:
P.S - My current tents are:
- Nemo Losi 2P
- MSR Elbow Room 2