I guess I need to start buying tent stakes in bulk?!

[tundracamper]

In the last two trips I have managed to step on no fewer than 5 tent stakes - really 6, but the 6th is still usable. This trip, I even put rocks around them to help prevent that. Does anyone have any other tricks for the times when I don't have access to big rocks? My main problem is when I'm taking down and end up stepping on the stake. Perhaps I just need to get in the habit of removing them before taking the cord off - though that won't prevent me from tripping on them in the middle of the night.

[gnar]

what are you using for stakes? I know they are spendy but if you get MSR ground hogs I bet you wont have the problem anymore????

[Floridahanger]

By tent stakes, you mean stakes you use for your tarp, right? Use stakes made on site from pencil thick wood.

That or tie the guy lines to the stakes to force you to take them out of the ground first.

If you continue to step on them, we will pull your tarp card from you and force you to bushcraft your cover

[craige]

Do you put the stakes all the way into the ground? What stakes do you use? I use a combo of Alpkit Y stakes and Lawson Equipment Ti pins and have only managed to bend one y stake trying to smash it through a rock with another rock! I've stepped on them and tripped over guy lines loads of times and never managed to damage the stake. I put them all the way down so that the guyline is in contact with the ground.

[tundracamper]

Yes, I'm talking about for a tarp. I hadn't really though of driving the stake in all the way. I guess I figured that would make them even harder to see. I have been a couple of y-shaped stakes. Thanks for the tips.

[oldbiker]

I tossed all my Y stakes after I stepped on 1 barefoot & tore a half dollar chunk of skin off the bottom of my foot in the center. I only use the round aluminum ones from Gander Mountain. I drive them all the way in. Almost lost one when I drove it through a root.

I've bent a couple but they straighten easily enough with a rock. Tripped over my guide line but never a stake.

[Floridahanger]

I did the same this past summer when I was careless at home.

I tossed all my Y stakes after I stepped on 1 barefoot & tore a half dollar chunk of skin off the bottom of my foot in the center...

I use the coghlan's Y stakes from Walmart at 4 for $3. They are light, but, also a little weak. I have bent a few and can say they will bend back if you go very slow.

Insert the stake to the notch at the top and attach your guy line here. You can put a loop of reflective cord on these to help at night also. If you hit a hard spot, move a little and try again. Be careful when pounding them in hard/rocky soils.

[mayhemkb]

If you aren't someone who sweats every gram I suggest the yellow plastic y stakes from Coghlans. The 9" ones weight about 1 ounce a piece so they are not SUL or even UL. They have a round head and I have had extremely good luck with those over the years (from tent camping to hammock camping) holding in almost any type of soil. They are almost indestructible on top of that. You pay for it in weight and bulk but they are worth the piece of mind in cases where you need that tarp to hold.

I always pound then all the way down. The nice thing about them (and some other stakes) is they have a hole that you could place a light cord pull on to help in extricating them from the ground. They are sold in packs at walmart and around my neck of the woods they are sold individually at walmart too. I have seen them from .50 a piece to $1 a piece.

[Cali]

I spray painted the tops of my stakes a bright lime green color so I can see them. I don't trip over them, and I don't lose them in the leaves.

[DuctTape]

Good advice already given if you choose to continue to use stakes. Another option to consider is going stake-less. I started to not bring any stakes a few years ago. I do not miss them. Some areas this may not be an option. But if it is, I highly recommend it.