Learned a lesson about tent stakes on the Superior Hiking Trail last fall

I was camping near the Split Rock River loop and a storm blew in around 2 AM. My cheap aluminum stakes pulled right out of the soft ground and my tent almost flattened. Now I only carry MSR Groundhogs for anything outside of rocky soil and haven't had an issue since. Anyone else switch to heavier stakes after a bad night?

3 comments

3 Comments

richard1371d ago

@emery965 Yeah the twist ones are junk. I switched to Groundhogs and never looked back.

emery9651mo ago

Brought a set of those cheap twist stakes from Walmart on my first trip to the Boundary Waters. First gust of wind and two of them bent like wet noodles. Had to tie my tent off to rocks. What brand did you have before the MSR ones? I ask cause I see a lot of people say the same thing about aluminum stakes in soft ground but then they just buy another cheap set instead of upgrading. Curious if yours were the same kind that folded up on me.

jade31mo ago

Funny you mention that. My first set was some no-name aluminum stakes from a gas station near the Gunflint Trail. They looked solid enough in the package. First night, I tried to hammer one into some rocky soil near Lake One and the head just snapped clean off. My buddy had this old beat up set of MSR Groundhogs he'd used for like ten years. He laughed so hard he almost fell over. Ended up borrowing two of his and using big rocks to hold down the rest of my tent. That trip taught me there's a big difference between "aluminum" and "good aluminum.