Tent Pegs

A good structure begins with a good foundation. Well, it is no different when you are setting up a tent. In other words, the structural integrity of the tent depends on the best tent pegs. That’s because these are those smart devices that hold your guy lines nice and tight.

The tent pegs have come a long way from those old wire stakes that look like shepherd’s hook from your childhood camping days. Of course, most of you are ardent campers, if you are here on this page. But, for those of you who are a novice to the world of camping gadgets, the word tent pegs might sound foreign. Well, let’s clear that out for you! A tent peg or stake is usually a spike with a hook or hole on the top end. These structures, typically come in materials like wood, plastic, or composite materials. You drive or push down these structures into the ground to hold your entire tent structure with the help of ropes or directly. So, now that you know them well, should we start shopping? Well, not yet! You have a long way to go before that. Let’s explore their types first.

The various types of tent pegs for different grounds

There are several types of stakes that you can use for different grounds and tents of different weights. For example, dedicated campsites often have marshy grounds. In such cases, you must go for ordinary steel or aluminium tent pegs. However, remember that you cannot use these same stakes for sandy surfaces. Therefore, you must first understand the different types and features of the various types of stakes to get yours right. Luckily we’ve listed out a few significant types of tent pegs and their characteristics. Understanding them will be highly useful during your buying process.

The basic lightweight plastic tent pegs

The most common and basic type of stake that comes with smaller tents is the lightweight plastic stakes. Typically, they come in nylon material and are supposed to be ‘unbreakable’. Needless to point out, you may break a couple of them, but that’s not of much concern here. That’s because, they are pretty strong, and hold very in soil ranging from reasonably soft to pretty hard. Moreover, their peculiar design allows them to stay underground and not pull out very quickly. However, there is only one demerit of this type of stake, and that is it broken if you nail them onto a rock or root. Moreover, they take up a lot of space while packing. However, you can use them for even the most significant type of tent.

The U or V-shaped sand tent pegs

Another prevalent type of tent stake is the steel ‘V-shaped’ one. These are pretty good if you want to set up your tents in soft dirt or sand. They work very well in soft to medium packed soil, mud and clay. Hence, we say that they aren’t a good pick if you want to set up your shelter at a very hard or marshy area campsite. Also, remember that these bends very quickly, and then you might need to straighten them out later. Of course, you can straighten the stakes with a hammer. However, it might become a hassle for you. Hence, be careful while nailing them onto places that have rocks and roots nearby. Moreover, the best sand pegs that measure 12 inches long allows you to nail your tent on extremely sandy grounds easily.

The nail steel tent pegs

This is one of the best stakes out there. That’s because it is precisely what it sounds like. The tent stake is about ten inches long and comes in steel material. However, it has a plastic lashing hook at the top. An important point to note here is that they aren’t a great stake to use in soft and sandy grounds. That is, you can use them in marginally acceptable soft grounds too. In other words, they work in the medium packed ground or around many rocks and roots. Moreover, you can quickly straighten them if you bend them. Therefore, you can easily set up your shelter near rocky places. Above all, they are affordable and costs less as compared to their counterparts.

The heavy-duty marquee tent pegs

Often, you might need to rest in a place that has harsh climatic conditions and also has rocky and sturdy terrain. Well, these tent stakes come in handy in such situations. Typically, the heavy-duty marquee stakes come in steel materials. They have a forged steel construction. This allows the stake to stay in shape even if you repeatedly hammer them into the hardened ground. These pegs usually come at 11.8 inches in length and 0.39 inches in diameter. Hence, with such a structure, you can use them to anchor large tents, tarps, and canopies – even in high winds. Of course, their size and material indicate that they are much heavier than the other options. But, they’re ideal if you need heavy duty holding power.