How to Use Tent Stakes?
Are your tent stakes a cause of worry to you?
Have you faced a problem when trying to insert the stake into the ground in the best possible way?
Are you not satisfied with the strength your tent stakes provide?
Does it get blown away in harsh conditions?
If all these problems regarding Tent stakes make your camping a nightmare, then you have reached the correct place to find the solution.
Table of Contents
How To Use Tent Stakes: 3 Important Points To Remember
There can be a lot of reasons why you are finding it hard to cope up with your tent stake. You can read this post if you want to specifically know how to stake a tent in the sand.
Using a tent is not all about exerting power onto the tip but rather about placing it into the soil. Knowing the correct placement, the correct angle, and even the accurate force can save you much time and energy.
Sometimes you will have to vary your angulations according to the soil. One must make sure that the face of the hook or the part that remains above the ground always faces away from the tent.
1. Placement of the Stake
Placing the stake inside the ground takes a lot of effort and technique. A properly placed tent stake gives you a firm attachment to the ground and supports your tent in conditions such as rain. If you fail to place your tent stake correctly, it is obvious that your tent is going to be a failure on your camping trip.
To get the best result, the first thing you need to do is to inspect the ground. Check if it is hard or sandy. The moisture content of the soil is a very important factor for consideration. Next, you will have to try inserting the sharp tip of the tent stake into the ground by hand.
If a little push makes the stake go into the ground, then this means that your soil is not good for providing your tent a firm attachment. It is always better to move to a different spot in such a condition.
Once you find a place with good soil, try hammering your stake down in a vertical position. To be specific, never try to hammer your tent stake down in the hard ground with your foot or hand. This might disrupt it and can cause problems. There can be a high chance that your tent stake bends.
2. Angle
There is a general tip that you might have heard already, which says to insert the tent stake in a manner that the angulation provides the tip to face the tent. People think that this can help them out, as when the wind will be blowing fast, the tent gets support from the angle it gets inserted in.
Whereas in reality, this tip/trick is absolutely false. If you are using this technique to angle your stake, then the support you should get from different stakes is very uneven. This means some of the tent stakes will be facing a lot more stress than others.
In this way, you are just spoiling the main point behind providing your tent multiple stakes.
The correct way to insert it into the ground will be by hitting it deep into the ground vertically. From this angle, you will never have to worry about how fast the wind blows. All the stakes will give you the maximum support with an even distribution of force.
3. Orientation
We have talked about the orientation of tent stakes earlier in this article; still, to make it clear, orientation plays a big role in supporting your talent.
Let’s face the fact that it is not possible to stop your tent from moving by using more tent stakes. A tent is made up of fabrics, and it will move from the original spot irrespective of the tight attachments.
But here is the twist that makes the orientation a matter of concern. A tent stake is a “J” shaped attachment for the tents. The hook part needs to be oriented in a way that it faces away from the tent.
If the hook looks in the opposite way, it is not going to help you even a little bit. The ropes will open up quickly with the fast-blowing wind. Hence, if you are struggling with using a tent stake, then check the orientation.
Few Other Tips For Using A Tent Stake Accurately
- In cases if you are unable to find a hard ground or if you have sandy conditions, try increasing the number of stakes to increase the stability.
- Even when you have good conditions, it is better to carry extra stakes to be doubly sure while camping.
- If you still feel that your tent stake is loose and will not be able to support your tent, try putting weight such as rocks on it.
- A carabineer can be helpful to use.
- Try getting tent stakes that have good durability and are made of heavier metals. This will provide you with some extra strength.
- Try putting the stakes in such a way that you find it easy to line them up.
- Never hurry while inserting the states into the ground. Once you apply force in the wrong directions and the hook gets distorted, the tent stake will become a waste.
- Keep the direction of tent stakes in such a way that you get the maximum support depending on your tent size and shape.
Tent stakes come with different variations in the market. Selecting the most suitable for yourself is also a task you need to take care of. By this, we mean that you need to access the situation and the place where you will be camping.
Get the set of tent stakes that can help you with those specific conditions.
Conclusion
The problem with using tent stakes is not the fact that people don’t know what to do with it, but the real problem is that they are using tent stakes in the wrong way. Using them inappropriately causes trouble, and then one might need help.
We hope this article helped and you will not face any more trouble when using tent stakes.
Now simply pack your bags and enjoy your camp!
People Also Read:
How To Blackout A Tent Completely
How To Insulate A Tent For Winter Camping
