Helpful Hints from joeeze: Tent stake hack

Fast, cheap & under control — the way a hack should be.

From the latest edition of Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools, edited by Steven Leckart, comes this wonderful kludge, described by Adam Farrow-Palmer.

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Tent Peg Hack

I have used regular tent pegs hundreds of times and have been extremely dissatisfied. A great, simple alternative I've been using the last five years is to wrap or tape up a handful of large screws (8-inch or so) available from any hardware shop. Wood, carriage and tapping screws are slightly heavier than tent pegs, but I've found they slide into the ground more easily, since they have sharper points. They are also cheaper and much easy to find in a pinch. Most importantly, the screws DO NOT BEND! No matter how hard you whack them.

If you are worried about the sharp end poking a hole in your pack, you can make a simple, light tent peg bag (pic above) by wrapping the pegs with an old scrap of towel and tying or using a rubber band to secure them (pic above)

Another point about the weight: the slight difference may be negated by the fact you don't need to carry and camp with a hammer or bulk mallet. You can pick up a rock and bash them, even carelessly, since they won't bend. As always: keep them at 45 degrees and tighten the guy ropes.