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Posted by magyver on October 21, 2006 at 11:45:56 pm EDT
In reply to Tent Stakes posted by HoosierBackpacker on May 7, 2006 at 9:44:31 pm EDT

Hoosier, I have been a welder for over 20 yrs, and I have used welding rods for just about everything, including tent stakes. But you should first heat treat them.
You can do this for all store bought stakes as well (except for alluminum). It is very simple if you have a buddy or workplace that has a cutting torch or very hot fire.
Simply bend the stake in the desired shape (sheaperds hook style works best)with an extra long dog-legged hook, so that the hook section drives into the ground as well. Then heat up the stake until is cherry red and immediatly quench it in a bucket of cold salt water or cold used motor oil (motor oil prefered but water will do just fine).This makes them very hard and less ductile. I prefer to use a 5/16" or 3/16" 7018 or 308 Stainless rod. Bending is only a problem for me in extremely rock hard ground.
I do use alluminum stakes when I can, but they bend very easily in hard ground, but can also easily be bent back into shape. Titanium is not much better and tend to cost much more. My favorite, but which weights much more, is the long, old style gutter nails and washers. Typicaly used for my big cabin tent on family camp outs. You should try experimenting with all types of material and decide for yourself what works the best. Just remember that there are certain items in your pack that you don't need to reduce the weight of, for fear that it may cause you frustrations and hardships on the trail. "Dependability is and should always be the number one factor when purchasing your gear".

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