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When it comes to staking your tent, the best stake will depend on the camping conditions.
In other words, when you’re looking for the best tent pegs for your tent, it’s important to take into account the terrain (soil, sand, snow, rock) and conditions like high winds, freezing weather, etc.
The three best tent stakes are the Orange Screw Ground Anchor, Eurmax Galvanized Heavy Duty Tent Stakes, and the MSR Blizzard Stake Kit. Between these three options, you’ll be able to secure your tent in all outdoor conditions, including sand, snow, gravel, hard ground, and even high winds.
Quick Comparison
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1. Orange Screw Ground Anchor
- Best Tent Stake for Sand
- Best Tent Stake for High Winds
The Orange Screw Ultimate Ground Anchor is at the top of this list for its high-quality construction, unrivaled holding power in a wide range of soils, and industry-leading lifetime guarantee!
Related: Best Tent Stakes for High Winds
The extra-long 12 1/4 inch screws are ideal for fastening a tent to sandy ground, loose or soft ground, and are perfect for securing your tent in high winds. They also include a unique T-Grip tool to make screwing them into the earth easier.
Here’s a pretty cool video on how Orange Screws work.
Essentially, you just screw them into the ground for the ultimate in holding power. But here’s a little tip for camping on sand – dig down 3 – 5″ and install the Orange Screw anchor into the firmer ground below the loose sand on top. This will create the firmest grip possible.
Related: 3 Best Tent Stakes for Sand (Top Sand Stakes Compared)
Orange Screws are made of 100% recycled polycarbonate in the United States and are backed with a lifetime warranty!
Specifications
- Weight: 3.6 oz. per screw
- Size: 12 1/4″ long x 1 1/8″ diameter
- Material: Recycled Polycarbonate
- Color: Orange
- Brand: Orange Screw
- Kit includes: 2 screws and a gripping tool
Pros
- At only 3.6 ounces per screw, these are extremely lightweight tent stakes
- Extra-long for added holding power in even the loosest types of soil
- Made of 100% recycled polycarbonate plastic
- Nearly indestructible
- Kit includes a T-Grip Tool to easily screw them into the sand
- Use them around the house, garden, camping, etc.
- Made in America
- Lifetime warranty
Cons
- Costly if you need a lot of stakes
- I’ve seen reviews from campers having issues with the stakes breaking, though I’ve never personally experienced it
Orange Screw Ground Anchor
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2. Eurmax Galvanized Non-Rust Heavy Duty Tent Stakes
- Best Tent Stake for Rocky Ground
- Best Tent Stakes for gravel
My favorite all-purpose tent stakes are the Eurmax Galvanized Heavy Duty Tent Stakes. As I’ve mentioned before, they are my go-to tent camping stake for roughly 95% of camping trips. There are only specific situations that don’t make sense, such as camping on sand, in which I use the Orange Screws mentioned above.
They are made of galvanized steel, which gives them exceptional strength and durability (I’ve had mine for years with no issues at all). And they feel pretty lightweight, around 4 ounces each, according to my estimate. They hit the perfect balance in terms of weight and durability.
The stakes come with a pointed tip and a nail head, allowing you to hammer them into gravel, frozen ground, or hard rocky ground.
Related: 3 Best Tent Stakes for Rocky Ground
Plus, they feature a stopper designed to prevent you from driving them too deep, potentially making it nearly impossible to pull them out of the ground (I’ve done that many times with other tent stakes).
Specifications
- Weight: Roughly 4 ounces each
- Size: 10″ long x 1/4″ diameter
- Material: Galvanized steel
- Color: Available in green, black, orange, and white
- Brand: Eurmax
- Kit includes: 10 stakes and 4 ropes (10 ft. each)
Pros
- The perfect balance of weight and durability
- About as tough as stakes come
- Specially designed stake head makes it easy to hammer them into hard ground
- Will not corrode or rust
- Comes with 4 – 10 ft. ropes
- Available in multiple colors
Cons
- They may be too big or heavy for those hiking long distances
Eurmax Galvanized Steel Tent Stakes
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3. MSR Blizzard Stake Kit
- Best Tent Stake for Snow
The MSR Blizzard Stake was created with camping in the snow in mind.
They also work great for sand! In fact, if you can’t reach firm ground with the Orange Screw above, I prefer these in sandy soil using the deadman anchor technique.
The Blizzard tent stake is composed of 7000-series aluminum and has the strength and staying power to resist stressors that would cause other tent stakes to break. And what’s truly amazing is they pack all that strength into one of the lightest weight stakes on the market at only 1.12 ounces each!
Learn more about MSR tent stakes, including the Blizzard, Groundhog, etc., with this short video.
While not as good as the Orange Screw warranty, MSR stakes are protected by a generous limited 3-year warranty.
Specifications
- Weight: 1.12 oz. per stake
- Size: 9.5″ long
- Material: 7000-series aluminum
- Color: Red
- Brand: MSR
- Kit includes: 4 stakes
Pros
- Best ultralight tent stakes (lightest on this list)
- Perfect for long backpacking and hiking trips
- Made from durable 7000-series aluminum
- Can be used multiple ways and in sand or snow
- Long 9.5″ size
Cons
- You can actually find off brands that have the same design and are bigger offering more holding power (at the expense of size)
MSR Blizzard Stake Kit
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Which Stake Should I Choose?
The best way to choose tent stakes is to determine the type of terrain and conditions you plan to use them in and select one designed for that specific purpose.
Whether you are camping on sand, snow, rocky ground, loose soil, or in high wind, you’ll want a stake that’s designed to best secure your tent in those conditions.
We could go on and on about stake length, material, design, etc., but if they’re not made for the specific conditions you need them for, they won’t be of much use.