Tarp setup failure at Lake Michigan taught me a new staking trick

Went camping at Ludington State Park last month and a storm rolled in at 2am. My cheap plastic stakes bent like wet noodles and the tarp came loose, soaked half my gear. Next morning I found some old fence posts nearby and cut them into 8 inch pegs with my hatchet. Used those to re-pitch the tarp and they held solid through another storm that night. Anyone else switched to wooden stakes after a bad experience with the plastic ones?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix_lewis1mo ago

Bent my cheap stakes into pretzel shapes my first time camping solo. Learned the hard way that soggy ground doesn't give a damn about plastic. Switched to homemade wooden pegs and never looked back.

jamief671mo ago

Three dollars at the dollar store got me a pack of twelve plastic stakes that snapped before I even got them in the ground, @phoenix_lewis. I switched to those big galvanized steel ones from the hardware store and they've held up through rain and wind no problem. They're a bit heavier but worth it when you're fighting mud. Also learned to bring a rubber mallet instead of a rock, that was a game changer too.

jasonf351mo ago

Huh, that's an interesting take. But wooden pegs rot out way faster than plastic in soggy ground, you might want to wax or oil them if you're not already.