10 Best Tent Stakes of 2024, Ultralight Options | CleverHiker (2024)

Home >Backpacking

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission if purchases are made through those links. This adds no cost to our readers and helps us keep our site up and running. Our reputation is our most important asset, which is why we only provide completely honest and unbiased recommendations.

Jump to Review

Jump to Review

Jump to Review

Jump to Review

Jump to Review

Jump to Review

Jump to Review

Jump to Review

Jump to Review

Jump to Review

Pros

• Affordable
• Lightweight
• Versatile
• Good holding power
• High-visability pull cord for easy removal
• Stuff sack included

Cons

• Y stakes can be a little more difficult to use in rocky terrain

For those on a budget, the All One Tech Aluminum Stakes are an excellent option. These Y-shaped stakes are longer than a lot of other stakes, so they have some of the best holding power you can get in almost any type of terrain. On top of that, the length makes them suitable for both backpacking and car camping. They may be a little heavier and bulkier than ultralight stakes, but the All One Tech stakes’ balance of low weight, excellent holding power, and affordable price is pretty hard to beat.

Pros

• Affordable
• Lightweight
• Versatile
• Durable
• Length/width means they'll hold well in most terrain
• Easy to drive in/pull out

Cons

• Not as good in loose sand

If you’re looking to get one set of stakes that will work for pretty much any occasion, do yourself a favor and pick up a handful of REI’s Aluminum Hook Stakes. They’re light enough for backpacking, strong enough to hold down large camping tents, and their shape and length mean they’ll work in pretty much any type of terrain. Gram counters can definitely go lighter with titanium or carbon fiber stakes, but we think the added durability and money saved by going with these aluminum hooks is worth the minimal extra weight.

Pros

• Ultralight
• Great value
• Excellent holding power
• Very durable for how light they are
• High-visibility
• Pull cord for easy removal

Cons

• Y stakes can be a little more difficult to use in rocky terrain

The MSR Ground Hogs / Mini Ground Hogs have long been favorites among backpackers because they’re ultralight and they have excellent holding power. Y-shaped stakes like these are versatile enough to work in most types of ground, and their shape makes them more durable than thin hook stakes. If the best holding power possible in a lightweight package is your goal, go with the full-size Ground Hogs. If saving every last gram – and a little money – is most important to you, the Mini Ground Hogs are a great choice.

Pros

• Affordable
• Durable
• Easy to drive in/pull out
• Lenght provides good holding power

Cons

• Heavy for backpacking
• Difficult to drive in without a mallet

The affordable and durable REI Steel Stakes are our go-tos for car camping. These stakes are heavy-duty and are over eight inches long, giving them excellent holding power in pretty much any type of terrain. But the ends are blunt, so come prepared with your favorite stake mallet to make driving them into compact ground a lot easier. Nine times outta ten, these are the stakes we’re using with our favorite large camping tents.

Pros

• Ultralight
• Very durable for how light they are
• Thin design amkes it easy to get between rocks/roots
• Eliminates need for knots/tensioners on guylines

Cons

• Expensive
• Holding power isn’t as good in soft ground

NEMO’s ultralight Airpin stakes have a unique design with a self-tensioning cleat head that allows you to secure guylines without the need for knots or linelocs. For DIY ultralight backpackers who like to swap out stock guylines and hardware on their tents and tarps, this means you can save even more weight by eliminating tensioners. We often bring a couple of these in our stake kit because they’re good backup if tensioning hardware fails, and their thin design makes them easy to use in rocky terrain where thicker stakes are more difficult to drive in. The Airpins are some of the more expensive stakes on our list, but their practical design, low weight, and durability makes them worth the cost in our opinion.

Pros

• Ultralight
• Thin design makes it easy to get between rocks/roots
• High-visibility top
• Easy to drive in/pull out

Cons

• Bends easily
• Holding power isn't as good in soft ground

The ultralight Vargo Titanium Shepherds Hook stakes are super thin, so it’s very easy to slip them in between rocks and roots where other stake shapes might get stuck. The thin gauge also means they’re easier to bend, however titanium is pretty resilient and can bend quite a bit before it actually breaks. The shape and length limit their usefulness somewhat in soft or sandy ground, but it’s easy enough to make them work if you can find some heavy rocks to anchor them in with. The Vargo Shepherds hooks are the second lightest stakes on our list, but they’re nearly three times less expensive than the absolute lightest (the MSR Carbon Core).

Pros

• Durable
• Good value compared to other snow stakes
• Excellent holding power in loose sand/snow
• High-visability color

Cons

• Not suitable for compact ground
• more expensive than less specialized stakes

REI’s Snow Stakes have awesome holding power in soft snow and sand. They’re designed with a flat top that makes them comfortable to drive into the ground with your shoe, but their wide tip makes them impractical for use in compacted soil and icy snow unless you’re willing to dig out a hole to use them as deadman anchors. Some members of the CleverHiker team carry one of these on most backpacking trips since it can double as a tent stake and a cathole trowel.

Pros

• Ultralight
• High-visiability top
• Good holding power
• Easy to pull out

Cons

• Can be uncomfortable to drive in with your shoe
• Bends easily

The Zpacks V Stakes are much lighter and more affordable than other stakes made specifically for soft ground. We often bring a couple of these in our backpacking stake kit for better holding power on critical guylines in loose terrain. But they’re shorter and they bend easier than many other V-shaped stakes, so they may not be the best choice for building a full kit. That said, these stakes are still an excellent value for the holding power and low weight.

Pros

• Ultralight
• High-visibility top
• Easy to drive in compact soil

Cons

• Expensive
• Holding power isn't as good as others
• Can be hard to remove
• Carbon fiber breaks instead of bending under stress

The MSR Carbon Cores are some of the absolute lightest tent stakes on the market, which means you’ll pay a premium price for them. These carbon fiber stakes hold well in compact soil, and their flat top and pointed tip make them very easy to drive into the ground. While these are the lightest option for gram counters, we don’t recommend using them as the sole stake type in your kit. For trips where saving every gram counts, we might bring four or five of these and two or three titanium or aluminum stakes. This is because the short length of the Carbon Cores makes them less effective in loose ground, the thicker diameter makes them slightly harder to use in rocky ground than thinner stakes (like the Vargo Shepherds Hooks), and carbon fiber will snap when under too much stress rather than bending.

Pros

• Excellent holding power in soft ground
• Easy to scrfew into soft ground
• Eliminates need for stake mallet or driving in with you foot

Cons

• Expensive
• Too heavy/bulky for backpacking

For windy days on the beach, we wouldn’t be caught without our Orangescrew Anchors. These stakes are perfect for anchoring down your camping tent or sun shade in loose sand or sediment, and will provide a more secure hold than any other stake type. We also like that the screw design means we can leave the stake mallet at home and we don’t have to try to drive a stake into the ground with our flip flops. The Orangescrews are quite expensive, though, so they may not be a practical purchase for those who do most of their camping in forests or in other areas with hard-packed ground.