Are you going on a camping trip and wondering how many tent pegs will secure your tent?
Do you fear winds coming and blowing your tent away when you should be relaxing?
No one wants their tents to fall down or blow away, so you may be wondering:
How many tent stakes do I need?
In general, you only need one tent stake per corner of your tent. If you have 4 corners, you only need 4 stakes. However, you may want to carry twice that number in case of high winds or if one of your other stakes break.
Read ahead for more details on the number of tent stakes you need.
Table of Contents
Do You Need Tent Stakes?
How much do you need tent stakes? Well, this depends.
If the wind is non-existent, then you don’t actually have to use them.
Or if there’s a light wind and you have some other means of tying down your tent, then you may be able to get away without one.
Without tent stakes holding down your tent, you risk your tent flying away like a kite in even the smallest winds.
The light material and shape of the tent catches wind (even the contoured tents), and the next thing you know, your friends are singing “Let’s go fly kite” while you race after your shelter.
How Many Tent Pegs Do You Need?
Tent stakes are key to holding your tent down in any kind of wind. But how many do you actually need?
You should at least carry as many stakes with you as you have corners or securing points on your tent. This will let you hold the tent down evenly which is key to avoiding the wind flying it away.
This means if your tent has spots for 6 tent stakes, you should carry at least 6 with you.
However, this just covers what you need. How many should you carry?
We recommend you bring twice the amount, especially if you’re going on a trip where you leave the beaten path.
This (along with guy lines) will allow you to tie down 2 tent stakes per spot over the tent’s body.
It also allows you to replace any of your stakes that bend or break on the spot. (Although you could always just make a wooden tent stake).
Guy lines are a must-have in any rugged camping enthusiast, and they’re useful for anyone in medium to high winds.
We recommend the KRATARC guy lines (check price on Amazon). I personally like this package because they come in a 12 pack, the tension adjusters are easy to use, and they’re light to carry.
If you’re really worried about high winds, then you should also make sure to use one of the best tents for high winds.
Types Of Tent Stakes
In this section, we’ll briefly go over the types of tent stakes with example products in each subsection. Not all tent stakes are made equally, and there are clear advantages and disadvantages for each.
Titanium
This is hands down the best material for tent stakes around. Titanium is one of the lightest stakes making it easier to carry on your pack.
But it’s also one of the strongest materials. It bends but doesn’t break, and it doesn’t give.
Serious campers will often use titanium tent pegs.
With so many positives, it really only has one negative: a much higher price.
Titanium tent stakes often cost more than the other options.
If you’re going to get one, we recommend the Stadelhorn ultralight titanium tent pegs.
Aluminum
These are a common tent stake choice, and they tend to do well in soft and medium-tough soil.
Aluminum is often lighter than titanium, but they will bend and break much easier. They’re much cheaper than titanium, but shouldn’t be used in snow or frozen ground.
For those who want to try aluminum, check out the All One Tech aluminum pegs.
Steel
Steel is truly the toughest of the tent stakes. They can be used to hold down a tent in medium and hard soil as well as high winds.
Steel pegs can be made smaller than other options while still being tougher. They cost a little more than aluminum and plastic, but steel stakes are quite heavy.
Check out the Eurmax steel pegs if you’re interested in this.
Plastic
Plastic tent stakes are the cheapest options, and this is the best that can be said about them. They break easily, don’t go into any kind of hard soil, and won’t hold in higher winds.
If you do want to save the money, you can get 24 plastic stakes for a low price.
Straight
Material isn’t everything (but it is important); the shape of the stake has almost as much of an impact as the material.
Straight or round tent stakes may have a little hook at the top for the line to tie onto. This is considered the weakest and cheapest of the tent peg shapes.
V-shaped
The V-shape tent stakes go deeper into packed soil easier and hold on well. This is the stake to use all the time, but especially with hard and packed soil.
Screw
Screw-shaped tent stakes are rising in popularity, but they’re not really the best option in every case.
Logically, you’d think the screw shape will hold the tent best of any shape, but the spiral shape weakens the material slightly. This makes it less than ideal for high winds.
However, spiral or screw tent pegs are the hands-down best option for sand or loose soil. The funny shape allows for the stakes to spread out the surface area of pressure and create a more secure stake than a straight or V-shaped peg will.
Conclusion
Now that you know how many tent stakes you need, go camping with the confidence you’re prepared! Make sure to at least match the number of stakes to the corners or secure points, or better yet, bring twice as many.
Don’t forget: a pack of guy lines will also be helpful in high winds, just in case.
Now get outside and enjoy the fresh air!