I have a 4 season tent that I have already bent four or five of the stakes. I really like the tent and am curious if anyone has a goto winter/snow stake, the lighter the better. I looked through the gear forums, and the last thread I found was almost 5 years old.

Tis better not to use snow stakes to save weight if you can (I've turned into a lightweight-aholic). Ice axes, screws, trekking poles, or whatever it takes. If non exist, I bury my sleeping bag stuff sack full of snow (X2 if two people) and compress it. However if your tent requires a lot of stake points and you don't have enough gear, then I suppose stakes make sense.

https://www.rei.com/product/725165/rei- ... ckage-of-4

Bomber. Tested worldwide.

+1 for the parachute style snow stakes and + 1 for using other items. I have a set of the parachute stakes made by Mountain Hardware and they work better than any stake style stake in snow. I also try to avoid taking the snow stakes and will use skis/pickets/ice tools/trekking poles preferably, but sometimes I need to leave a tent standing and take the above stuff with me for the summit attempt, in which case the parachute style stakes are the way to go.

+1 for using ice axes, stuff sacks, etc. as snow anchors, or fabric snow anchors if you have them (my VE25 came with them and I use them in snow and sand). If using metal stakes, DAC J stakes don't seem to bend easily. A nice feature is that they are slightly incut in the middle to make it easier to secure a line to them when you are burying them in snow.

Skis, poles, ice axe, etc... otherwise the old fashioned snow stakes placed sideways and buried. Sometimes I just collapse the tent and pile some snow on top if I leave it for the day.

The aluminum stakes bend if you pound on them. Either don't pound on them or replace them periodically.

Even though they have better holding strength in powdery snow I've shied away from the fabric style because they look like they'd be a PITA to dig out once the snow has frozen rock hard. They aren't necessarily lighter either. That REI one weighs about as much as three regular stakes. They'd be the ticket for beach camping though.

yah josh, i'm a lightweight-aholic. what i am currently thinking is replacing them all with carbon fiber stakes from msr and deadmanning them in the snow. if i replace all the stakes i can shave off 6 ounces of the trail weight (.7 oz v .2 oz x 12) and my total trail weight will be 5 lbs 5 oz for a two man 4-season tent. i've been really happy with the tent so far, but the stakes are shite.

http://www.rutalocura.com/Tent_Stakes.html

Deadman them.

http://www.backcountrygear.com/smc-perforated-snow-stake.html?gclid=CPn0nPSRnMwCFU0vgQodHM8Icg

This is what I use. Drive'em endwise into hard snow. Cut a trench and use'em as a deadman in softer stuff. If possible, minimize the number of stake out points. Why stake four tent corners when the poles naturally push them out and you can tie out four corners of the fly.

DukeJH wrote:http://www.backcountrygear.com/smc-perforated-snow-stake.html?gclid=CPn0nPSRnMwCFU0vgQodHM8Icg

This is what I use. Drive'em endwise into hard snow. Cut a trench and use'em as a deadman in softer stuff. If possible, minimize the number of stake out points. Why stake four tent corners when the poles naturally push them out and you can tie out four corners of the fly.

This. Plus ice ax, snow shoes...

+1 for the parachute-style. Carry 4-6 on every winter trip, use other stuff as needed for additional/temporary anchors.