This page is about my ideas on ultralight titanium tent pegs that can greatly reduce the backpacking weight of an ultralight tent.
Introduction
My ‘bell tents’ or ‘tipi tents’ require so many pegs that their lightness becomes very important. At the same time, their functionality must be maintained. “The bottom line is that 300g of tent pegs is a tragic addition to a large comfortable walk-in tent for two weighing 800 g.”
The disadvantage of needing many tent pegs on bell tents can be offset by making them slender and light as they individually need to bear only a small portion of the holding load. Also, I have demonstrated with my most recent bell tent that the number of pegs can be reduced by having one peg holding out two parts of the tent canopy at the same time while providing elastic tensioning to both points Ultralight tent.
Ultralight bell tent pitched with ground pegs around the base and double guy ropes that are held down with a single peg. A length of shock cord is included in the double guy ropes to keep tension on the ropes and allow for the stretching and shrinking of the silnylon tent fabric as it gets wet and dries out. Having these guy ropes doubled up in this way has many advantages that include; simple pitching, lessens the number of pegs required, eliminates the need for guy rope tensioners/adjustors that cause complex tangles and makes pack up as simple as ‘drop it and stuff it’.
Ultralight tent pegs
I have found that bent top hard titanium alloy wire makes excellent lightweight small pegs. They must be pushed in so that the bent top is level with or below ground level so that the guy ropes will not slip off or allow the peg to rotate. (An ultralight and comfortable peg pushing tool is described later).
I make my pegs with a mix of 2 and 3 mm diameter hard alloy titanium wire to save weight and because not all pegs bear an equal load. Similarly, various lengths can provide versatility, as often buried rocks and tree roots prevent a long peg from being pushed into an adequate depth to retain the guy ropes. Short pegs, on the other hand, can be used in low load situations.
On long trips I take spares as losses of such small pegs is likely. Fortunately, suitable sticks can easily be used as outer guy rope pegs in soft ground or sand and snow. “I actually use sticks wherever possible as this is the best way to prevent loss of my ultralight pegs”
Ultralight peg kit unrolled. The stiff plastic bag contains the pegs and the pockets in the kit contain various tools such as the peg pusher, spare parts including extra guy rope and ‘real clothes pegs’ for adjusting ventilation/insect screens.
Ultralight titanium tent pegs. The pegs are made of 2 and 3mm diameter hard titanium alloy and made in various lengths to allow for variations in soil penetration characteristics. They include luminescent markers to help reduce losses. They also mark pegs at night and retain the peg on the guy rope. Heating the titanium to red heat at the bending point, before bending, is required to prevent brittle fracture as the wire is bent. The single large spike for making pilot holes. It is made from a ‘concrete nail’.The loop under the head of the nail can be used to extract the nail (with a suitable stick) and also makes it more visible to prevent loss.
The small top on the tent peg makes them uncomfortable to push with bare hands, so a little aluminium pushing tool with a rubber handle makes it easy to push the pegs in flush with the ground.
Ultralight tent peg pusher made from aluminium tube with a rubber handle and a ‘squashed end’ to fit the bent peg tops. There is a hidden metal plug inside the squashed end that the peg contacts while being pushed. This device makes it easy and painless to push pegs into hard ground and penetration can be assisted with a twisting action as the pegs are pushed in. The yellow tell-tail (somewhat grubby from use on many trips) and a string of luminescent beads are vital features to help prevent its loss and make it easy to find in the hurly-burly of ultralight backpacking camping.
Sticks as pegs. Where ever possible I use sticks as pegs because this eliminates the risk of loss of the titanium ones. In snow and soft ground, sticks make superior pegs.
Tent pegs or sticks in hard ground. Through hikers will encounter situations where they have no choice but to camp on hard or stony ground (particularly at trailheads where the campers typically come with heavy-duty camping equipment including big tent pegs and hammers etc.
I have found that one long hard concrete nail spike (as in the tent peg photo above) is a useful tool for such situations and this can be used, with a rock, to drive in pilot holes for the titanium pegs or even better bush sticks. This means that in the morning when I pack up, all I have to do is pull out the sticks or kick them off at ground level. “Ironically, a small ‘found tent’peg’ at a trailhead on an extended walk started me off on the ‘piloted stick trick’. Then on the same walk, someone left their pegs behind at a previous camp, and this showed me the value of this trick.”
You may also be interested in my (ultralight snow anchors) made from Coke can ends.
Tim
gge
