The $15 tent stake set I laughed at actually saved my trip

I was convinced those cheap plastic stakes from the gas station would snap in the first gust of wind, but they held through a 30 mph storm at Lake Tahoe last weekend. The orange color made them super easy to spot when packing up in the dark too. Has anyone else had a similar surprise with budget gear actually working out?

3 comments

3 Comments

grantp2819d ago

Did you test the stakes before the trip at all or just trust them to hold since they looked cheap? I'm always torn between the cost of budget gear and risking a ruined night's sleep if something fails. Would love to know if you did any quick stress tests or just went for it based on instinct lol.

shanem379d ago

Tested one by staking my neighbor's tent in a storm, worked great until it didn't.

the_lucas19d ago

but honestly are we really acting like a tent stake failing in moderate wind is some kind of crisis? like yeah it sucks if your tent collapses at 3am but you just fix it and go back to sleep. people act like budget gear is gonna get them stranded on a mountain when really most of us are car camping a few miles from a walmart. i've used those same orange stakes for years and they're fine for anything short of a hurricane. the whole "risk a ruined night's sleep" thing feels a little dramatic to me. worst case you wake up cold and grumpy for one night and then you learn something.