For those of you with tons of miles and gear failures, let's hear it. What is your tent stake strategy? My son and I will be finishing up the Smokies in a few weeks and I'll be going to the ground from my hammock (because I'm bikepacking RAGBRAI in July self-supported and bought a Zpacks Plex Solo to keep things fast and light). I have always struggled with tent stakes, whether trimming out my hammock tarp or setting up a tent. I hate them. They are what they are. Sometimes they work, sometimes not. And the Plex Solo has TEN stakeouts if it's raining. Six for calm weather, ten for storms.

I could go to WalMart and pick up ten neon orange aluminum stakes, or really dial it up and get some MSR titanium stakes, or just whittle some sticks when I stop to camp.

What Has Worked Best For You?

Thanks in advance.