Fossil Bluff
Thru Hiker
Some messing about with tent pegs...
Lots of talk about 45 degree angle to the ground. I always assumed it's better to get the peg perpendicular to the direction the guy is pulling. Have I been doing this wrong?
The double peg is a good tip. Will have to use it.
Pity you didn't try the DAC pegs "reversed" as you call it - or the right way round as I believe.
( It would work more like you had the Y peg set then).
This guy's strain test found that open face on the guy side is over twice as good.
I did have you pegged as bit of an expert when it comes to stakes, and I think Petra and @Chiseller are experts when it comes to steaks.
<groans> and waves in a general Westerly direction I watched a great compilation of news footage the other day of the original beast of Bodmin - The 'yokels' all sounded a bit too Cornish, until you got to the local police dog handler 'who was prooooceeding in a Westerly directshun at the time' you get the picture
I was slightly disappointed that you didn't use clothes pegs to air dry steaks to make the bit even more punishing...
Biltong... there's a thought.
that's something to build on...
Surely vertical only provides most ground resistance if force is horizontal? I still don't see why perpendicular to force is not always best.In a former life I was a professional SAR rope rescue specialist. The same physical properties apply to tent pegs as they would to our ground anchors, which were double staked pegs (effectively) 1.2 long, 30mm dia and back lashed - Vertical provides the most ground resistance, but we angled the front stake back at 20 degrees to keep the back lashing taught. I would imagine that because the guy is projecting up toward the tent, you need to angle the peg to retain the guy - but 45 degrees doesn't enter into it.
This guy's strain test found that open face on the guy side is over twice as good.
Surely vertical only provides most ground resistance if force is horizontal? I still don't see why perpendicular to force is not always best.
Surely vertical only provides most ground resistance if force is horizontal? I still don't see why perpendicular to force is not always best.
And notice at about 4 minutes how the webbing is moving up on the peg? In wind, that will try to pull the peg out of the ground. In may be that with some pegs in some soil, the peg will hold well enough to resist this but I know from experience sometimes the peg will work its way vertically upwards and out. When I'm on poor soil, I'll often put the peg in vertically with a rock on top. The rock stops the peg from pulling up and out.I've also seen several backpacking related videos and websites stating peg perpendicular to earth is most effective.
E.g. Sierra Trading Post here:
@3mins 40secs
https://video.sierra.com/v/tent-stakes-maximum-holding-power/225137791
Some testing here:
Indeed...That made me laugh, this is more of a demonstration as to why you should have longer guys, not the angle of the pegs. He virtually measuring how easy it is pull a peg out when you packing up
I think it is valid, in the respect that if you have guyed close to the tent then the guy is ineffective. The purpose of the guy should be to add structural support to the tent, not just hold it vertically down.
(It's also why longer lines will hold better.)
That pulley angle doesn't represent the majority of shelters... That kind of angle in my eyes... Will favour the 45deg peg.Some testing here:
Indeed...
I think it's valid with respect to, say, apex guys, which would have to be unfeasibly long in order to meet the ground at a low angle.
With perimeter guys, the angle to the ground is going to be low. This means the angle of the line to a vertical peg is going to be close to 90° and the component of the force attempting to pull the peg out will be low (less than 10% at 85° to the peg, or 5° to the ground). It also means that a peg placed at 90° to the line will be close to vertical and go in nearly as deep as a vertical peg (an 18cm peg will go 17.9cm deep with an angle of 5° to the ground).
In other words, with low angle lines (e.g. perimeter lines) it probably matters not a whit.