9 Tent peg stakes- 7 sites MEGATEST of Holding POWER. Is Hilleberg peg the ONE to rule them all?

Tent peg megatest
Get a coffee or a beer guys, this is a biggie, but don’t worry, I summarise the findings early on along with on screen charts
Why? A wild camping system needs to be reliable and it is only as strong as its weakest link. In my observations the order at which things fail are the
Pegs, Poles Fabric. Have a look at outdoor magazin - fascinating tent destruction.
www.outdoor-magazin.com/zelte/
This video should eliminate some equipment worries decisions before you go- you have different on the spot pitch decisions when you camp. So join me for tent peg loading!
I test in a standardised manner with a 10kg and 20kg pass fail plus max force pulsed to represent blustery conditions. These values represents tear strength of 20D double coated silnylon (9kg)and kerlon 1200 (12 kg) and 40D silnylon and kerlon 1800 (both 18kg)- with small tear in-situ.
There is a summary with best in each category data at 3:00 and each section end with a data chart with best in test in green and worst in red.
The terrain I tested in are the order they appear in the video are
stoney grass moorland- very much like the lake district 10:16
Forest, wet ancient woodland, similar to peat moorland 16:49
Stoney grass pasture 25:28
Frozen turf 31:41
Sand, inc sand buried 36:06
Snow, inc snow buried 47:49
The pegs were
Alpkit Long aluminium nail
DAC V
Hilleberg V Is it THE ONE?
Titanium nail
Titanium crook
Lanshan Mini X
Delta anchor
Snow stake
All pegs showed some variability on micro placement, Plus it will depend on your guy angle. I tried to make it as impartial as possible, but the winners are for all round 3 seasons are the titanium nail closely foillowed by the alpkit nail, in third place the Y peg (like the msr ground hog) Thewn for snow and sand the snow stake. Not to be carried by me anymore are the delta anchor and the titanium crook. I carry the standard tent pegs that come with the tent, then an extra 6 titanium nails and 2 snow stakes plus 2 extra guys, all bases covered then.
Ultimately I want to link this in to actual wind loads onto tents in real conditions- its irrelevent without this. Please comment if you are interested.
I am raising funds to buy backpacking gear for the scout troop where I am a leader . thanks!
www.buymeacoffee.com/fellmandave is to get some backpacking gear for the scouts.

[@Fellmandave1]

I am raising funds to buy backpacking gear for the scout troop where I am a leader . thanks! www.buymeacoffee.com/fellmandave is to get some backpacking gear for the scouts.

[@Stewartmcf80]

This is dedication! Thanks for the excellent review 👍🏻

[@Fellmandave1]

Cheers! Just keeping out of mischief.

[@TheEnglishRedneck45]

I've just got a tent and it's come with plenty of the...titanium crooks! I'll be getting some better options, thank you for your comprehensive testing in all the different ground types.

[@ianmatlock1]

Love your dedication

[@Fellmandave1]

Thank you Ian.

[@kristaps2010]

Really good effort acquiring equipment, pegs and doing propper test. Thank you

[@Fellmandave1]

Appreciated at last!

[@naturecallsoutdoors]

Really well done. I have the same problem with pegs. Keep em coming

[@Fellmandave1]

Thanks, will do!

[@MrProgressiveRock]

I was just watching your lanshan video 5 mins ago and now this comes out a minute later. Great timing.

[@Fellmandave1]

Hope you like it. Its over an hour long! What have I done !

[@MrProgressiveRock]

Just finished the video, it’s really excellent, thank you for making it. The Y peg seemed like a good all rounder, which maybe explains why they are issued with Hilleberg black label tents. However the Alp Kit nail performed very well for most normal environments, I suspect it benefits from it’s extra length over the others. I wonder if you had a longer version of the Y peg if it would perform better still? I know MSR make cyclone pegs which seem to be 20cm twisted y pegs, I’d be very curious how they perform. Thanks again for the excellent content.

[@Fellmandave1]

@@MrProgressiveRock Thank you. Never thought anyone would watch it all so well done you for sheer holding power yourself. Been wondering about the most cyclone myself. Might get a couple.

[@alanc4264]

Great video and as scientificand close to reality as you can probably get. Thanks. I donlt camp anymore but I do carry an emergency shelter when hiking and knowing what the best alroudn carry is, not kmowing if and when it will be used, is very useful.

[@Fellmandave1]

Thanks Alan.i am studying for a Masters right now so its rubbing off into my videos!🤓

[@alexgandex571]

Very useful information, thank you! Now i know, which pegs best for my travels.

[@Fellmandave1]

You are welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@matteotamberini2152]

Awesome testing Thanks 👍

[@Fellmandave1]

Thanks for watching! Was a biggie!

[@LetsMakeADayOfIt]

Nice videos, thank you!

[@Fellmandave1]

Cheers buddy.

[@drytool]

I always use a marlinspike hitch around the tent peg rather than a loop. That way I'm not depending on a notch or hook in the peg at all.

[@Fellmandave1]

It's a good idea, but may be difficult if pitching in strong winds or wearing winter gloves. For me anyway.

[@StickyWilli]

Really interesting to see a fair test and I suspect it follows most people’s experience with pegs. I use a variety of pegs with my set ups exactly because the ground is often so different. It offends my OCD having different pegs but I use my burliest pegs for windward side guy lines. It is worth noting that your little Hilleberg peg is the smallest in their range, their black label tents come with a peg with a lot more holding power and their snow peg is about 12 inches long.

[@Fellmandave1]

Good point. Would like to try some of the bigger H pegs. The wee ones were a bit average.

[@damianhill6704]

Comedy genius (and the tent fish!). Love your channel. Waiting to fire up my scarp 1 (on a 3 month cycle tour.... no matter what Boris says) and wondering what additional pegs to take with all the guy line mods. One of my ancestors lost a tent peg very similar to the one you found. He was last seen floating face down in river, with a load of extra long orcish fletched tent pegs sticking out of him.

[@Fellmandave1]

Somebody got it! Brilliant Damian.

[@RS.Outdoors]

Great testing mate. :)

[@Fellmandave1]

Thanks Ray!

[@Stewartmcf80]

Surprised with the delta Ray. Goes to show how the terrain affects performance.

[@Fellmandave1]

@@Stewartmcf80 I reslly wanted the delta to be exceptional too, just wasn't happening for me. Length seems to be the thing to get through that top loose layer. I did some separate testing with the delta that I have not posted and found that different bits of grass resulted in large variations in hold. Would probably be the same for any relatively short peg though.

[@Tiger-789]

wow. If this isn't dedication, I don't know what is :P I think based on this (and once I get myself a tent) I'll be getting Y pegs mainly and some snow stakes if I ever go somewhere snowy. Thanks a lot for doing all this so we don't have to hahaha

[@Fellmandave1]

You missed the long titanium nails! They're a must. Wot no tent, come on tiger.

[@hypo345]

Great video with very thorough testing. Personally I thought Titanium nails would not fair that well apart from stony ground. I use Delta anchors when pitching my Tipi and mess tent tarp, never had one pull out and they are great as they are feet friendly, the grass pitches found in most UK campsites are dense enough to make them a very secure anchor, I always make sure the top is banged down tight to the surface. Been looking for a lighter option for day hike tarp pitching, seems like the Titanium nails are the way to go.

[@Fellmandave1]

Thanks!

[@AmblingMan]

I've been giving my Eastons an extra turn of the guy around the peg to ensure they can't separate, I've been wondering if it's worth the extra effort of using a girth hitch, or a clove hitch. I've not had one rip out, but hopefully the peg would be easy to find. My sciency test has been to dangle the peg from the guy and bounce the guy, not exhaustive, but easy to do in the kitchen :D There is a limit to what you can do with the tensioner on the peg end.

[@Fellmandave1]

Hi Andrew, thanks for pointing that out. I am definitely going to start putting a twist around the pegs with a smooth top and especially where there is a steep pull angle.

[@GearTutorials]

had my tent fail in moderate winds (robens chaser 2 - robens claim it will withstand 200kph) and am wondering about changing the pegs I use. only concern is this failure was a snapped guy rope and bent tent pole, both easily replaced, whereas if there's no give in the pegs isn't that just asking for the tent itself to be the failure point and tear? the most expensive part of the system to repair/replace? I know you touched on the strength of tent fabrics at the start but just find myself unsure of the best solution to my tent failing on my in winds around a third of the speed it's alleged to withstand... Any advice/input is greatly appreciated and thanks for your efforts in making this comprehensive comparison video.

[@Fellmandave1]

Hi, those wind tests are useful, but wind tunnels dont represent real life conditions though eh, with gusts and directioon changes. Plus they do them at the tents optimum strength, where real life is just not like that. Its sounds like you were in winds of about 70KPH, which is still really strong. i cannot believe any tent can withstand a real 200kph. Thats a hurricane! Have you ever looked at the German, outdoor magazin wind tests? Horrific! So the point of failure is at the weakest point in the link and that often is the pegs. I believe that there should be no give in the pegs as they will work loose. If you identified the weakest link to be the guys, how about replacing those? i hope that helps.

[@onewell6894]

One question, why this amazing only have 50likes!!!

[@Fellmandave1]

Come the day of judgement one well, likes will flow like rain from the heavens.

[@HB-jv7sd]

Which ones would you recommend for a Rainbow tarptent Li mainly used above treeline?

[@Fellmandave1]

The Eaton pegs that tarptent supply are amongst the best Henk!

[@HB-jv7sd]

@@Fellmandave1 Thank you for your reply and video!!

[@janarneberg9969]

Thank you for sharing! Personally, I have my own "special" tent plugs (31 cm long and 50 cm long) for use in deep snow and / or in sand (from Hilleberg and Helsport). But I wonder if anyone has experience with pitching a tent plug - when there is frost on the ground? (eg when there is little snow). I know that e.g. Hilleberg makes a type called "X-peg". Hilleberg X-peg’s 30 cm (12 in) length. Has anyone of you tested tent pegs - when there is frost on the ground?

[@Fellmandave1]

Hi Jan, you mean when the ground is frozen? Titanium nails for that.

[@AndrewParkOutdoors]

You are quite the mad scientist sometimes but essential viewing Dave ! I honestly skipped about the video after first 30 mins looking for your chart summaries. So are we saying buy Titanium nails then? Also can you try laying a peg on ground at right angles behind the vertically implanted one and wrapping the guy under the horizontal and over the head of the vertical so in theory the vertical peg is getting pulled both towards and away from the tent ? Dying to know if that increases the strength! This will run and run ....

[@Fellmandave1]

Hi Andrew, well done for surviving 30 minutes. Yes I am saying i found the best allrounder to be the titanium nail. Its slenderness was better than anticipated, with the snow stake for soft ground. I have used them to good effect here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHfGhGR9f5upqrM at 3:20 and here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hp-1oJmQiLV2fbM at 4:20. There was a lot of load on that trango side wall, In shallow hard soil the DAc types were plucked out where the titanium may of done better, that happened here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHTCmnuai9lqra8 at 8:30 to 9:02 . I use the stock tent pegs and carry 4 titanium nails, 2 snow stakes and two guys with krabs. But I am a bit of a storm chaser.

[@Fellmandave1]

Secondly not sure what you mean about the 'T' arrangement. Do you mean in sand/ snow to bury one sideways then one vertical? In normal grass to vertical inline works. Of course the big message is all of this is irrelelvant if the tent wind loads are low. I know you know this, but a a geodesic with 9 pegging points on the windward side would have low loads in a given wind compared to say a tunnel with 4. There are of course other factors, flex, aerodynamics, internal pressure, fabric stiffness etc. This is why I am suggesting a colloboration between users. When you camp and its windy you record wind speed and load on a guy, noting angle of the wind , tent design and pegging point ( base/ mid panel/ pole sleeve). I am aware though that what I am doing is lockdown boredom / blues. Might be a case of in a few weeks balls to all this measuring stuff and lets watch the sun go down from the tent door. Lets hope so!

[@photooutdoor2574]

Thanks for the great test. But I‘m a bit surprised about the „Hilleberg“ pegs. Because as long as Hilleberg uses DAC poles, they use DAC pegs as well. Exactly the one of DAC with the groove in the Middle. Maybe you found an very old one!?

[@Fellmandave1]

Well despite the branding it's all about surface area and lever length and the hilleberg ones are just small. Thanks for commenting. D

[@TheMadmacs]

kinda was hoping for some miles per hour info on tent pegs and materials. i realised tents are, should be, designed to blow flat and bounce back, ie poles and pegs should fail before material tears, i have the taiji 2 and its been filmed blowing almost flat with respectable bounce back, but nobody has ever been able to put a miles per hour number on it. i've doubled up the poles and put a guy out point on the large end panels in hopes of shedding the wind better, i've even looked at lower tent in emergencies, not sure if it will help in anything above 30mph.

[@Fellmandave1]

I have thought of doing one on how much force is generated on a guyline by the wind. But there are a lot of variables and I do have a real job too!

[@rll4160]

The conception of this comparison test is genius, but the video is LOOOOOOOOOOOONG, is there a spread sheet that sums it all?

[@Fellmandave1]

You are right of course. Sorry about that! There is a summary at the end of each of section on screen. I will add time stamps to these summaries . I will have the docs somewhere if you give me an email address. But thanks for commenting. Didn't think anyone watched this one anymore!

[@trooperwolfie]

I've just bought some Easton 9 inch lightweight pegs for the main 4 corners of my Durston X-mid along with some swiss piranha RT 90 pegs which I'd never heard of before, they're plastic...only weigh 3 grams each and are apparently very strong, has anyone on here have any experience of them?

[@Fellmandave1]

Not used the Swiss, but have considered it. Let us know how you get on.

[@trooperwolfie]

@@Fellmandave1 will do Dave 👍🏻

[@Olan...]

Isn't that a bit of a flawed test because its down to guess work knowing the density of the actual spot where the peg is going into the ground and if there is any supporting material beneath the grass surface level . Its really horses for courses where tent pegs are concerned and thats why its a good idea to always carry about 20-24 of various types and you have pretty much covered all bases. ( Obviously the Ultra light brigade will be having a stroke if they read this ) If you back a v peg up with a smooth shafted peg then the angle is increased at the back which will make a big difference and create more drag which will increase the overall strength against the guy line . Interesting family day out though , i bet the Mrs and kids were boasting about that one for months and rewarded you buy not wanting any Christmas presents so you can buy yourself a Hilly :)

[@Fellmandave1]

Ultimately that is what changed for me Olan, I carry the standard pegs with the tent plus a mixed small bag with about 10 in of different types. I would saw the test is not flawed because the outcome was to learn, that yes, placement strength is a variable and substrate dependant. Well, as for my family, they're fantastic eh!

[@ianmatlock1]

A lot of work to produce a great video. You're not by chance an engineer are you?

[@Fellmandave1]

Thanks Ian, gait analysis specialist with some Masters scientific training.

[@adunkley92]

Why you hate Delta pegs? You put them as bad for soft ground when they were the 2nd best in the woodland

[@Fellmandave1]

Hello! I never said I hated them did I? They don't punch their weight or size in my opinion.But if you like them, then great!

[@Martycycleman]

Interesting?

[@Fellmandave1]

Thanks Marty!

[@Geoffrey454]

I've learned not to camp on sand

[@Fellmandave1]

Makes a right mess of silnylon!

[@Geoffrey454]

@@Fellmandave1 it does... Oh boy