Ultralight Backpacking Tarp - Peg Considerations

Ultralight Pegs from Vargo are my own first choice.

Peg ( aka 'stake' ) selection is almost a whole subject in its own right and one where there is an infinite number of incorrect selections that can be made. Poorly selected pegs could potentially spoil an otherwise great tarp experience.

For this reason I will describe my own peg preferences and how they are deployed in practice. To ensure weather proof integrity an ultralight tarp relies heavily on being securely anchored in place. Of course if  natural features are present such as small trees or walls or fencing to act as an anchor point I would aim to use them.  Fixing to a tree or wall will always be stronger than a pegged out guy line, indeed in many respects these are the ultimate peg!

A single person tarp will usually need at least 8 tie outs for most configurations outside of a wooded environment. Larger tarps will usually need more, perhaps 16 to 20 in windy conditions. 

Almost exclusively I use three types of peg. Titanium shepherd hooks. aluminium Y stakes and hand made wooden pegs created at camp. Strong thin pegs such as the shepherd hooks are very difficult to make from natural materials, large wooden ones on the other hand, are very easy. So I  carry the ones that are hard to reproduce in a natural setting. I prefer to carry a strong little pocket knife ( A Wright Ettrick ) which weighs very little and is multi-functional rather than carry another 6 to 8 large pegs just in case. 

For a solo tarp, I carry 2 Y shaped aluminium pegs for the ridge line anchors, and 6 to 8 titanium shepherd hooks. I also carry a small pocket knife as mentioned to quickly craft chunky wooden pegs if I need something a lot larger from wood lying around.  If I am going somewhere I have never been before I will add a couple of extra Y pegs especially if I am heading to the Lake district or Scotland where the ground is usually softer than eastern parts of the country. The hardest ground I have ever experienced was in North Norfolk, where I could only get the shepherd hooks about half way in, The softest ground was at a camp in the lakes where I did make 4 very chunky wooden pegs, one for each corner, and tied off the front and back of my tarp to trees. In sand you may be better to tie guy lines to buried rocks or buried lumps of drift wood. You are unlikely to be using a tarp in snow.  

My first choice for shepherd hooks are the ones such as the ones made from titanium which weigh next to nothing. I use the ones made by Vargo, 8g each. I have had some success also with aluminium shepherd hooks which are also light but are much more prone to bending. By the same token they are easy to straighten. 

Vargo Y beam - Summit stakes' as they are called weigh 14g each. They are  very strong and I have yet to bend or break one. They will not easily be pushed by hand into hard ground, especially on the the trail as I would not generally be carrying a mallet or hammer. A piece of handy wood or a rock may be used as a baton or hammer in lieu of the real thing, but be warned the rock will damage the top of the peg and handy wood is not always around, so in the absence of an improvised wooden baton or rock - make a pilot hole with the shepherds hook then try the Y stake if you are having a bad time of things. The pegs have to go all the way in to work properly.

Shepherd hooks on the other hand can be poor in very soft ground, so be prepared to make a few wooden ones as necessary if you face very soft holding, which is why I carry a decent and sharp pocket knife, I keep mentioning the knife as many ultralight backpackers seem to be leaving the sturdy pocket knife off their packing list these days. Ray Jardine one of the earliest pioneers of ultralight backpacking suggests taking a decent knife on the trail.  These wooden pegs can be discarded to save carrying the weight from camp to camp so little point in making anything too fancy. Placing rocks over shepherd hooks in soft ground will also help as an even quicker fix if these are available.

 Here's an example of a disposable peg.

Disposbale pegs - Nothing fancy, make in situ or on  the fly & eject after use. 

Mainly I will use the Y stakes for the ridge line anchor points of my tarp, unless the ground is too hard to get them in and I use the shepherd hooks for the corners and sides. 

I also carry a few 10 cm pieces of elastic shock cord which I use to relieve stress on the ridge tie outs in heavy wind, I also prefer to use knots on my guys rather than guy- line tensioners as the knots will slip under heavy strain, hopefully allowing the peg to stay put. The elastic is really important particularly if you use Dyneema cordage over say nylon guy lines. Nylon has a little give in it naturally, Dyneema does not so the peg has to do more work. Also a slightly longer line than you might think may help alleviate strain in very windy conditions on the ridge tie outs. Doubling up ridge tie outs in windy conditions can also be beneficial, effectively halving the strain on each peg.

A piece of cord around the head of your pegs, to help you pull out the pegs is a great idea. It will help when its time to leave. If this cord is a bright colour  it will help to locate any lost pegs in the grass or leaf litter. 

Of course I always count the pegs back in, to ensure that I have a full set for the next pitch.

My 8 pegs in total weigh 105g including a little stuff sac to keep the mud off other pack contents.

Thank you for reading.

Way of the Backpacker