Appreciation post: My old tent stakes beat a $40 upgrade in Oregon

Back in April I camped near Bend, Oregon, and the ground was hard packed clay. I brought a new set of lightweight aluminum stakes, everyone raves about them online. After fighting them for 20 minutes, I pulled out my dad's old steel stakes from the 1980s, they went in like butter. Turns out the fancy ones bend under pressure, and the cheap steel ones just take the abuse. Anyone else find that old gear often outperforms the new stuff, or am I the only one holding onto vintage kit?

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morgan_ramirez17d ago

That bent under pressure part hit me right in the gut. I've got a whole box of my grandpa's old gear and every time I take something newer out instead, I end up wishing I hadn't. There's something about that heavier stuff that just feels honest, like it knows what it's for and doesn't care about being fancy. I'm glad you kept those steel stakes, it sounds like they earned their spot in your pack for good.