MSR Groundhog Tent Stake Review

 A tent stake is a lowly item that just needs to address some very basic issues:

• Easy to drive into the ground;
• Stays put when in the ground;
• Easy to remove from the ground;
• Light and small enough to be carried;
• ...yet durable enough to do their job when replacements are not readily available.

With such a basic list of requirements, you'd think that this would be an easy job to fulfill. Well, anyone who has ever set up a tent more than once already knows that this is not necessarily the case.

First, a glance at the commonly available competition:

• Molded plastic stakes:
• Lightweight, relatively inexpensive, but bulky and brittle (by far the most common stake that you'll find left behind by litterbug campers before you... In pieces.
• Stamped steel stakes:
• Heavy, moderately bulky (when not carefully stacked), relatively robust, but may be bent if the tip strikes a rock or tree root (although easy to bend back and keep in service.)
• Bent aluminum rod stakes (comes standard with most tents) :
• Really light and compact, but poor holding power in all but the most benign conditions. Will bend into a pretzel if you so much as look at it funny.

Enter the MSR Groundhog stakes. These have a "Y" shaped cross section, and are made from lightweight aluminum.

This equal-sided "Y" shape, with guy line notches on all three legs, are lightweight, fairly compact, offer better than average holding power, and drive into and come back out of the ground without much fuss.

This non-directional shape is handy in the dark, since you don't have to be sure that the guy line hook is properly oriented when driving it into the ground. While this isn't exactly a difficult task to get right with your eyes closed, once you realize this feature it does become a nice touch.

While they do drive nicely into hard or rocky soil, if it doesn't go in with just moderate tapping of the hammer, hatchet, or rock, don't force it! They will bend or break, which I have done.

Also, if using your foot to push these into the ground, stop pushing when you meet any resistance beyond that of soft soil, otherwise you risk bending them (which I have also done.)

Which is not to say that the Groundhog stakes are not durable; they are. These are just a couple of things to look out for.

Another nice feature is the pull loops, which are made using guy line cordage with a reflective tracer. I actually found this to be extraordinarily helpful in locating a stake still in the ground after dark. Just be sure to retie the knot when you first get them; they're a little loose from the factory. This is just a tip, and not a mark against the stakes. It's easier than tying your hiking boots.

If you can't just pull the stake from the ground with a couple of fingers in the loop, just use another stake through the loop to use as handle. That way you can use your whole hand for more pulling force.

The downside? The price! They are made from extruded aluminum. For those of you who don't know, the extrusion process can be thought of being similar in concept to a pasta maker... only you're squeezing out aluminum instead of pasta dough. This is a decades old technology, and is an inexpensive way of forming thousands of feet of aluminum into your desired shape. The machining cuts to finish the product are very simple, and with aluminum being as relatively a soft a metal means that tooling costs are also low. To top that off, these are being currently made in China. While I do prefer a U.S. made product, I'm not adverse to purchasing overseas goods. It's the cost I'm talking about here.

They -are- overpriced for what they are, and for the low cost of production that they have. That being said, I do still recommend a set of them for your tent. At about $2.50 each, 25 bucks for an average tent will not break the bank... Especially when you consider that you'll get to use them for years to come, and they can be moved from tent to tent.

The bottom line is that MSR's Groundhog tent stakes are a superior product, and with a little care in using them should last indefinitely.

Now go camping!

-Hamhock

Review: Optimus Terra Solo Backpacking Cook Set

I've been shopping around for a lightweight, yet affordable, cook set for weekend backpacking. The Optimus Terra Solo seemed to fit the bill, and certainly was the most reasonably priced set out there.

My criteria were simple:

• Lightweight;
• Holds 1 to 2 small fuel canisters, plus stove;
• And costing less than 50 freakin' bucks!

The titanium pots out there look very nice, and come in at a low weight, but they're just too cost prohibitive for me right now. They also tend to be part of a much larger cook set than I was shopping for, or are no more than an oversized coffee mug that may (or may not!) include a lid.

The other compact, aluminum, 2-piece sets (GSI, REI) get closer, but come in costing at least $10 more. For that ten bucks, they toss-in something like a telescoping spork---- which I would quickly give to my girlfriend's 6-year old son. He might actually get a kick out of it.

Which brings us to the Optimus Terra Solo. It meets my criteria above, and at a price point of $22-25, depending on catching a sale or not.

While not as light as titanium, with this aluminum combo you're only gaining about 1.6 ounces over something like the Snow Peak 900, which costs $30-plus dollars more.

On my scale the Optimus Terra Solo, with its included mesh stuff sack, weighs-in at 7.6 ounces. (The above mentioned Snow Peak 900 weighs 6 ounces [including stuff sack] according to online specs.)

What you get is a pot that boils enough water for a 2-serving freeze dried meal, with room to spare. In other words, you don't have to fill your pot brimming full to boil enough water!

The top works nicely as a pot lid, and does double duty as a mug or bowl.

The fold out, wire handles have a nice feeling---- and surprisingly effective---- rubberized / silicone coating on them. The coating may rub-off or fail over time, but have been holding up perfectly well so far. If it doesn't, it won't have any impact on the performance of this set.

The handle for the top locks securely in place in the open position. Another detail here is that even though only one rivet attaches the handle bracket to the lid, the bracket's square top edge butts right up against the well rolled rim; even if this rivet loosened-up due to damage, the handle is prevented from swiveling. Nice touch! That said, the rivet does look securely set, and I wouldn't expect any problems.

The pot's wire handles, a bi-fold design, is held in place with three rivets. No doubt it will stay put.

While I haven't done any real sticky cooking in this, the anodized interior, while not technically non-stick like teflon, cleans easily. 

The final detail is stamped graduations on the pot in both U.S. and metric, although the lowest marked level is 8 ounces. It would've been nicer if it included a 4 ounce mark for small meals like instant oatmeal, but this is a minor quibble. Just eye-ball it. Oatmeal ain't rocket science.

If you wanted to carry 2 fuel canisters, they will fit, but there won't be room for anything else. However, my pack stove, the unfortunately discontinued Primus Yellowstone TechnoTrail, does fit nicely in the stuff sack above/outside the cook set, so your kitchen can still stay together.

Speaking of stuff sacks, it may be a good idea to make or find a mini sack to hold the fuel canisters/stove inside of the pot (or at the very least, pack it with a paper towel,) since it may be possible for these things to damage the anodized interior. And you can't use the included sack, since you need it to hold the non-locking cook set together. (I made one from ripstop nylon.) This may not be an issue, but I don't want to find out the hard way. Your mileage may vary.

The upside of using a second bag is that it silences the metal on metal sound from inside of your backpack.

So far I've been very happy with this set. Happy enough to already be eyeballing the larger Terra Weekend set from Optimus for larger outings. The downsides are very minor, and really only included here in the spirit of full disclosure.

For the price it can't be beat... Unless you really gotta have that spork.