My dad suggested these, and I wondered if they would be a good idea. I was planning to take rebar stakes, but he thinks sand anchors would be a better idea: lighter, easier, etc. Would they hold up in the high winds?? Any experience using them at BM?
Here's a link: http://www.outek.com/mountain_hardwear_ ... _tents.htm
And how about this reflective guy line....a good idea or not? http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/store ... d=12500226
Thanks for your feedback. Time is going so quickly!!
Sand anchors? Kelty Lightline?
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Tancorix
- Posts: 956
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I have some of those and I'd still go with rebar. I don't know all the technical terms so imho, the first 1/4 inch of the playa is soft..maybe a 1/2 inch but under that it firms up. It's not like being on sand that's several inches deep or snow, which is where your sand stakes would work best.
Rebar, as much as it's a pain in the rear seems to come out on top for staking into the playa. And as for the reflective line, absolutely YES. I've damn near KO'd myself by tripping over cables and lines around my own tent the first year. Anything you can reasonably do to increase safety and visibility is worth it. I might order some of that myself.
Rebar, as much as it's a pain in the rear seems to come out on top for staking into the playa. And as for the reflective line, absolutely YES. I've damn near KO'd myself by tripping over cables and lines around my own tent the first year. Anything you can reasonably do to increase safety and visibility is worth it. I might order some of that myself.
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Bob
- Posts: 6747
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- Location: San Francisco
- Contact:
You'd have to dig a good-sized hole in the clay/silt to place that kind anchor. In a word, feeble.
For stakes, those wide military surplus 12" long aluminum stakes work great. Light duty snow stakes might crumple. Rebar... whatever. For DIY stakes, a smooth surface eg 3/8" or 1/2" rod would be better in a number of ways (easier to drive and pull, won't shred the rope, easier to heat-bend the head). Long carriage bolts, if you can find them at a salvage yard, or 10" - 12" timber spikes from a well-stocked hardware store.
The reflective line looks good, if you want to spend the money on it.
For stakes, those wide military surplus 12" long aluminum stakes work great. Light duty snow stakes might crumple. Rebar... whatever. For DIY stakes, a smooth surface eg 3/8" or 1/2" rod would be better in a number of ways (easier to drive and pull, won't shred the rope, easier to heat-bend the head). Long carriage bolts, if you can find them at a salvage yard, or 10" - 12" timber spikes from a well-stocked hardware store.
The reflective line looks good, if you want to spend the money on it.
Amazing desert structures & stuff: http://sites.google.com/site/potatotrap/
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
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Bob
- Posts: 6747
- Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 10:00 am
- Burning Since: 1986
- Camp Name: Royaneh
- Location: San Francisco
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Also -- dig out a shallow hole with a claw hammer before you drive a stake in, attach a loop of rope, pack the dirt back on top, and you don't have to cap the stake.
Amazing desert structures & stuff: http://sites.google.com/site/potatotrap/
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
Sand anchors will be useless. The soft cruft of the playa (generally the first few inches) is all there is there is as far as anything soft to dig into. Aft that things get pretty consolidated and tough to dig.
Definitely go with Bob's advice and save yourself a lot of money.
Definitely go with Bob's advice and save yourself a lot of money.
Desert dogs drink deep.
In my 4 years on the playa, rebar is definitely the way to go. Here's a couple of tips for ya:
- For tents, etc... "candy cane" the rebar. Find a cpl pieces of scrap pipe (alleys, construction sites, plumbers, etc.) a 2' piece and a 4-6' piece make it easier.... take your 2' lengths od rebar and insert about 18" into the short piece of pipe. Put the longer pipe over the rebar that's left, stand on the short piece of pipe and use the long piece to bend the end of the rabr back onto itself. With two or three one-handed helpers (the other hands holding a cold beverage), you can get into a rythmn and bend mucho amounts of rebar quite quickly. Pound them almost all the way into the playa. To remove them, take a jug of your recycled grey water and pour around the rebar about 5-10 minutes before removing.... a wrecking bar or ratchet strap hook or even another candy-caned rebar will easily pull it out. If you have troubles, twist the rebar counter clockwise and you'll find it simply unscrews from the playa!
For carports, etc... you can use straight rebar pounded in right up against the posts and use one or two large hose clamps to tie down your carport.... no guy lines needed! Removal is same.... just twist and pull out after pre-wetting.
Here in AZ, our last big get-together before the playa is this coming weekend, aptly called "Rebar Bender".... it's a great way for folks to get their rebar bent, work on schwag gifts, arrange ride-shares, etc. etc..... If you organize your own local bender, we'd love to hear about it!
Rat
- For tents, etc... "candy cane" the rebar. Find a cpl pieces of scrap pipe (alleys, construction sites, plumbers, etc.) a 2' piece and a 4-6' piece make it easier.... take your 2' lengths od rebar and insert about 18" into the short piece of pipe. Put the longer pipe over the rebar that's left, stand on the short piece of pipe and use the long piece to bend the end of the rabr back onto itself. With two or three one-handed helpers (the other hands holding a cold beverage), you can get into a rythmn and bend mucho amounts of rebar quite quickly. Pound them almost all the way into the playa. To remove them, take a jug of your recycled grey water and pour around the rebar about 5-10 minutes before removing.... a wrecking bar or ratchet strap hook or even another candy-caned rebar will easily pull it out. If you have troubles, twist the rebar counter clockwise and you'll find it simply unscrews from the playa!
For carports, etc... you can use straight rebar pounded in right up against the posts and use one or two large hose clamps to tie down your carport.... no guy lines needed! Removal is same.... just twist and pull out after pre-wetting.
Here in AZ, our last big get-together before the playa is this coming weekend, aptly called "Rebar Bender".... it's a great way for folks to get their rebar bent, work on schwag gifts, arrange ride-shares, etc. etc..... If you organize your own local bender, we'd love to hear about it!
Rat