How do you light the stakes around your camp?

[brushfire on the playa]

Hey guys!
I haven't posted in here in a while, but I'm having trouble trying to figure out the best way to light the stakes around my camp but also as affordable as possible (and not something that will break by Wednesday night out on the playa). My camp has a good sized bar that requires quite a few stakes that need lighting, as well as some tent stakes and stakes for our kitchen/storage structures that need lighting. In previous years, we've used glow sticks and zip ties, but it's kind of a hassle to change them each night (not to mention that they don't always last the whole night). Also we are trying to move away from glow stick use at our camp, as they tend to create huge amounts of MOOP (those god damned connectors are truly a hassle to find on the dark playa at night!)
Anyways, we were thinking of possibly using solar powered garden lights with stakes to put next to all our camp stakes, but these tend to run a bit pricey. So I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions that would be cost effective, as well as reducing MOOP around the camp.

How do YOU light the stakes around your camp??

Thanks so much!

[Rice]

I use the $5 solar lawn lights to mark each stake... they stay on all night and just need to have the dust wiped off the solar panel after a storm.

something like this:


I take the pointy plastic thingy off the bottom & put them right onto the reebar, or they can be ducktaped on. easy-peasy

[FIGJAM]

Rice is right, and those lights go on sale for a buck or 2 call the time.

[Bounce530]

Yep, same as above, but I've found them as cheap as $1.00us around this time of year at the evil Wal-mart/K-mart and dollar stores. The cheap black plastic ones I have slip right over a piece of re-bar, and most of them are on multiple burns of use.

[tattoogoddess]

Merry christmas- $1.00 each and they do work well!
Going to get some soon for our camp. Already have 20 but can always use more
http://www.dollartree.com/household/out ... hod=search#

[brushfire on the playa]

Thanks for your replies! Those dollar tree ones look great for our budget, tattoogoddess, but I am a bit skeptical of the quality from the dollar tree. I've gotten stuff that works great from there, but also some things that break immediately upon arrival. But I definitely want to order a couple and test them out a bit to make a decision. Thanks for the suggestion! I never would have thought they had those at the dollar tree!
Rice - do you know where you get solar lights for around $5 each? Anywhere online? I've been doing a bunch of research and have really only been coming up with some lights around $9-$30. If you have a link or a store you might check out, that'd be great!

Thanks again guys! Any other tips for lighting stakes that you can think of would be fantastic!:)

[Rice]

Thanks for your replies! Those dollar tree ones look great for our budget, tattoogoddess, but I am a bit skeptical of the quality from the dollar tree. I've gotten stuff that works great from there, but also some things that break immediately upon arrival. But I definitely want to order a couple and test them out a bit to make a decision. Thanks for the suggestion! I never would have thought they had those at the dollar tree!
Rice - do you know where you get solar lights for around $5 each? Anywhere online? I've been doing a bunch of research and have really only been coming up with some lights around $9-$30. If you have a link or a store you might check out, that'd be great!

Thanks again guys! Any other tips for lighting stakes that you can think of would be fantastic!:)

I found them locally for about $3 CDN each, in a place called PV Mart. It is a farm supply shop in Saskatoon, SK Canada. I have seen something similar here at WallyMart - cannot remember the price.

I am not sure where in the USA to find the exact same thing. It has been my experience that Dollar Store electronics are a sketchy experience - sometimes ok, frequently a poor choice. YMMV

[International Incident]

I use the $5 solar lawn lights to mark each stake... they stay on all night and just need to have the dust wiped off the solar panel after a storm.

something like this:


I take the pointy plastic thingy off the bottom & put them right onto the reebar, or they can be ducktaped on. easy-peasy

I need a bunch of these. Is there a particular store or brand that is reliable. I want to order about 50 and have them send to a friend in Reno (yeah lucky420... Sorry)

When I went hunting last year I only found expensive ones that were shit. All help gratefully accepted

[tattoogoddess]

Thanks for your replies! Those dollar tree ones look great for our budget, tattoogoddess, but I am a bit skeptical of the quality from the dollar tree. I've gotten stuff that works great from there, but also some things that break immediately upon arrival. But I definitely want to order a couple and test them out a bit to make a decision. Thanks for the suggestion! I never would have thought they had those at the dollar tree!
Rice - do you know where you get solar lights for around $5 each? Anywhere online? I've been doing a bunch of research and have really only been coming up with some lights around $9-$30. If you have a link or a store you might check out, that'd be great!

Thanks again guys! Any other tips for lighting stakes that you can think of would be fantastic!:)

The suckers are pretty bright. (Same lamp as the Dollar tree lamps)

[media]

[lemur]

lanterns.

[Elorrum]

for my rebar that sticks out, I've used the cheapos like these. I drilled a hole, actually used a jack knife to enlarge the little drain hole, in the clear housing (the ones I have are not a hard clear plastic, more of a cheap softer variety) to tightly fit the rebar end, and slide the whole thing down the exposed rebar. 12 packs, retail 30 bucks. I found them on clearance, 8 bucks.

[ygmir]

try Amazon, too.
I've found them for a buck or two, at Home Depot.

if you are buying a bunch, and especially if finding as cheap as possible, know a few will fail. so maybe a few extra.

[TT120]

The evil Walmart has them for 2 bux each right now. I bought a bunch for my back yard and they have been working great all week. They stay on all night long.

[trilobyte]

Egads, woman, glow sticks with zip ties? I could understand how someone might just not be thinking and come up with that solution, but after the very first night on the very first year it should have become evident that was the wrong way to go. Glad to hear you guys are looking to upgrade.

Little solar lawn lights are the way to go for areas where there's likely to be foot traffic. They vary quite a bit in both price and quality, so just do some shopping around at places local to you and find something that you think works for you. For areas with little/no foot traffic, you can get by with lower tech solutions. Old tennis balls can be used as caps for rebar/stakes, and you can spray paint empty soda or water bottles with a fluorescent color and use them as caps, too (jam the mouth of the container onto the end of the stake). If you're concerned about someone getting clotheslined by a long rope coming off a structure, you should be able to get a roll of marking tape (see below) for cheap at most hardware stores. It's not a sticky tape, you just cut off a small piece and tie it to whatever you want to mark (on your guy lines, aim for a spot approximately shoulder height). It comes in many colors, but I find the fluorescent yellow and green to be the most visible at night. Keep the strips small, or the flapping of long strips in the wind may get annoying. All you need is enough material to catch someone's eye and make them realize there's an obstacle.



Hope that helps, and good luck!

[tamarakay]

We slipped pool noodles on our guy lines. They were a great visual and softened the blow for the completely oblivious lol. We found the solar stakes on sale for 1 dollar each at tractor supply right after Fourth of July three years ago. This will be their third burn and the work in our yard.

[CornMan]

These cost a bit more, but are more pretty than the boring white garden lights. I bought some of these in 2011, and treated them bad by storing them in a tool bag, but they keep on working.

http://compare.ebay.com/like/4004673106 ... eItemTypes

[lucky420]

We have some fake fruit peaches that we've used to cover the tops of some our rebar.

They look like vaginas

[Drawingablank]

I use 2.00 solar lights from Home Depot. I have used them at 2 burns and my back yard.

Make sure you test them because I previously I had 3.00 lights from wally mart that lit at dusk and went out by full dark every night.

It is important to remove the batteries before storing them so they don't discharge fully.

[theCryptofishist]

These babies will light up any steak you want...

[unjonharley]

this year i'm going with one foot long sand stakes.. I bought a roto hammer to drive them flush with the ground.. Just finish driving after attaching the lines.. Strips of masking tape around the lines and stuck together make a safety flag. The tape can easily removed when breaking camp.. Drive your stakes at a 45 away from the structure.. the stakes can be pulled with the line.. Pull in the same direction as the stake is driven..

[happydragon]

No one has suggested it yet, but I will head it off at the pass. I thought glow in the dark spraypaint would be ideal, alas, it is not. Doesn't glow long enough or bright enough. Just in case you come across it and get tempted.

[BBadger]

You can get some cheap-ass solar lights at Big Lots for like $1 each, but I find they end up as MOOP just as much as any other light, end up breaking, and just don't provide that much light.

I end up using cheap lights from Extreme Glow. The first year we bought lights from Extreme Glow we went mad and bought a bunch of stuff we thought would be cool, but ended up not being as cool as we thought. Still, the excess LED crap we got went to good use as stake guards/lights. In particular:

• LED Drink Cup - These glow and fade all night long and last a few days if you remember to shut them off in the morning. They're made of surprisingly sturdy and hard plastic, so even the fattest hippie will only suffer bruises instead of impalement, if that were ever a good thing.
• LED Foam Wands - These are good for fixing to the actual guyline wires themselves to make them stand out. By the end of the night, they're quite dim, but still somewhat visible.

Around camps, I've found it less important to keep guylines/posts lit so much as "indicated" with reflective objects or marking so that they stand out under the dim light that is ever present. With respect to that, the cups and foam tubes do a good job of making things noticeable, even if they're not especially bright by the end of the night, or if you don't bother changing batteries.

[unjonharley]

Saw lighted tent stakes at the sporting goods store today..

They are from "ATAK Outdoors".. Lighted tent stakes.. They are 6 inches long and about $2 per stake..

[Rice]

Saw lighted tent stakes at the sporting goods store today..

They are from "ATAK Outdoors".. Lighted tent stakes.. They are 6 inches long and about $2 per stake..

That is a interesting idea. Unfortunately, 6 inches is kinda short for almost anything on the playa.

I use 12"+ pieces of rebar and slip a solar light onto the rebar. vola

[unjonharley]

Saw lighted tent stakes at the sporting goods store today..

They are from "ATAK Outdoors".. Lighted tent stakes.. They are 6 inches long and about $2 per stake..

That is a interesting idea. Unfortunately, 6 inches is kinda short for almost anything on the playa.

I use 12"+ pieces of rebar and slip a solar light onto the rebar. vola

Or you could drive the lighted peg next to the rebar..

I drive 24 inch rebar that has been bent into a staple.. Leaves a nice ring to tie off on.. Then drive then into the surface.. Flag the lines with painters tape.. If they trip over that... Fuck 'em and feed 'em fish heads..

[AntiM]

My dollar store solar lights work just fine everywhere. They're in the garden all year, including being under snow now and then, and they still keep going strong. The more expensive solar lights failed faster. Perhaps I scored bizarro dollar lights?

[unjonharley]

That must have been a dollar store light I mooped as people were leaving.. It had been run over.. Last week I dumped it out of the trailer.. It still charges and shines even broken all to........