MSR CarbonCore Tent Stakes

The is not much to say about these other than that they are extremely light!

I probably would have never sprung for these due to the cost, but now that I have them, I really enjoy using them. Thanks, Trailspace! They have been a very nice addition to my camp gear.

I used to forgo bringing stakes since I had a freestanding tent, but since these are so light, there's really not much of an excuse not to bring them along. I have used them on a few backpacking trips now...with my non-freestanding tent, they are essential and perform just as well.

The compact design slides nicely into any crevasse in your pack, where you may just forget they are there. They work pretty easily into hard packed earth, but in the Rockies, I had to try a lot of spots to find a rock-free dirt patch. Also, I wouldn't want to take a rock hammer to one of these for fear I would break the plastic or carbon. Even though they were part of a prize package, they seem too nice and so I treat them pretty gently.

They held well once sunk but could be a bit longer in some circumstances. I'm thinking they probably won't suffice in sand.

Overall another very nice product from MSR, incorporating innovative design and materials.

Update: based on experience with other carbon stakes, I ended up giving these away. I found that carbon stakes snap in half way too easily. I broke 2 (or a different brand) within the first 2 weeks using them on a thru-hike and have seen fellow hikers break other generic carbon stakes on numerous occasions. I only use metal stakes now.

Too fragile.

I used these stakes twice before one of them broke. Surprisingly it didn't break while driving it into the ground. I had difficulty removing the stakes from the ground, and one of them broke as I wiggled it side-to-side attempting to loosen it. The end of the stake is still in the ground in the Sierra Nevada.