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Tent Pegs and what ones you need to take camping

Posted by Gav Grayston.
First Published Jan 2013; updated Apr 2023.

Most tent pegs supplied with tents are rubbish. You need to get better tent pegs for different ground and weather conditions. Read this to find out more.


Most tents only come with a basic set of tent pegs. Sooner or later, you'll need to 'upgrade' your tent peg collection.


The tent pegs that come with most tents are cheap wire pegs.

There's a reason they come with your tent: they're cheap.

They get bent out of shape if you hit a stone, slide out of the soft ground, or move in the ground so that your guy line slips off the peg.

These tent pegs are not completely useless, though.  We have a box of them we take with us, and are useful for securing odds and ends.

However, we use a range of tent pegs to secure our tent properly. If your tent only has the basic tent pegs, then we recommend that you invest in some better pets as soon as possible...if not, you'll soon regret it on a windy night.

Our Tent Pegging Kit

Tent Peg Kit

Our tent pegging kit

On the left is our tent peg kit.

It's not as comprehensive as I'd like, and I will be getting some delta pegs (see below), but this tent peg kit has lasted well and held tent, awnings, and tarps in some pretty strong winds both on rock and sandy soil.

The key pegs here are:

Strong rock pegs.

These long, thick metal spikes are very secure when driven into the ground. The set also came with a metal mallet to help drive them into hard ground.  No peg has bent, even after bashing them with the metal mallet on stony ground.  We highly recommend these.

V-Shaped metal pegs.

These are long metal pegs but are thinner than the rock pegs above. They don't twist in the ground (unlike your standard round wire pegs) and are good in most soils. These have held well in the sand too.

T-Shaped heavy-duty plastic pegs.

These tent pegs are good on softer ground.  The t-shape profile stops them from twisting and is very secure in soft mud.

Despite being made of plastic, these haven't broken yet.


..and of course, the Delta Ground Anchor

A delta ground anchor

The Delta Ground Anchor tent peg has won numerous awards and is fast becoming the ultimate tent peg for many family campers.

It is very secure, durable, and has nothing sticking out of the ground to trip you.

You can read more about Delta Ground Anchors and an exclusive GOWTK discount for them by clicking here.


Want to make your own?

If you fancy creating your tent pegs using a knife and some small branches, then read this post.


Sometimes, you can't use a Tent Peg

In some situations, you cannot use a tent peg.

If rocks surround you, you'll need to use the rocks to secure the guy lines or edges of your tent.  This is not that easy.

If you pitch on the sand, anchor to strong bags full of sand, or create an anchor for your guy line and bury it in the sand.


What tent pegs to get

Here are a few different types of tent pegs that you'll want to get...

Different types of tent pegs