In hard or stony ground the peg to reach for is a round steel nail peg, because it takes a hammer where an alloy stake folds. The ground chooses the peg, not the tent — which is why almost everyone ends up carrying two types rather than one.
Why the supplied pegs fail first
Tents ship with the cheapest pegs the maker can supply, usually thin plain-round or angled alloy. They are adequate in soft turf and they are the first thing most people replace, because the first stony pitch bends several of them and a bent peg does not drive straight again.
That is not a scandal; it is a sensible place for a maker to save weight and cost. It does mean the peg set is a separate purchase and should be treated as one.
The three cross-sections and what each is for
A Y or V cross-section in 7075 aluminium resists twisting in soft ground and is the general-purpose answer. The shape gives it far more holding power than a round peg of the same weight, because there is more surface pressing against the soil.
A round steel nail peg is the one for stony or baked ground. It is heavier, and that mass is what lets you hit it: the round section drives past a small stone or turns against a large one instead of folding. It has less holding surface than a Y-stake, which is the trade you accept.
A wide plastic or alloy stake spreads load in sand and snow, where a thin peg pulls through whatever its material. That is a different problem from hard ground and a different peg.
Length, weight and the crust
Length is what decides holding power, because the long pegs bite below the dry surface crust into soil that is still holding together. On baked ground the top few centimetres are the hardest and the least useful, so a short peg is fighting the worst layer and gaining nothing beneath it.
Length trades directly against the stated weight per peg, and that figure multiplied by the number of peg points is what actually goes in the pack. This is where a mixed set earns itself: a full set of long steel pegs is a great deal of weight to carry for a pitch you may not meet.
The head, and the detail that gets it back out
Look at the head. A hooked or notched head keeps a guyline from riding up the shaft, which is what quietly loosens a pitch overnight. A small cord loop through the head is what lets you pull a driven peg out of hard ground without a tool, and it is the difference between leaving a peg behind and not.
Check the diameter against the peg-out loops on your own tent, since a thick steel peg will not pass through some webbing tabs and has to go through the loop rather than beside it.
Technique on ground that resists
Drive at roughly a right angle to the line the peg is holding, leaning away from the tent, so the load presses the peg into the soil rather than levering it out. If the ground rings on the first tap, move a hand’s width and try again — a stone found early is a stone avoided.
Where nothing will go in, stop trying. Wrap the guyline round a rock, a log or a root, or use a deadman: a stuff sack filled with soil, sand or stones, buried and pulled against. A rock placed on top of a peg laid flat in a shallow scrape holds better than a peg standing half out of the ground.
Carry a small hard object to drive with. A stone works and destroys peg heads; a light hammer or the flat of a substantial peg does the job with less damage. Whatever you use, hit the head square, because a glancing blow is what starts the bend.
What people ask before buying
How many steel pegs do I actually need to carry?
Four is the usual compromise: one for each corner or main guy point, with lighter Y-stakes for everything else. A full set of steel pegs adds a substantial amount to a rucksack for ground you may not meet, and a mixed set covers far more pitches.
Can I hammer an aluminium Y-stake into stony ground?
It is what bends them. A Y or V cross-section in alloy resists twisting in turf but folds against a stone, and once bent it will not drive straight again. Where the ground rings under the first tap, change the peg rather than the technique.
Last reviewed 6 September 2026