I received mine today and inside was a little hand written note saying "Hi Michael, thanks for the order". Nice touch I thought.
Alpkit Y Beams Tent Pegs
- Thread starter Quixoticgeek
- Start date
Update:
Used these pegs for the first time on my recent week camping in Wales. When I pulled them out at the end of the week 1 of them was bent. Not sure why, there were no stones under it, I hadn't hit it with anything. I sent a photo to alpkit asking if this was a fault in the material, or misuse, or just bad luck. I also asked how I could buy a single peg to refil my bag to 10 usable pegs. Today a new peg arrived in the post, free of charge.
Very good service from Alpkit.
Julia
Used these pegs for the first time on my recent week camping in Wales. When I pulled them out at the end of the week 1 of them was bent. Not sure why, there were no stones under it, I hadn't hit it with anything. I sent a photo to alpkit asking if this was a fault in the material, or misuse, or just bad luck. I also asked how I could buy a single peg to refil my bag to 10 usable pegs. Today a new peg arrived in the post, free of charge.
Very good service from Alpkit.
Julia
Really surprised they bent, Must have just been bad luck with faulty batch or something. Had mine for a while now and not noticed any weakness in them.
I was rather surprised it bent, hence asking if there was any chance it was a manufacturing fault, of just bad luck. Didn't expect them to send me a new one FOC. Was happy to pay.
Julia
Julia
I can't understand this bent pegs situation. I have camped for about forty years and haven't bent a peg yet, though I have had them bent by well meaning helpers. I tend to use a rubber mallet to drive them in and if they meet resistance, I
pull them up and re insert them a short distance away from the original position. I am of the opinion that most pegs that I have seen bent, have been pushed in by foot, and the pressure has not been in a direct line with the travel of the peg.
I get frustrated when I see , bushcrafters testing knives to destruction by hammering and prizing them sideways and
using them as levers. Knives as I have always understood are intended for cutting, not levering, to cut heavy or thick
items you either use a pry bar, an axe or a saw. I can see survivalists abusing a knife when they have nothing else to
hand, but we as bushcrafters, know what our plans are when we go out, and should be able to take the appropriate
tools with us for the intended project in hand. I suppose that this post may raise a bit of flak, but we are all entitled to
our opinions.
pull them up and re insert them a short distance away from the original position. I am of the opinion that most pegs that I have seen bent, have been pushed in by foot, and the pressure has not been in a direct line with the travel of the peg.
I get frustrated when I see , bushcrafters testing knives to destruction by hammering and prizing them sideways and
using them as levers. Knives as I have always understood are intended for cutting, not levering, to cut heavy or thick
items you either use a pry bar, an axe or a saw. I can see survivalists abusing a knife when they have nothing else to
hand, but we as bushcrafters, know what our plans are when we go out, and should be able to take the appropriate
tools with us for the intended project in hand. I suppose that this post may raise a bit of flak, but we are all entitled to
our opinions.
By eck - this "lightweight gear" certainly makes your wallet light!
I have camped for the past 40 plus years and although I have bent pegs I have simply bent them back again and re-used them ... steel or ally!
Admittedly the pegs have been on smaller tents - not marquees - and I have always found "wires" or simple "V"s more than enough except on loose sand .. which is far from an ideal pitch anyway and where I would use buried rocks.
My camping has covered everything from neve to sand, tropics to the sub Arctic plateaus of Scotland and apart from using trees or green cut pegs in the woods, rocks or buried bags in snow ice or sandy conditions the "el cheapo" ally wire cut pegs and channel V steelies have done me proud.
Am I missing something here?
I have camped for the past 40 plus years and although I have bent pegs I have simply bent them back again and re-used them ... steel or ally!
Admittedly the pegs have been on smaller tents - not marquees - and I have always found "wires" or simple "V"s more than enough except on loose sand .. which is far from an ideal pitch anyway and where I would use buried rocks.
My camping has covered everything from neve to sand, tropics to the sub Arctic plateaus of Scotland and apart from using trees or green cut pegs in the woods, rocks or buried bags in snow ice or sandy conditions the "el cheapo" ally wire cut pegs and channel V steelies have done me proud.
Am I missing something here?
I think mainly that good enough isn't good enough for everyone.
Some of us are interested in finding an optimal way to set their kit up. I have happily made pegs from sticks and all that but I tend to camp in the same place that I don't have exclusive access to so I don't want to make pegs again and again and again, nor is there anywhere to leave them to re-use. So I must bring pegs with me and I am interested which are the best for the particularly terrible soil where I go.
Nothing more complex than that. For me at least. As to the expense... it doesn't bother me.
Some of us are interested in finding an optimal way to set their kit up. I have happily made pegs from sticks and all that but I tend to camp in the same place that I don't have exclusive access to so I don't want to make pegs again and again and again, nor is there anywhere to leave them to re-use. So I must bring pegs with me and I am interested which are the best for the particularly terrible soil where I go.
Nothing more complex than that. For me at least. As to the expense... it doesn't bother me.
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I guess another question is: have you used a very good Y peg yourself?
Coming from cheap tents to a decent one that came with Y pegs, I noticed the difference... My life wasn't changed but I noticed the improvement and that is meaningful.
Coming from cheap tents to a decent one that came with Y pegs, I noticed the difference... My life wasn't changed but I noticed the improvement and that is meaningful.
Aye - but what?
Shiny looking stuff does the job just as well as imagination, for a price.
Throwing money to a solution sometimes negates brain activity.
I've got some Alpkit pegs & the cord has a reflecting fleck in it - very handy I've found for finding them again. I'd just check whether yours are of that type before you discard them.
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Hi,
I've used the Alpkit Y pegs for a couple of years. I bought a ste of them to replace all the standard pegs on my tents - one pretty cheap set that moves from shelter to shelter as they're used.
IMHO they're better than the Vango version because all the edges are rounded off so no fingers get cut on wet days. Also, the cord tabs make finding and removing much easier.
I have used them with tarps and tents at high and low level, year round. I do have longer, wider snow/sand pegs if I know I'll need them, but most of the time I don't bother as the Y pegs do the job, sometimes doubled or supported by rocks as required.
It is possible to whittle your own and it's great to do that when there's time and opportunity. When working with kids and needing to get on with shelter, however, it's good to know you have light enough bits of kit that won't let you down.
I like them and use them regularly.
I've used the Alpkit Y pegs for a couple of years. I bought a ste of them to replace all the standard pegs on my tents - one pretty cheap set that moves from shelter to shelter as they're used.
IMHO they're better than the Vango version because all the edges are rounded off so no fingers get cut on wet days. Also, the cord tabs make finding and removing much easier.
I have used them with tarps and tents at high and low level, year round. I do have longer, wider snow/sand pegs if I know I'll need them, but most of the time I don't bother as the Y pegs do the job, sometimes doubled or supported by rocks as required.
It is possible to whittle your own and it's great to do that when there's time and opportunity. When working with kids and needing to get on with shelter, however, it's good to know you have light enough bits of kit that won't let you down.
I like them and use them regularly.
Being someone who leans towards lightweight kit, carrying a mallet to hammer the pegs in with is not an option. Saving 2 grams per peg, only to add a mallet to the pack seems, well foolish. I tend to push the pegs in with my foot, or if there is a handy bit of wood or rock I use them.
I used to use wire pegs, but got fed up with bending them back and forth. Yes you can just straighten them, but eventually they do fatigue and snap. I've camped on the top of Atlantic cliffs in a storm that flattened the rest of the campsite, and am not sure I would have slept so well had I had simple wire pegs. The V pegs I was using have very good holding power which gives a bit more confidence.
You can spend a lot of money on pegs, to get savings of a few grams here, and a few grams there, save 5 grams, across 10 pegs, and you have taken 50g off your pack. Not much, and it does kinda hark back to the drilled out tooth brush handle crowd. 50g, you carry more mud on your boots if it's wet... The trick is finding the acceptable balance of weight, durability, and cost. The Alpkit Y beams are good for this. At 6.50 for 10 pegs, pretty light weight, and in theory quite durable. Will I want to spend 35 quid for 4 pegs that are half the weight? Doubt it, Would get most grumpy if I lost one on a moor somewhere... It's part of the difference between being ultra lightweight and being a rational lightweight...
Julia
I used to use wire pegs, but got fed up with bending them back and forth. Yes you can just straighten them, but eventually they do fatigue and snap. I've camped on the top of Atlantic cliffs in a storm that flattened the rest of the campsite, and am not sure I would have slept so well had I had simple wire pegs. The V pegs I was using have very good holding power which gives a bit more confidence.
You can spend a lot of money on pegs, to get savings of a few grams here, and a few grams there, save 5 grams, across 10 pegs, and you have taken 50g off your pack. Not much, and it does kinda hark back to the drilled out tooth brush handle crowd. 50g, you carry more mud on your boots if it's wet... The trick is finding the acceptable balance of weight, durability, and cost. The Alpkit Y beams are good for this. At 6.50 for 10 pegs, pretty light weight, and in theory quite durable. Will I want to spend 35 quid for 4 pegs that are half the weight? Doubt it, Would get most grumpy if I lost one on a moor somewhere... It's part of the difference between being ultra lightweight and being a rational lightweight...
Julia
I like the phrase "rational lightweight"; it's sort of where I come from (though clearly not with family in tow at the Bushmoot recently...), so may well adopt it!
I like to use the term "post lightweight". Yes I can save 50g by only taking one pot and eating out of it, but if I accept that extra 50g, I can eat off a plate while I watch the sun set... Much more civilised.
Julia
I picked up a pack of the y pegs from the Alpkit sale for 3 quid a couple of years ago. So far they have been absolutely bombproof. I have hammered them into stony ground without damage, they hold really well in boggy or muddy unconsolidated soil and the bright red cord makes them easy to spot in leafmould and grass.
If I had a criticism it would be that they are too short to hold in some forest floors, especially those with extensive leafmould covering, though I know they do a longer version. Also they only do (did) a pack of ten, which is ideal for my tarp, but is four too few to replace the pegs on my Wild Country Voyager. (I know I could have bought two packs though the six spares sitting in my gear box would have bugged me!)
Having used a variety of pegs ovsr the years from cheapy wires, alloy channels, gucci titanium jobs, even two sets of ice tools on occasion, these are easily the most useful general purpose peg I've had used. I'd recommend them highly.
If I had a criticism it would be that they are too short to hold in some forest floors, especially those with extensive leafmould covering, though I know they do a longer version. Also they only do (did) a pack of ten, which is ideal for my tarp, but is four too few to replace the pegs on my Wild Country Voyager. (I know I could have bought two packs though the six spares sitting in my gear box would have bugged me!)
Having used a variety of pegs ovsr the years from cheapy wires, alloy channels, gucci titanium jobs, even two sets of ice tools on occasion, these are easily the most useful general purpose peg I've had used. I'd recommend them highly.
I had some of these with a tent I bought from one of the members on this site and I like them they seem solid enough, no bends yet and light as a feather, great pegs
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