When I got my beloved Squall 2, back in late 2005, it came with Ti needle stakes. I've had very little trouble with those! They don't have to be pounded in--in fact, they shouldn't be pounded, just shoved in by hand. If you hit a rock or root, just move the stake half an inch and try again. I really don't like the Easton stakes Henry uses now, for the same reasons as you, plus their heads tend to pop off after a while.

Sometimes, of course, you just have to tie the guy lines around rocks, or set rocks on top of the stakes. That's a good reason for taking a little extra cord.

If there's any chance at all of wind, it's a good idea to use those side guylines. I use them all the time and don't consider them optional. Just be careful not to have the side guylines so tight that you pull the roof down.

I particularly like these stakes because of the fluorescent orange coating, which (so far) appears permanent. Without it, if one of those gray Ti stakes flips off into grass or brush, it's gone forever. You can, of course, spray paint the normally gray Ti stakes orange, if you don't mind repainting at least once a year.

Franco Darioli (Tarptent's Australian representative) has a number of videos showing how he sets up the various Tarptent models, which differ a little from Henry Shires' instructions. I've found Franco's instructions to be faster and more effective. The Rainshadow II shown in this video is the three-person version of the Squall II. and is set up exactly the same way. I've never found the Rainshadow so narrow that I need to use the head-to-toe method Franco shows, though. In facdt, sleeping with your head at the lower foot end will result in a lot more condensation and in rubbing your head against the ceiling every time you sit up.

While I take a lighter tent now for solo use, I still use my Squall II if I'm going out for only one or two nights because it's so roomy. Of course I take it if a grandkid is coming with me. If two are coming along, I take the Rainshadow. I don't take all three grandkids out unless one of their parents is coming along; then we take both the Squall and the Rainshadow.

I own three Tarptents: Squall 2, Rainshadow 2 (the "2" is the model number, not the capacity) and the now-discontinued Squall Classic, manufactured by Gossamer Gear but designed by Henry Shires. IMHO, this last is almost the perfect tent when used for one person plus dog. I wouldn't want to use it for two full-grown people, though.