Stephensons Warmlite Tents and Sand???

I have a 2R and love it; however, now that I like to do kayak camping as well I have to pitch it on sandy beaches where it is not ideal for a non-free-standing tent.

Any advice?

On this last trip I tried some of the SMC Sno-stakes. 9.5 inches long. They worked okay, but I don't know if I would have had a lot of confidence in them if the wind really picked up (which is likely on the coast).

The problem as I see it lies largely in the fact that the Stephensons design requires a lot of tension to make the tent stable which puts a lot more pressure on stakes than most applications would.

I am considering different options for stakes. Hilleberg makes a 12 inch snow stake. Similar to the SMC but 12 inches long. May be a bit better.

I am also considering using MSR Coyote Snow Pickets. They are heavy and not really intended for this purpose, but may work. 24 inches long.

Keep in mind that since it is for kayak camping the weight is not a big factor as in backpacking.

Any thoughts?

I love my Warmlite, but for caming in the sand I am not sure it is the ticket. I hope I can find a better stake.

thanks
Matt

Matt,

I have a special "sand" tent. Years ago I took an expensive backpacking tent to the beach and I was never able to get the sand entirely out.

Get an REI Half Dome and keep your 2R clean.

This is really not an answer to your question, but I agree with Food. I went on two kayak trips on the Colorado River below Hoover Dam the past two summers with some friends, and the first year I brought my lightweight gear, including tent. I found out there is a lot of room in a kayak for gear, compared to backpacking, so the second year I brought an old, heavy, but still serviceable 3-person Eureka free-standing tent. Most of the guys I kayak with use large (and fairly inexpensive) dome or rectangular tents. It makes it a lot easier to pitch the tent and since the material is thicker than that of ultralight gear I don't worry as much about sand or debris abrading the floor of the tent.

Cliff

Lightest weight approach would be to use sil-nylon sandbags (regular pack cloth would be fine, too). Just fill'em where you camp and bury them. Kinda like snow camping . . .

bowler,

I agree with Salish and food, use a cheap dome tent for the river. When sea kayaking, even alone, I use my old Eureka! 3-man Wind River dome tent and leave my good tents at home. More room and no worries about sand (esp. with a plastic sheet groundcloth).

When I backpacked Utah's gorgeous Paria River canyon with my new TT Contrail I regretted not taking a sheet of plastic groundcloth. Very fine sand got imbedded into the silnylon floor and I had to rinse it several times in my bathtub after the trip to remove all the sand. Now the light plastic groundcloth goes with me every trip.

Eric