I’ve made a couple of very cheap improvements recently to my camping set up that I’m really pleased with. So I thought I’d share them here.
The first is a set of four Delta ground anchors – a revolutionary new alternative to tent pegs for the main guylines of my tent. I’ve used them on a couple of trips now and although they’ve not been tested as yet in big winds, I’m impressed with them. What is obvious is that they achieve and then maintain a much more effective tension in the four main guylines on my Macpac Microlight tent.
They also grip the ground much, much more than a traditional peg so once placed, they are reassuringly difficult to get back out. They were also good in the snow last weekend being bulky and bright yellow so there was no chance of them being lost.
I’ve been using the Microlight again for winter camping since selling my Lightwave tent that you’ll have seen in winter trips on the blog for the last couple of years. For whatever reason, I couldn’t grow to love the Lightwave. Most probably this was down to its long, tunnel design which gives a narrow field of vision through the door and a redundant rear half of the inner which somebody of my small size never seemed to make use of. Switching back to the Microlight, I felt it needed ‘pimped’ for winter use and thought the ground anchors would provide some extra strength.
The set of four anchors cost £11 from deltagroundanchors.co.uk. They each measure 16.5cm by 16cm and each weighs 47g. They are obviously bulky despite being lightweight, much more so than a traditional tent peg. That brings challenges in packing them into a rucsack. To date, I’ve been strapping them to the outside of my pack in a stuffsack. I don’t think I’ll take them on every trip but will certainly always pack them when I’m expecting wind or for a high, exposed camp spot, and almost always in winter.
Addendum: Now have used the ground anchors in high winds and they were superb. They maintained perfectly the tension in the guylines, despite the tent flapping around all over the place.
The second piece of kit is something that’s been around for years but somehow I didn’t bother having one until recently. At the Dalwhinnie trip a couple of blogs ago, my stove with a pan full of water tipped into my tent on a lumpy camp spot – annoying as well as dangerous. So I bought a gas canister stand and now I don’t think I’ll go camping again without it.
It cost £7, measures 12cm by 2cm when folded and weighs 25g. I got mine from alloutdoor.co.uk but they are widely available from most outdoor retailers. The stand fits both the 100 and 250 size of gas canister and provides a much more stable base for camp cooking. Using it in the snow last weekend, I also wondered if it had an additional advantage in lifting the canister off the cold ground and in doing so helping it to work more efficiently.
I hope this short review is helpful and I’ll post an update if or when, I experience the ground anchors in high winds.
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