The problem with using very lightweight titanium stakes for pitching a tent or tarp is that they are so darn easy to lose. But, why pay more for high visibility tent stakes when you can easily make your own?
All you need is some blaze orange fingernail polish and some titanium tent stakes. Brush on a coat of fingernail polish to the top part of the tent stake, let it dry, and if you want you can add a second coat. If or when the color wears off, reapply the polish as needed.
This is great idea, I just spent some time this weekend searching for a tent stake (found it).
Robin
Pure brilliance. Awkward store purchase + DIY = ftw!
absolutely great idea!
Nice…maybe you can do a skillshare for my homesteading group!
You know me…will hike for food.
I just happened to have some epoxy and red pigment. Epoxy is more durable than fingernail polish. I theorized that finger nail polish would chip away after a few times getting hammered into hard ground and since I had the epoxy anyway…
It's holding up pretty well. Can't hammer these tiny stakes. Push them in gently, but epoxy will probably last forever.
Blaze Orange nail polish? I’ll have to pop down to Bass Pro, I’m sure they’ll stock it there. I won’t ask why you had some on hand (sorry!).
The hunting orange spray paint is quite effective and sticks well, though probably wasteful and ecologically unfriendly on such a small target.
Rust-Oleum sells some reflective spray paint (yeah, probably ecologically unfriendly, too) that can help you find those blaze orange stakes on the walk back to the tent in the dark.
very cool tip! Almost lost my test site over the weekend in pitch blackness.