Name: Jerry Goller
Age: 58
Gender: Male
Height: 6 ' (1.8 m)
Weight: 220 lb (100 kg)
Email address: jerrygoller@backpackgeartest.org
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Backpacking Background

I started camping with my father at age 6 or so. I’ve backpacked, off and on, all of my life. Even in the Marine Corps, I was in the Infantry. I consider myself a light weight backpacker with an average dry pack weight of 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 to 7 kg), depending on the season and terrain. I backpack year round.

Most of my trips are 2 to 5 days long and in Utah. I also, from time to time, take much longer trips lasting one to two months or more. These trips are usually on the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail.

Basic Product Information

Manufacturer: Seattle Manufacturing Corporation
Website: http://www.smcgear.net/
Product: TAnchor
MSRP: $7.35
Listed weight: 1 oz (28 g)
Weight as Delivered: .8 oz (24 g) Stake only.
Listed Dimensions: 5.75 inches (146 mm) high by 3.75 inches (95 mm) wide.
Dimensions as Delivered: 5.25 inches (not including spike pocket) (133 mm) by 3.6 inches (91 mm)

Product Description

The TAnchor is designed to be used in place of a more traditional snow stake for anchoring tents and their guy lines in snow, sand, scree, and soft soil. The TAnchor is very simple in its design. It is a piece of thin aircraft quality aluminum shaped somewhat like a small spade head. The sides are angled out from the base just enough to give the anchor a curved face to better hold in snow. There are 4 retaining holes down each side. These help the anchor freeze into position when used in snow. Although designed for snow, sand, scree, and soft soil, I’ve only used them in snow.

Although they do not come with any cord, SMC recommends using a 4 foot (1.2 m) cord forming a 2 foot (.6 m) loop. As I truly hate knots, especially in winter conditions, I also added a cord lock to each loop.

Field Information

I have used the TAnchors throughout my winter testing period. This includes about 10 overnight trips all of which were in the Wasatch or Uinta mountains in Utah. The overnight temperatures during these trips went from a low of -12 F (-24 C) to a high of 24 F (-4 C). They were used in calm, clear conditions through fairly heavy winds and about a foot (.3 m) of snow.

I used them to anchor an MSR SuperFusion 3, a Black Diamond Skylight, a Black Diamond Firstlight with vestibule, and a Black Diamond Fitzroy. I encountered no problems anchoring any of these tents.

Field Test Results

The TAnchor is one of those simple, extremely effective forehead slappers I see on occasion. Once I used one I couldn't figure out why it took so long for someone to think of this. They are worm simple to use and hold like they are nailed to a tree. They are also very easy to remove even when frozen in hard snow.

The first step in using them is my normal first step for setting up any winter site; stomping out an area for the tent. Once that is done, and the tent is put up I’m ready for the TAnchors.

The series of photographs displayed here show the steps in using the TAnchors.
TAnchor with loop

I have found through playing with them for the last 3 months that they hold best when not pushed too far into the snow. They seem to hold best when placed in the hardened crust of the area I’ve stomped down. This corresponds fairly closely to the length of the TAnchor. They should be placed at about a 45 degree angle, with the bottom of the TAnchor closer to the tent than the top, for best holding power. They actually held better for me when only inserted about an inch (25 mm) or so below the surface of the snow. My technique was, with waterproof overmitts on, to punch a couple of times the area of snow I wanted to place the TAnchors in then push the TAnchor in at the correct angle. I would then cover over the top of the TAnchor with a couple of inches (50 mm) of snow and pack that down by hand.

The loops I put on mine also have a cord lock on them. All of my tent guy lines also have cord locks on them. If I am going to anchor a guy line I first move the cord lock on the TAnchor loop so it is half way between the TAnchor and the end of the loop. I then pass the guy line and its cord lock through the loop and stretch it out to get proper distance from the tent to place the TAnchor. I then just push the angled TAnchor into the stomped down snow until it is just under the surface. Then I pile a little more snow over it and pack it down by hand. Last thing I do is draw the guy line tight, pass it through the TAnchor loop again, and draw the cord lock tight.

If I am going to anchor a corner tent loop down I use the cord lock on the TAnchor loop to tighten it up after using the same procedure as with the guy line.

To remove the TAnchor just slide the cord lock down to put slack in the line, remove the guy line or the TAnchor loop from the tent loop, and then move back until the TAnchor loop is pulling back on the anchor in the opposite direction. The angle should be in line with the anchor. If the anchor doesn’t pop right out I normally take a regular short snow stake and dig it in along the front and back of the TAnchor and along its top. It only takes a second and the TAnchor should now just pull right out.

The only change I would recommend in the TAnchor would be to drop the spike pocket. It just adds to the manufacturing cost and is actually counter productive. It infers that the TAnchor needs to be inserted in the snow much deeper than it actually should be, in my opinion. I also had that tab break on one of mine. A simple roll over of the metal at the top would work just fine.

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Owner Review by Jerry Goller

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