MSR Mini-Groundhog Stakes Review

Overview

The Mini-Groundhog is MSR’s trimmed-down version of its Y-beam tent stake: 7000-series aluminum, 6 inches long, 9.4 g apiece, sold as a kit of six. It is aimed at backpackers who want to swap out the thin shepherd-hook stakes that ship with most shelters without paying much of a weight penalty. The trade-off is the one every short stake makes: fewer grams, less margin when the ground turns soft.

Key Specs

Spec	Detail
Weight	13–83.7 g depending on version
Per-stake weight	Mini: 9.4 g (0.33 oz); full-size Groundhog: 0.46 oz (about 13 g)
Length	Mini: 6 in (15 cm); full-size: 7.5 in
Material	7000-series aluminum
Cross-section	Y-beam, three-sided
Kit quantity	6 stakes
Removal aid	Pull loop
Finish	Red anodized
Rated soil	Medium to firm
Warranty	3-year limited

Performance

Holding power

The Y-beam is why this design has outlasted a decade of fashion in lighter stakes. Three faces put a lot of surface area against the soil wall for very little metal, and the shape is non-directional, so there is no orienting a stake with cold fingers at dusk. Hikers who carried Mini-Groundhogs on the John Muir Trail report they worked much better than titanium shepherd-hook stakes. In hard-packed trail dirt, compacted forest floor and gravelly alpine ground, owners say the stakes bite and stay put, including one Colorado Rockies trip in hard soil with no failures.

Pull-out comparisons put the Mini on par with other stakes in its weight class. It does not match heavier options such as the full-size Groundhog or Easton’s 8-inch stakes, and nobody claims otherwise.

Length and angle

Six inches is the real constraint. Set at roughly 45 degrees and leaned away from the load, the Mini holds in firm ground. In deep duff, boggy forest floor or coastal sand, where the soil is soft for several inches, a 6-inch stake never reaches anything solid. The 7.5-inch Groundhog gives more purchase there, though neither is a snow or loose-sand stake. The common community compromise: full-size stakes at high-tension corners, Minis on lower-tension guylines.

Durability

The 7000-series alloy resists bending and denting noticeably better than the 6000-series aluminum in budget stakes, and well-treated sets last for years. The weak point is the narrowed neck at the guyline notch. One JMT hiker broke two of four Minis at that narrowing, and others describe a Mini snapping while being driven into frozen soil. Aluminum also bends more readily than titanium. The ultralight rule of thumb is to push stakes in with foot pressure or tap them with a rock rather than hammer, and to treat ground that refuses a stake as a cue to find a rock anchor.

Pull loop and visibility

The pull loop makes retrieval easy in firm soil, though in very hard ground even the loop may not be enough. Some owners report the loops working loose after heavy use; a more secure knot fixes it. The red anodized finish stands out against leaf litter and dry grass, which is an advantage over bare titanium stakes that tend to get left behind at camp.

Choosing a Version

Six listings cover two stake lengths, and the only real decision is length.

• Mini-Groundhog and Mini-Groundhog Tent (56.4 g): The same 6-inch kit of six, at 9.4 g per stake. This is the pick for trekking-pole shelters and tarps on firm trail soil, and for lower-tension guylines on any setup.
• 13 g and 13 g 6-Pack: The full-size 7.5-inch Groundhog, whose stakes come in around 13 g each. The single-stake listing suits topping up a mixed set, such as swapping in a few longer stakes at the windward corners, while the 6-pack is the full set for a shelter.
• Groundhog Tent 6-Pack (78 g): The full-size stake in a kit of six, about 21.6 g heavier than the Mini kit, or roughly 3.6 g per stake.
• Groundhog Tent (83.7 g): The same full-size design at a slightly higher kit weight, about 14 g per stake. Choose it only if the 78 g kit is out of stock; the performance is the same design.

Saving 21.6 g across six stakes is a real gain for gram counters. For anyone camping in mixed or softer ground, or relying on the stakes in wind, the extra 1.5 inches of length is worth the weight.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 9.4 g per Mini stake is light for a Y-beam
• Non-directional cross-section sets easily in the dark
• 7000-series aluminum resists bending better than cheaper alloys
• Red finish makes stakes easy to find
• Pull loop speeds removal in firm soil
• Six-stake kit covers most tarps and single-wall tents
• Two lengths allow a mixed set

Cons

• Rated only for medium to firm soil
• Six-inch length makes placement angle critical
• Thin neck at the notch can snap if the stake is hammered into frozen or rocky ground
• Pull loops can loosen and need re-tying
• Per-stake cost runs above generic Y-stake clones

Who Should Buy This

The Mini is for the thru-hiker with a trekking-pole shelter or tarp on PCT, JMT or Rockies-type terrain, where firm ground is the norm and every ounce is accounted for. The full-size Groundhog suits hikers whose routes include softer forest soil or exposed, windy camps. Anyone who regularly pitches on sand, deep duff or snow should look at dedicated sand stakes or snow anchors, and anyone who intends to hammer stakes into frozen ground should choose steel or something heavier.

Verdict

The Groundhog family is the baseline most ultralight stakes get measured against, and the Mini keeps most of the original’s holding power at 9.4 g per stake. Match the length to the ground: Minis for firm trail soil and low-tension lines, full-size Groundhogs where the dirt is less cooperative. For most three-season hikers, that pairing is the sensible default.