MSR Stake Hammer

Small and light yet works great on the stakes for setting and pulling. The claw could also be useful for leveling off a campsite.

Hammer is super lightweight and durable. Easy to pack and looks cool. Brought it with me on my Havasupai Falls hike.

Great tool. Has enough weight to drive stakes well but it is light enough to backpack with it. The claw is also the perfect size for pulling my stakes out of the ground.

I previously scoffed at the idea of getting this hammer, assuming I could always just find a rock. It turns out, there's a hand-sized rock shortage on a lot of trails and at many campsites, and a typical toolkit hammer isn't going to work on your stakes. A hatchet was also an interesting idea, but the prospect of accidentally cutting my fingers off was a bit off-putting (and the weight distribution of the hatchet really didn't facilitate hammering). In terms of hammering, this hammer does it well: it's light, the weight distribution is right, and it drives stakes into solid ground *very* well. The prongs on the back are perfect for pulling out stakes (which the cord on the bottom could also be used for if your stakes don't have cords), and would make for a great trowel. Also, you could probably use it as a meat tenderizer if you really wanted to, but that's probably unsanitary.

Heavy duty hammering for tough ground! Love this Hammer and use it a bunch!!

Yes it is light weight! Drives and Pulls stakes, Check! Could be used in Self Defense if ever needed (hopefully not)! AND....it is the fastest Cat Hole Digger of All TIME! If you have ever tried to dig a Cat Hole in hard ground with that ultralight aluminum thing, you know what I mean. Flip that hammer and use those claws to dig a cat hole to speck ( 6" deep and as big as you feel necessary) in less than 30 seconds! The MSR Tent Stake Hammer is part of my base weight for good!!

Sea kayaking isn't so weight restricted as climbing or backpacking, but things still add up. I try to bring items that can serve multiple functions, so devoting space and weight to such a specific tool was not an intuitive choice. But this stake hammer has the feel of a well-crafted tool and does that one job so incredibly well that I'm just going to have to find other uses to justify its place in my gear bag. The balance is perfect for what it's made to do. The size and weight are the minimum necessary to accomplish the task and still be, well, a hammer.

Yes, it's a little absurd having an expensive, state-of-the-art hammer just for your tent stakes. It's also really, really nice. And it works really, really well (though it will remove the anodizing off your red MSR tent stakes). We love it. Would also make a good gift, as one of those luxury items a lot of people would love having but maybe not splurge on for him/her/themself.