MSR Stake Hammer
Far better at driving stakes into the rocky ground than any rock at hand, the MSR Stake Hammer offers a hardened stainless-steel head with a perfectly balanced swing weight.


- Comfortable aluminum shaft
- Integrated bottle opener
- 11 in. length fits into most tent storage bags
Imported.
View all MSR Camp ToolsBest Use | Camping |
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Material(s) | Stainless-steel/aluminum |
Dimensions | 11.25 x 3.5 x 1.5 inches |
Weight | 11 ounces |
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Sharp design with room for minor improvements.
The design and appearance of this hammer initially drew my attention but mainly, I needed something rugged enough to pull tent and awning stakes out of stubborn ground. I like the light weight but also the heft when you swing it. There is not as much texturing on the handle as I'd like which could be a problem in cold weather or when wearing gloves. The MSR Tent Stake Hammer comes with a small reflective cord attached through the handle for hanging storage. I really needed a retention lanyard instead due to the fore mentioned light texturing on the handle. I removed the cord and drilled out the holes in the handle to approximately 1/8" and installed a longer thicker reflective paracord loop which makes an excellent retention lanyard. This took no more than ten minutes. Fantastic upgrade! The last improvement suggested here is that MSR could have provided a rubberized cap at the end of the hollow handle so that the handle could be utilized for storage of say, emergency items. I gave the hammer four stars only for some missed opportunities but overall, it is a nice piece of kit - very attractive and functional.
Great stake hammer to have on hand!
As a retired builder, I've swung many a hammer during my life, so when I purchased the MSR hammer I was a bit sceptical but having now used it I am convinced this is perfect for my kit for both camping and backpacking. For camping I usually pack my old 23oz framing hammer which is not conducive for the backpack though. At 11oz, the MSR is perfect and far better on hands than a rock. It is well balanced and the claw end easily pulls fussy stakes and multitasks for digging cat holes. The peened head surface helps keep the hammer from slipping from the stake like a framing hammer from a nailhead. I am quite pleased with this purchase and highly recommend it.
Perfect for needs and looks great
I broke my rubber mallet a while back and have been using a standard hardware metal hammer w/ wooden handle since, but that broke too. I thought i'd come get another rubber one, hopefully lighter weight, and saw this sexy beast. Looks great and the head is textured for smaller backpacking steaks. Vibrations in the handle weren't bad like I assumed they would be. And I don't know if this is intentional, but it didn't seem to get hot even on the fire ring. Overall great! - I just wish it were a bit lighter.
Perfect hammer!
Living in Southern California, the ground is very often hard and rocky and driving stakes into the ground with a rock or shoe get's old. This hammer is a perfect solution for car camping, and the best solution available for people willing to carry extra weight for a very functional peice of gear. It's just heavy enough to work as a hammer but not heavy enough to completely make it not-useable on backpacking trips. It's even come in handy backpacking in the winter to break up frozen over streams when I don't need an ice ax! It attaches to your backpack's ice ax loops easily as well!
Great Hammer for Tent Stakes. I love it!
Not cheap but quality never is. Incredible build; should, literally, last a lifetime. Easily hammers in tent stakes in any condition (the ground can be particularly hard in the desert in New Mexico and Arizona, for ex.). The way the hammer head is shaped (and the little dots on the head) makes this perfect for not bending straight or curved stakes. The hammer also has a hook at the opposite end to facilitate removal of the stakes at the end of your trip. Finally, it has a bottle opener built in! Now, if it only had a corkscrew built in! :)
Is this really necessary?
I got this thinking it might come in handy someday. First trip out with it and it was a lifesaver! There is no way I could have gotten my stakes, unbent, into or out of the ground I was camping on without it. Maybe it isn't necessary, but if you have the space, like sleeping in a staked down tent and prefer unbent stakes, absolutely get one of these!
luxury item? I think not.
Just did a 42-miler in the Rockies, and had this thing stowed in my bag’s ice-axe loop. Ran into an ultra-lighter on the trail who questioned the extra weight. I won the argument. You get to a certain point in your backpacking career when you tire of hunting around the high alpine for the perfect rock-hammer after trekking 15 miles. The early-morning frozen fingers you get from prying tent stakes don’t seem as “cool.” I gladly accept the extra ounces.
seems nice, but not durable.
Expensive for a lightweight, light duty hammer. The hammer weight isn't balanced well, though overall weighs less than average hammers. I use this hammer exclusively for driving stakes into the ground, and only used it a handful of times before the pins/rivet fell apart from hammering impacts. I had to hold the hammer together with duct tape to finish setting up on my most recent camp trip. for such a crucial piece of kit to fail with minimal use is disappointing from MSR. I have a useless tool now for $45. For $10 more at $55, one can buy a Snow Peak brand Steel head hammer that is MUCH higher quality (heirloom quality). I have replaced my MSR with this better hammer. save yourself the headache and get the nicer Hammer from snow peak for $10 more that doesn't fall apart doing the only job a camp hammer does - Hammering stakes
Good hammer where weight reduction isn't critical
I can't say I agree with the previous reviewer's comment about this being needed with an MSR Carbon Reflex tent, as I see no point in reducing the tent strength to reduce weight and then adding a hammer. I won't carry this with my MSR Hubba Hubba NX for the same reason, but I didn't get it for that. My wife and I go car camping with an REI Kingdom 8. We love it, but with that tall profile and those steep sides winds do pull at it strongly in a storm (as I found out). I added the extra guy lines so I can put out all lines at all 8 points that line up with poles. Then I added 8 MSR Cyclone tent stakes that sort of screw into the ground to get more holding power. I had a plastic tent stake hammer in the Kingdom 8 bag but in hard ground it didn't do well at sinking the MSR Cyclone stakes. This hammer works well for that and will live in the Kingdom 8 bag from now on. Sure, it's just a hammer, but it's in the sweet spot being lighter than a claw hammer but heavier than a plastic hammer. The fact that in a pinch it can open a beer bottle is just a bonus.
So much nicer than attempting to use a rock.
Great little hammer, once modified. The tips of the claw will nicely rip any tent, puncture holes into your fly and ground tarp. So I took it to a belt sander and rounded off the exposed tips to prevent that from occurring.