Tested: Ezy Anchor

Like a better mousetrap for rodent management, campers since the year dot have been in search of a better tent peg ­– one that can penetrate the concrete-like surface of many campgrounds without buckling or mashing fingers, will hold fast in extreme weather and can be removed without physical harm when it’s time to move on.

Friends have spoken glowingly about their Peggy Pegs, but on a recent trip to South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, we tried another solution: the Ezy Anchor.

The principal is somewhat similar. Instead of hammering a smooth-sides steel or aluminium peg into the ground with a mallet, you screw the Brisbane designed and made screw-threaded pegs in with the aid of a cordless drill and the supplied Torx driver bit.

This appealed to me, as I carry both a Bunnings-bought Ryobi impact wrench and a cordless drill with me, sharing the same long-lasting rechargeable battery. I use the former to drop and retract the corner jacks on my caravan, but now the drill has a second purpose.

Trying conditions

The set up at the caravan park while gusts of up to 80km/h swirled about us on what the weather bureau described as a ‘catastrophic’ weather day.

With temperatures in the mid-40s and no other shade, we wanted our awning out, but preferred it stayed connected to the caravan in the very windy conditions.

After many weeks of hot, dry weather, the ground was rock hard, but the drill bit drove the long, thin pegs with their corrosion-proof finish firmly into the ground on a 45 degree angle, with our guy ropes then attached to the safety-orange, plastic hooks around their necks.

On one side, the best pegging place was on much softer sand, but the long screw penetrated deep enough to provide a firm anchor. So be safe, we attached an optional Ezy Anchor double guy rope with separate pegs to each awning arm. Four Velcro straps were then attached to the awning canvas and tensioned to the upper awning arm to stop flapping.

It all worked a treat and the best bit was the ease with which the pegs came out with the drill in reverse direction.

Manual screwing too

So, what happens if your cordless drill battery goes flat? Well, you simply connect a shifting spanner to the driver bit shaft and screw, or unscrew, them manually.

Without this Torx driver bit, it would be very difficult for anyone to steal your pegs.

Because of their ease of use and and convenience, we used the Ezy Anchors on other occasions more often than we would have used conventional pegs.

Like their ‘smart peg’ counterparts, the Ezy Anchors are sold in kits. The Starter Pack, which we used, came with 8 x Ezy Anchors, 4 x 280mm long screws, 4 x 200mm screws, the Torx driver bit and a storage bag for a RRP of $85.

There's also an Outback Pack for $66 designed for hard red dirt and gravelly surfaces with 6 x Ezy Anchors and 6 x 200mm screws and a Coastal Pack for firm, loamy soil/sandy ground with 280mm screws for $69.95. A Sand Anchor is currently under design for camping on soft sand.

More info: Ezy Anchor