Marquee stake guides, specifications, and FAQ for UK hire and event professionals

The main difference is the patented heat drawn point and the high alloy steel used throughout. Standard stakes are typically made from commodity mild steel — they're cheap and adequate in soft ground, but deform quickly under impact in harder ground conditions. Hogan stakes are manufactured from high alloy steel with a heat drawn point that resists deformation and stays straight, job after job. The result is faster installation, easier extraction, and stakes that last significantly longer.

Tiger Stakes are the competitive-price option in the Hogan family — high alloy steel, the patented heat drawn point, the same manufacturing standards. The full Hogan stake range is the ultra-premium option, developed for the highest-spec installations. We currently stock Tiger Stakes and will be adding the full Hogan range to the UK shortly. If you need the premium range for an upcoming project, get in touch and we'll advise on timelines.

We currently stock Tiger Stakes in eight sizes: 18" × 5/8" (460mm × 16mm), 24" × 1" (610mm × 26mm), 30" × 1" (770mm × 26mm), 36" × 1" (920mm × 26mm), 42" × 1" (1070mm × 26mm), 42" × 1.125" (1070mm × 29mm), 48" × 1.125" (1219mm × 29mm), and 60" × 1.125" (1530mm × 29mm). The two 42" sizes differ by shaft — 1" (26mm) and 1.125" (29mm). If you need help choosing the right size for your structures and ground conditions, get in touch.

Pricing depends on product, quantity, and your supply relationship. We don't list prices on the site — we'd rather have a proper conversation and give you an accurate quote based on your actual requirements. Use the contact form on any product page or email us directly at hoganuk [at] hoganstakes.co.uk. We'll come back to you promptly.

Yes. We work with marquee manufacturers, hire companies, large-scale event operators and supply chain partners across the UK. If you're purchasing for resale or in significant volume, we'd welcome a conversation about how we can work together. Get in touch and we'll discuss the right arrangement for your operation.

Any Hogan or Tiger stake will perform significantly better than standard mild steel stakes in hard ground — that's the core benefit of the heat drawn point. If you're working in particularly challenging ground conditions, get in touch and we can advise on the right combination of stake and accessories.

Spreader bars distribute the load from a single anchor point across multiple stakes. They're used where ground quality is poor, where holding power needs to be significantly increased for a single point, or where the load per stake needs to be reduced to comply with engineering requirements. We stock various configurations — get in touch and we can advise on the right specification for your application.

The correct depth depends on the stake size, ground conditions, and the load the stake is carrying. As a general rule, at least two-thirds of the stake length should be driven below ground. For a 36" stake, that's a minimum of 24" (around 600mm) of penetration in good ground — more in softer or waterlogged conditions where additional depth compensates for reduced lateral resistance. In hard or rocky ground, a stake driven to full depth with a true point will outperform a longer stake that only reaches partial depth. If in doubt about the right combination for a specific installation, get in touch and we'll advise.

In the UK marquee industry, "stakes" typically refers to the heavy-duty, large-diameter ground anchors used for professional marquee and tent structures — the kind used by hire companies and event professionals. "Tent pegs" is more commonly used for lighter, general-purpose pegs used with camping and leisure equipment. That said, the terminology varies: many professionals use both terms interchangeably. What matters is the specification — diameter, material, point design and manufacturing quality — not the name. If you're installing marquees professionally, you need proper high alloy stakes, not commodity hardware pegs.

Technically, yes — but standard mild steel tent pegs will deform and bend in anything other than soft ground, and they won't give you the holding power or repeatability that professional installations require. In hard ground, clay, or rocky substrate, commodity pegs become a serious liability: they steer off line on the way in, resist extraction, and damage easily. Across a season, the time lost to bent and damaged pegs adds up quickly. Professional marquee operators choose Hogan stakes because the performance difference becomes obvious from the first hard-ground job.

Stake size depends on the structure, the ground conditions, and the load per anchor point. For smaller pole marquees and secondary positions, 30" and 36" are common. For higher-load positions and soft or variable ground, 42", 48", and 60" give more holding power and more embedment margin.

A stake that went in straight comes out straight — that's one of the practical benefits of the Hogan heat drawn point. For extraction in hard or clay ground, we recommend our purpose-built stake extraction tool, which significantly reduces the physical effort involved and protects both the stake and the ground from unnecessary damage. Avoid levering bent or deformed stakes — this damages the stake further and makes subsequent extractions harder. If you're regularly spending significant time on extraction, it's worth reviewing your stake selection and considering whether deeper, higher-quality stakes would improve your overall efficiency.

Stretch tents apply significant lateral and vertical loads to each anchor point, so stake quality and driving depth matter more than on many traditional structures. For most primary positions, 42", 48", or 60" is the right starting point depending on ground conditions, pole height, and engineering.