Forgive me people, but you have to have a look at these.

Yes, never again shall the humble tent peg be so boring. A guy has come up with an ingenious new tent peg that requires no hammering in, and what's more it is a British invention. It is still in prototype stages but have a look at http://www.nomallet.com and give the guy some feedback on what you see.

I have no connection with this product and can make no personal gain but please mention that I referred you if you visit the site - I promised him I'd let people know that's all. Your opinions will be gratefully received by him.

Click here for nomallet!

That has to be the best idea (at least in outdoor gear) I've seen in a very long time! Utterly lovely website too.

They may weigh a bit more than conventional pegs, and I can't see how you could peg down the groundsheet with them, but for guylines they would be superb. I want some - when they reach the shops, I'll buy them!

Brilliant!

Must have some...now

Me first.
<pushing M284 out of way>

Cool stuff...Nice site too.

Where do I get them???

Apology to Craig:
I mispelt your name in the nomallet feedback
Sorry

Not in production yet Alex, never mind on sale!

Thank you all for taking the time to have a look at this guys invention. The feedback is vitally important for him to get it right 'before' these go into production.

No they aren't on sale yet, and yes I can't wait either.

I'll post details of when, where etc when I recieve them. You'll be the first people to know!

In the meantime, keep spreading the news for the fella.

Nice idea, but what are they made of? Wouldn't it have to be unacceptably heavy to resist deformation on treading in? If they're made of the same stuff as regular pegs, you'd get exactly the same problems with bending.

They look as if they'd take up a load of room to pack. And the flat plane edges would surely wear away the peg loops more quickly than a standard rounded peg.

And wouldn't they actually be harder to insert in very stony areas, due to the larger amount of peg that has to be accomodated under ground?

I can see an application for these on sunbaked holiday campsites. But in the sort of mountain areas I visit, sadly I've never found any ground so desiccated that I've regretted my lack of a mallet. So I don't think I'll be buying any.

That's why I have asked the designer for some prototypes to evaluate so that I can report back on problems like the ones you have mentioned.
So far they have been tried out by a cub /scout troop but as they tend to camp in lowland soft grassy fields, it would not, for me, be a fair test. I wanna try them out in more remote, mountainous, rocky areas.

Mallet? I must confess that the last time I used a mallet was with a huge wooden peg back in the last century. Haven't used one for years. It's normally hand pressure or (ahem) a boot (I know it's not recommended.) Ahem. I would be interested in the weight etc but until Dave B finds a manufacturer he is unable to confirm the exact specification.

Nice to see an original idea and after all the effort and money that has gone into it, I hope they are a success. However I agree with joan, I see them a 'campsite' pegs and have spent some effort in reducing the weight and bulk of my gear, I wouldn't use them either. There is also Dan's vaild point about pegging out ground sheets, some modification perhaps?

Yes, Mike,
specification - development - evaluation - modification - field (sic) test - further development etc etc...
is a circular model.

It would be great for an A-level Product Design group at my college to get their hands in these to do a user trip, materials test and product analysis on them and it would be good for the designer to get their reports back too. He says I'll have to wait until the autumn term for him to have enough ready.

Teaching innovation is very difficult. Ask kids to design 'a completely new hand-held communication device used for space travel in the 23rd century' and half of them want it to look like a Nokia 3310. (speaking from experience.)

Can you actually teach innovation? I always thought that originality needed a certain mindset, the ability to throw away the rules, not do the possible, but do the not possible.

I don't think you need prototypes or field tests to identify the major flaws in the current design for mountain use, just a bit of creative visualisation.

And give that probably few of us use a mallet anyway, the 'nomallet' tent pegs are somwhat redundant.

I would the designer might redirect his marketing towards companies which make or hire out marquees or static tent camps. It's a good idea, but not really one for the backpacker/hiker market.

Nice to see that this is being discussed constructively and I am sure Dave Birss will appreciate the feedback. For those of you who don't know, Dave has tried to solve some of the "usual" problems of tent pegs with this new design. He may make them from titanium and this would be the ideal for strength to weight ratios etc. And for those skeptics, and I don't hold this against anyone, their is still time for development, and in fairness Dave has tried to adapt the design to fit the purpose. (I can see quite easily how these pegs can be used in rocky terrain without the need to put them in the ground!).

But essentially, if you have opinions then please let the guy know through his site. The more we tell him the more he can get it right.

It might be worth his while to comment on this thread.

I've asked Dave from NoMallet to join this thread and give you all direct feedback.

If he makes them from titanium, they'd be kind of expensive wouldn't they. Presumably even more than the Easton alloy 'unbreakable' pegs that MHW and others sell. Actually you can break them if you persist with hammering them into harder rocks - don't ask how I know etc.

I'd be interested to see what they're like for holding power in softer ground and how, as Joan asks, they'd cope with hard, rocky conditions. How much do they weigh anyway? Might make sense though, at last I could throw that damned mallet out of my pack ;-)

Weight isn't confirmed on these yet, depends on final selection of material, but I believe the order of £1 for titanium.