Stakes Vs Sand Bags: Which Are More Effective for My Sideline Camera Tower?

When you have a 20-foot tall video camera tower like the Hi Rise Camera end zone camera system, ensuring that the tower is stable and safe is a must. In fact, any brand of sideline camera, including Hipod and Sport Scope end zone video towers need to be securely anchored to the ground. Failure to keep a camera tower tethered to the ground could result in poor quality video. It could also be a safety hazard. If a camera tower topples over, it could injure someone. It could also damage your expensive camera equipment. There are two ways that can secure an endzone camera tower to the ground. You can use either stakes or sandbags. Here’s a look at which of these options is best in the various situations that you might encounter.

Filming Indoors

When you are shooting sports video indoors, anchor stakes are not an option. The only way to tether a camera tower in a gymnasium is with sandbags. In this situation, it is important to make sure that the sandbags are positioned correctly. You also need to ensure that the sandbags are heavy enough to stop the tower toppling over. It is also important to make sure that wires and equipment are not in places where people can trip over them.

Filming Outdoors in Normal Conditions

When filming outdoors in normal conditions, anchor stakes are usually the best option. Stakes driven into firm ground will hold an endzone camera tower down and keep it stable. The stakes you use will need to be long enough and strong enough, though. You will also need to secure all the legs of the camera tower.

Filming Outdoors in Windy Conditions

When you are shooting video from an end zone video tower in windy conditions, it is best to use both stakes and sandbags. Especially is if the ground is waterlogged. In adverse conditions, a video camera may start to sway in the wind. If the ground is soft, stakes alone may not hold the tower in place. In conditions like these, the double anchorage of stakes and sandbags is the safest option.

Securing an End Zone Camera System to Hard Ground

When you are faced with dry, rock-hard ground, you are going to have the same problem that you have in a gymnasium. Anchor stakes are not going to be an option. Even if you do manage to hammer stakes into the hard-baked ground, they could easily come out again. This is another situation, then, where sandbags will be needed.

Sandbags or Stakes?

The answer to the question of whether sandbags or stakes are best is that you are going to need both. That’s why we supply three 10-inch Straight Stakes and three sandbags with the Hi Rise Camera Sky 200 GC end zone camera system. That way, you are covered for all eventualities. Indoors or outdoors, soft ground or hard ground, if you take both stakes and sandbags with you when you travel with your end zone video system, you’ll always have a means of anchoring your video camera tower securely to the ground.