I have been tent/tarp camping for over 50 years and have gone thru hundreds of tent stakes. That is, until the vargo titanium tent stakes came along. I have been replacing all my bent and broken aluminum stakes with the crevice stakes and they never fail. Soft ground, hard ground, rocky soil- they work great and are exceedingly durable They don't break or bend, even if you pound them in with rocks. They hold very well and are reasonably easy to remove. They are also lighter than most aluminum stakes. I have been using them for years and have yet to bend one. I know they're 4 bucks a pop, but they last forever. I'll probably leave them to my grandkids.