I had an easy time with the first 6 spikes. I used 2 pieces of 2x4 to hammer them into decent soil and they anchored the 4x4 posts well. I then had a difficult time getting the next spike into a difficult mixture of wet clay and chip stone. I was afraid to hammer too hard as the box was not strongly attached to the spike. The spike had a rounded point on the tip, which would have been much easier if it had a sharper point to cut through the ground. I have come up with a digging solution that I think will work, but the ground is frozen now and I need to wait for a thaw. So for normal ground I think these are great. I would definitely buy again and I hope they sell single items because I might need just one more.