I was at the beach sharing my love of power kiting with a couple new flyers over the weekend. Apparently while we were distracted by the task of Not Dying, some kid swiped one of my kite stakes, one of these:
https://bigmikeskites.com/products/peter-lynn-ground-stake-w...

That thing is great in the sand, less great in dirt. What are you guys using to hold your kites down in a variety of terrain?

These things work great in dirt and grass and you can get them at Home Depot, Lowes, Target, sporting good stores, etc. Just buy some plastic hose / tubing to make a sheath to protect yourself or your kite if you pack or carry it.

Golf ball attached to threaded metal rod for sand. Go raid a golf course for free golf balls, and Lowes or home depot for some rods. They're fairly simple to make. Drill a hole slightly smaller than the rod, screw it in. You could also cut off the top of a giant nail and wedge that in.
Here's a version of someone doing it on a coleman spike, looks a little overkill, I think just wedging your spike or rod in works fine, no collar or glue.

I would highly recommend NOT doing this on a carpet, and finding a vise or workbench etc... riffclown is a professional, amateurs like us need to take more care... :D

12" of 1/4" stainless round rod works well in sand or grass. Attach something to the top so you can find it easily.

I like my HQ ground stake. It comes with a sheath that you can hang off one of your harness straps so that it is always with you.
Works well in dense sand, grass, dirt.


When the ground is frozen I use an ice shelter anchor similar to this one.