The best Ground spikes, compared.
Top pick: Brabantia 45 mm ground spike – Only listing at 4.5 or above: 4.6 from 10,126 reviews, score 92, for a 45 mm galvanised socket. Updated October 2026.
A ground spike is the metal socket or plate you set in soil so a pole or a light base can stand. On amazon.co.uk the busy query is the rotary washing-line spike. This comparison keeps four listings: the 45 mm socket, the 32–40 mm spear, the screw-in auger, and the light plate. You judge a spike by the pole’s outside diameter, then by hammer versus screw, then by coating and a cap. Tent pegs, trampoline stakes, and fence-post repair spikes are a different product and are not in this set. Measuring the pole before you buy is set out in the [ground spike buying guide](/hub/fencing-and-wire/ground-spike/sub/ground-spike-buying-guide). A drive-in soil spear is a steel point with a plastic adaptor, hammered in.
A ground spike is the metal socket or plate you set in soil so a pole or a light base can stand. On amazon.co.uk the busy query is the rotary washing-line spike.
14 products checked · 54 hrs invested · +18,200 readers
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What have you measured?
The Brabantia 311444 is the galvanised 45 mm socket amazon.co.uk lists for Topspinner and Lift-O-Matic rotaries, at about £13.00 with 4.6 from 10,126 reviews. The file gives a height of 41.3 cm, a weight of 1.06 kg, and a plastic cap in the item highlight. UK reviewers in the first 50 texts often bought it to replace a rusted original, and they describe it as strong once the socket is in the lawn. Driving it is the complaint that keeps returning: people soaked the ground, dug a starter hole, or used a sledgehammer, and one review put a block of wood on the rim. Two people still could not drive it into one lawn, and another replacement rattled so the pole did not rotate. One buyer fitted this 45 mm spike to a 35 mm line, which is the wrong size for a red-cap socket. The bullets say no concrete is needed, yet reviews include old sockets set in concrete that would not pull out when someone moved house. In this set it is the top pick when you have measured a 45 mm pole, and a miss if the pole is 35 mm or 50 mm.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You have measured a 45 mm Topspinner or Lift-O-Matic pole and want the matched socket.
Less suitable: Your pole is 35 mm or 50 mm, or you rent and might concrete the socket in.
Specifications
Common questions
Which rotary airer is this socket for?
The listing says size B, 45 mm, for Topspinner and Lift-O-Matic. It does not say it fits every rotary dryer.
Do you have to set it in concrete?
The bullets say no concrete is needed. Reviews still include starter holes, soaked lawns, and spikes that were concreted and then could not be pulled.
Does it come with a cap?
The item highlight names a plastic cap. One review mentions a closure cap. No driving tool is listed.
The JVL 19-180 is a galvanised drive-in spear at about £6.74, with 4.4 from 7,962 reviews and a plastic adaptor the bullets rate at 32–40 mm; the first 50 texts are labelled United Kingdom. Reviewers who get the spear fully into a lawn often say it holds a rotary airer, and some also stand a parasol in the same socket. The listed weight is 330 g, while the dimensions field prints 6 × 5 × 6 cm, which is not a buried length and should not be read as how deep the spear sits. The adaptor is the complaint that repeats: on a 32 mm pole the insert can rock, and one reviewer used duct tape to stop it. The rim bends under a hammer even when a block of wood is used, and hard dry ground left one spear partly above the lawn and not straight. One three-arm rotary still wobbled because the spear was not deep enough. It is the lowest shelf price in this set, though at 4.4 it does not meet the 4.5 line used for a best-value badge. Choose it when the pole is inside 32–40 mm and the soil will take a hammer, and leave it if you need a matched 45 mm socket or a cap the amazon file does not mention.
Pros
Cons
Best for: Your rotary pole is between 32 and 40 mm and the lawn will take a hammered spear.
Less suitable: You need a matched 45 mm Brabantia socket, a stated cap, or soil that already bent a drive-in spike.
Specifications
Common questions
Which pole diameter does the adaptor take?
The bullets say 32–40 mm, and that it fits JVL rotary airers. One review says the insert rocks on a 32 mm pole.
How do you hammer it in?
The listing says firm ground. Several UK reviews put a block of wood on the rim so the hammer does not bend the top.
Is there a cap?
The listing does not mention a cap.
The DIVCHI Soil Spike_P is a zinc-plated screw-in auger at about £10.99, with 4.4 from 658 reviews whose first 50 texts are labelled United Kingdom, and bullets that claim a clamp from 2.5 cm to 5.5 cm. The title says a 56 cm screw and the dimensions field says 190 × 40 × 420 mm, so both figures are on the page and neither should be treated as a confirmed buried length. Buyers often order it after a hammer-in spike bent or would not enter, and several say the turn rod lets them unscrew it and move the airer; at 1.36 kg it is the heaviest piece in this set. The clamp is the limit that keeps appearing: one reviewer measured the holder at about 36 mm and said that was not 40 mm, and others found the tube wider than the rotary pole so the three screws did not grip. Stony or dry ground stops the helix before it is fully in, and a collar left above the lawn was a trip and a mower snag. One spike rusted at the spiral after about eight years, another failed after three days, and a turn rod was missing on one delivery. Take it when you want to screw in and later unscrew, and only after you have measured the pole against the clamp rather than the title range alone.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A hammer-in spike has already bent and you want an auger you can unscrew.
Less suitable: The soil is full of stones, or you need a measured 40 mm bore rather than a wide clamp.
Specifications
Common questions
How do you put it in the ground?
The listing says you screw it in with the turn rod, then tighten three screws on the pole. It also says you can unscrew it and move it.
What pole size does the clamp take?
The bullets say 2.5 cm to 5.5 cm. One review measured the holder at about 36 mm and said that was not 40 mm.
Which length figure is on the listing?
The title says 56 cm. The dimensions field says 190 x 40 x 420 mm. Both figures are on the file and they do not match.
The EGLO Cuba 88744 is a hot-dip galvanised plate for a garden light, listed at about £15.86 with 4.1 from 1,016 amazon.co.uk reviews. The bullets give a 20 cm plate, a 30 cm height, a cable hole, and fixing holes from 4.5 cm to 15.5 cm apart, and they say it is not a drive-in sleeve, so you should not hammer it. The weight field is 468 g. The same amazon page also prints 240 V, E27, and 800 lumens, plus a light in the included components, while EGLO’s sheet for 88744 has no lamp socket, so those lines are a listing conflict rather than the product. The first 50 review texts are labelled Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, or Sweden, so the 1,016 is the star aggregate and those texts are not United Kingdom reviews. They describe lamps and socket columns held without a concrete base, and also welds that break if the plate is forced, warped plates, and a cable hole too small for a thick earth cable. A light base under 20 cm leaves the plate sticking out. It is the only spike in this set for a path light, a poor match for a rotary airer, and it does not certify a new outdoor circuit.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You are fitting a path light whose base holes sit between 4.5 cm and 15.5 cm apart, and you will push or concrete the plate.
Less suitable: You need a rotary washing-line socket, or you planned to hammer the spike in.
Specifications
Common questions
Can you hammer this spike in?
The bullets say it is not a drive-in sleeve and tell you not to hammer it. They say you insert the light into the ground or concrete the spike in.
Which light base fits the plate?
The listing says fixing holes from 4.5 cm to 15.5 cm apart. The plate is 20 cm across. A base under 20 cm leaves the plate sticking out.
Does the listing include a lamp?
Included components say light and assembly instructions, and the spec block lists 240 volts, E27 and 800 lumens. The bullets describe only the ground spike. Treat the lamp lines as a listing conflict.
Four amazon.co.uk listings were scored from the stored pages. The score is the star rating times 20, rounded to the nearest integer. A missing star line would score 0. There is no separate sample, fit, or value part in this set, and this is not a laboratory test. The highest score is the top pick, once. Best value would be the lowest shelf price among listings at 4.5 or above with at least 200 reviews. Only the Brabantia listing meets that star line, so the badge is not used.
Amazon star rating
100%The score is the amazon.co.uk star rating times 20, rounded to the nearest integer. Brabantia at 4.6 scores 92. JVL and DIVCHI at 4.4 score 88. EGLO at 4.1 scores 82. None of these scores is a drive test, a rust test, or a check that a pole fits.
Match the spike to the pole and the soil before you compare the shelf price. A drive-in spear, a matched socket, a screw-in auger, and a light plate are all sold near the ground-spike query, and they do not do the same job. The prices below are the amazon.co.uk shelves in this set, from about £6.74 to about £15.86. A star row is that listing’s figure. The score is that star rating times 20. None of these scores is a laboratory drive test.
A ground spike is the metal socket or plate you set in soil so a pole or a light base can stand. On amazon.co.uk the busy query is the rotary washing-line spike. The four shapes in this set are a drive-in soil spear, a matched drive-in socket, a screw-in auger, and a light plate. Tent pegs, trampoline stakes, and fence-post repair spikes are a different product. A drive-in soil spear is a steel point with a plastic adaptor, hammered in.
A 45 mm Brabantia pole does not belong in a 32–40 mm spear. A 35 mm line is the wrong size for the red-cap 45 mm socket. The DIVCHI title range of 2.5–5.5 cm did not match one holder measured at about 36 mm.
Retailer copy and UK reviews say you soften the ground and strike a drive-in rim through a block of wood. The JVL rim still bends. The EGLO Cuba is not a drive-in sleeve. The bullets say do not hammer it.
The JVL 6 cm dimensions field is not a buried length. The DIVCHI title says 56 cm and the dimensions field says 420 mm. The EGLO page prints volts, an E27 lamp, and 800 lumens beside bullets for a bare spike. EGLO’s sheet for 88744 has no lamp socket.
Measure the pole’s outside diameter in millimetres before you read a universal title. Brabantia publishes three sockets: 35 mm for Essential, with a black cap; 45 mm for Topspinner and Lift-O-Matic, with a red cap; and 50 mm for Lift-O-Matic Advance and SmartLift, with a yellow cap. The listing in this set is the 45 mm socket. One review fitted that spike to a 35 mm line, which is the wrong size for a red-cap socket.
Match the install method to the soil and to whether you must get the spike out again. A drive-in spear or a matched spike is the laundry default. Soften the ground and strike a drive-in rim through a block of wood. The JVL rim still bends under a hammer in the review notes, and hard dry ground left one spear partly above the lawn. A screw-in auger is what buyers choose after a hammer-in spike bends, and it unscrews.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You are replacing a rusted rotary socket and you have measured a 45 mm Topspinner or Lift-O-Matic pole. The Brabantia spike is about £13.00, galvanised, with a plastic cap, and 4.6 from 10,126 reviews. It is the wrong socket if the pole is 35 mm or 50 mm.
A hammer-in spike has already bent, or you rent and need to unscrew the fixing when you leave. The DIVCHI auger is about £10.99, with a turn rod and 4.4 from 658 reviews. Measure the pole against the clamp. One review found the holder at about 36 mm, not 40 mm.
You are fitting a garden light whose base holes sit between 4.5 cm and 15.5 cm apart. The EGLO Cuba plate is about £15.86. The bullets say do not hammer it. If the light is on mains, that circuit is a job for an electrician. This plate is a poor match for a rotary airer.
The top pick is the Brabantia 45 mm ground spike at about £13.00. It scores 92 because 4.6 is the only star line in this set at 4.5 or above, from 10,126 amazon.co.uk reviews, on a galvanised socket with a plastic cap named for Topspinner and Lift-O-Matic. It is a miss if the pole is 35 mm or 50 mm, and reviews still describe a hard drive into firm ground. There is no best-value badge. That award is the lowest shelf price among listings at 4.5 or above with at least 200 reviews. Only this Brabantia listing meets that star line, so no second product qualifies. The JVL spear is cheaper at about £6.74 and is 4.4. None of these scores is a drive test, a rust test, or a check that a pole fits.
Brabantia 45 mm ground spike
Only listing at 4.5 or above: 4.6 from 10,126 reviews, score 92, for a 45 mm galvanised socket.
No best-value badge. The rule is the lowest shelf price at 4.5 or above with at least 200 reviews. Only the Brabantia listing meets that star line.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources and manufacturer pages listed in the research digest. Listing prices, stars and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk captures for these ASINs. The Brabantia shelf of £17.25 is the figure on the manufacturer page in that digest.
Expert source (DIY & tools): Lee Burkhill (Garden Ninja) (external profile) – public expert commentary used as a research source, not as a contributor to our pages.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk with the tag pcuk26-21. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are the UK listing lines kept for this set. We did not run a lab test.
