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Screw in vs hammer in ground spike

Updated: 22.10.2026

The listings split into a screw you turn and a spear you hit. A screw in vs hammer in ground spike choice is about the soil, not about which steel is simply stronger. Soft turf lets a flight pull itself down. Dry clay and stones ask for a point you can drive, then punish a rim if you miss. This page uses DIVCHI and JVL. Scores and the other rows sit on the [parasol ground spike comparison](/hub/sun-shades/parasol-ground-spike). DIVCHI is about £10.99 and JVL is about £6.74 in those extracts. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Products Compared did not run a laboratory comparison of the two.

The listings split into a screw you turn and a spear you hit. A screw in vs hammer in ground spike choice is about the soil, not about which steel is simply stronger. Soft turf lets a flight pull itself down.

Our top picks

JVL JVL 32–40 mm soil spear

Best overall

JVL JVL 32–40 mm soil spear
8.3/10about £6.74
View offer
DIVCHI DIVCHI 56 cm screw-in spike

Preis-Tipp

DIVCHI DIVCHI 56 cm screw-in spike
7.9/10about £10.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you are comparing
  2. 2.When the screw-in is the one to turn
  3. 3.When the hammer-in is the one to drive
  4. 4.The pick, with the condition attached

What you are comparing

DIVCHI B09BYXQVRJ is the screw-in auger. The bullet says zinc-plated steel, a turn rod, three screws, poles from 2.5 to 5.5 cm, and a 56 cm screw, at 1.36 kg. The star line is 4.4 from 658. The technical line says 420 mm, which is 42 cm, 14 cm short of the bullet. A reviewer measured about 36 mm inside the socket. JVL B00WIYPD62 is the hammer-in spear. It is galvanised, with a plastic adaptor for 32–40 mm. The star line is 4.4 from 7,962. The listing has no length bullet, and the dimension line is 6 × 5 × 6 cm, which is not a buried length. You drive it. The plastic insert is what the pole sits in. JVL scores 83 and DIVCHI 79. Those labels are not the verdict for every lawn. A 25 mm beach pole is outside JVL’s window, so the cheaper spear is the wrong metal before soil matters.

When the screw-in is the one to turn

Choose the screw when you can turn it fully into soft ground and you want it out again. A flight pulls down as you turn, which suits a lawn you can get a spade into after rain. DIVCHI’s UK reviews include a large parasol and a 4 m parasol. Stones stop the flight, the tube leans, and the thread can come apart. A missing turn rod stops the job before it starts. A socket left proud of the grass catches a mower. A 36 mm measurement has already narrowed the printed 2.5–5.5 cm claim. If the bed is full of flint, do not buy the auger to prove the reviews wrong.
JVL JVL 32–40 mm soil spear

Testsieger

JVL JVL 32–40 mm soil spear
8.3/10about £6.74
View offer

When the hammer-in is the one to drive

Choose the spear when the pole is 32–40 mm and the soil will take a mallet without folding the rim. JVL is an airer socket that takes a parasol when the diameter matches. The plastic adaptor is the clamp. Reviews describe that insert working loose, so a pole can rock in a spear that is otherwise down. They also describe a rim that bends if you hammer bare metal. A wood block does not save every rim. Hard ground left a spike half proud. JVL’s page says you do not concrete this family. Skip the hammer-in if you need a printed length, or if the pole is 25 mm or 50 mm. The window is 32–40 mm.

The pick, with the condition attached

Take DIVCHI when you can turn a flight fully home in soft ground, you can live with a 56 cm bullet against 420 mm, and the pole suits a throat measured at about 36 mm. Take JVL when the pole is 32–40 mm, you will drive it with a wood block, and you accept that the listing prints no length. If the soil is stony or dry clay, the spear is the better bet of these two, provided the rim stays round. If you can water the lawn and you want the socket out in autumn, the screw is the better bet, provided it actually goes down. JVL at about £6.74 scores higher because 7,962 reviews and a low price feed the method. That method is not a soil test. The mallet, the rod, and the cable check are on the how to fit a parasol ground spike page.

Common questions

Which one for a normal lawn?
On a lawn you can turn after rain, DIVCHI is the one to try first between these two. Reviewers used it with a large parasol. JVL also suits that lawn if the pole is 32–40 mm and you drive it with wood on the rim. If the first turns produce grit and a lean, move the hole. Rubble under the turf is not a normal lawn.
Which one if the ground is dry clay or full of stones?
Between these two, the hammer-in matches hard, compact, stony, or clay ground. Water the clay if you still want to try a screw, then back off if the flight stalls. Stones are where DIVCHI reviews describe a thread coming apart. If neither will enter, you need a different base, not a bigger hammer.
Can I remove it later?
Both are sold as sockets you can take out, which is why renters appear in the JVL file. A screw should reverse with the same rod. A spear should come out of soil that has not been cemented. Once you cement either of them, you no longer have a removable spike.
Why do screw-in reviews still mention a hammer-in?
Buyers compare the two in the same garden. A DIVCHI review prefers the screw to a hammer-in that leaned. That sentence does not make every spear lean, and it does not make every screw straight. It shows the failure you are trying to avoid: a socket that looks seated and then tilts when the canopy opens. Check vertical as you install, on either type.
Does a longer screw always hold a bigger parasol?
DIVCHI’s bullet says 56 cm and the line says 420 mm, so length is not one number. UK texts mention a large parasol and a 4 m parasol. That is use, not a rating that grows with the centimetres. A 36 mm measurement limits a pole at the top of the printed range. Match throat and ground first.
What if the plastic adaptor is loose?
On the JVL spear the plastic adaptor is the piece the pole sits in, and reviews describe it working loose. A slack insert lets the mast rock inside a spear that is otherwise straight. DIVCHI uses three screws rather than that insert. A missing screw is a different fault. Do not pack the gap with card and hope the afternoon stays still.

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How to fit the parasol ground spike comparison 2026

Sources

Public UK sources and the eight amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Prices, stars and review themes are those extracts. Updated 22.10.2026.

  1. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. GOV.UK, Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. GOV.UK, General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. LSBUD (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. HSE CIS65 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Met Office, strong wind (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. BS EN 581-3:2017 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. JVL 32/40 mm ground spike (retrieved 22.10.2026)