> Questions to the ETS brain trust. What do you use in a similar situation? Has
> anyone found the ultimate tent stake?

As you've found, there's no one stake right for every condition. Here's a photo of part of my collection:

Obligatory link to the page. The ruler on the right is 24 inches.

The worst ground for me is rocky ground, when I'm driving in a stake and hit a rock that won't break. Just pull out the stake and reposition, hoping the rock is small enough I miss it.

I camp regularly in an area that's very alkaline, so it's eating my stakes as you can see from the corrosion. The top of the surfaces is dry and crumbly, and you don't get any purchase from the ground till you're about a foot down, so you need long stakes.

If I'm in a nice grassy place with reasonably moist soil, the small stakes work fine, which I like. Pulling out a two or three feet of rebar can be a pain.

(And wind? You want wind?
You got wind.