This is probably a very specialized tool and not meant for everyone. My back is shot from a lifetime of negligence, so anything that can "reach" for me is already a great tool. My season just ended, but I tested the tool and it works just fine. Probably recommended on soil that is soft or has been "worked" before. As to be expected the "digging" portion fills with soil that can get stuck (my soil is heavy on the clay), so the solution is just to have a stick of some variety to "poke" the clump out. Thank you for the awesome tool! I look forward to many seasons with it.