This is one of the coolest looking stakes you can buy, but for 2 bucks for one stake worth it? The short answer is yes under certain conditions. The long answer is maybe.
The listing is a kit which generally contains 8 stakes for $20. It is cheaper to buy individual stakes from REI for $2 each.

How it works.
This is a camping stake with three fins attached together. When you are looking at the stake head on it have fins place in the 12 o’clock, 4 o’clock, and 8 o’clock positions.
The idea behind this design is to increase the surface area of the stake so it is more secure in the ground, and the design does work to some degree. The design does two things, it first increases the strength of the stake so it is very difficult to bend. The second thing is does is increase the surface area (for added grip) while not increasing the overall weight.

My opinion on the grasping ability
I tested out the stake in hard soil at Death Valley and soil in my own yard. In both tests I found that the MSR groundhog performed well enough for me to recommend, but I was very surprised in that it did not perform as well as I had expected (see results below). I think the main reason it did not work well was the metal is not textured enough, the paint reduced the surface friction, and the stake is not long enough. If MSR made a 12 inch version then I think that would solve part of the problem with the grip.
In Death Valley I only compared the Coleman, the Groundhog, and the Twisted stake. The twisted and groundhog were pretty equal with me giving the edge to the groundhog (no scale was used at that time, I measured purely by feel.) The Coleman stake was the easiest to pull out with my hand. I think the reason was the Groundhog did not disrupt the soil as much which makes it ideal for hard, dry soil. The other two disrupted the soil a lot more.
Just the opposite occurred in my backyard. The Ground hog was the second poorest performer. This test I feel is more accurate because the soil in my back yard is very close to the average soil type you will find in the U.S.

My opinion on the notches for the guy lines and the pull-cord
The idea is a good one and the notches do not add any additional weight for a backpacker. But the notches are not deep enough in my opinion, I really feel that they should have expanded the notches so that it held guy wires and tent loops more securely.
An experienced outdoors individual will not find the small notch to be a major issue because they know how to make a tent taunt and how to hammer in a stake. My concern lies with the layperson that does not realize how to properly secure a tent. So I recommend that a person setting up a tent for the first time either get a different stake or they spend some time practicing setting up a tent with this stake before going out into the wilderness.
The pull-cord is absolutely necessary so that you can pull the stake out of the ground. With out the pull-cord you could not pull the stake out of a hard soil without some sort of tool. This stake does not have much for a hammer to hold onto which is another reason the pull-cord is so important. The problem with the pull-cord is it will fail before the stake itself does. Thankfully, there is a hole in the stake so you can tie a new one on if you need to replace the original.

Consider the cost.
For a large tent you can easily use 10-20 stakes. This would cost you 20-40 dollars depending on the design. 2-4 times more expensive than an ordinary tent stake.

Does it fit through the typical tarp grommet?
It does not fit in the grommets on my REI Basecamp 6 footprint or my REI Clipper tent. The only stakes that fit in those holes are the Aluminum hook stakes or similar style stake. But this isn’t an issue because you use the loops to stake a tent or tarp, not the grommets.

What I like about this specific stake
-Light weight
-Very durable
-Neat design

Who is it for?
I really wanted to love and recommend this tent stake, and had I not done the tests then I would have. I really thought it would perform better than it did. But after I ran the tests I knew I couldn’t recommend this one, especially since there are cheaper and lighter stakes out there that grip better.

My experiences and tests.
The following is my list of tests with several stakes and a large spring scale. I hammered them into the ground and used a spring scale to pull them out. The higher the number, the harder it is to pull out of the ground (a high number is good).
They are ordered from least to greatest effectiveness.

Aluminum hook tent stake-…………………….24N
MSR Groundhog-………………………………… 32N
Twisted skewer tent stake-………………………….24N&40N (see its review for clarification)
Coleman tent stake-…………………………….over 44N
Easton Aluminum Tent Stake with Cord-….…over 44N
Reliance power peg-…………………………….over 44N
SMC snow stake-……………………………….over 44N

The scale only went to 44 Newtons so I am leaving the list as it is. I am guessing the force of the last 4 are 46, 50, 60, and 100 respectively; but that is only a guess. The SMC stake clearly out performed the other stakes. What is important is they are ordered to how hard it was to pull them out after the scale maxed out. When I find a better scale I will redo the tests.

Why I would recommend it
There are two reasons why I would recommend this stake. The first is it seemed to work best in hard and brittle soil. It hammered the stake in easily and the stake was very secure in that type of soil. Unlike the Coleman and the Twisted Skewer stake, the MSR Groundhog did not disrupt the soil. This meant that the soil was more stable.
The looser types of soils did not seem to be ideal for this type of stake and looser soils are what most of us will encounter.
The other reason is that it is a great design and a good material. The design increases the surface area for the amount of material that is there. And the design is very durable. I do not see how this stake can break without someone really trying.
The only reason I would recommend this stake is to someone that needs a light backpacking stake and has a massive phobia of bending or breaking stakes in the wilderness. Otherwise pick one of the others.

What I do not like about this specific stake
The weakest link in this design is where the tent strap connects to the stake. It is just a simple notch and not as secure as I would like. But did I have any problems in 40 MPH winds? No, mainly because I made sure the tent was very taunt. If I did not make my tent bottom as tight as I do then the tent loop would definitely have come off in those high winds. The ground was also very hard and dense, this also helped contribute to the great grip in that type of soil.
I also did not like the grip it had in my tests.

Durability.
Throughout my tests and trip I have not damaged the stake very much. The most I have done is scratch off the red paint and flattened out the top of the stake a hair (literally). The paint is superficial so that isn’t a problem. But over time I can see the head flattening out and some of the metal chipping off. This is a normal process for most stakes, especially those made with aluminum. I don’t see this as a major concern but I felt it needed to be noted.

Materials
Aluminum Easton. It is lightweight and fairly durable. A good material for a tent stake.

Dimensions
Weight: 5/8 ounce, 16 g
Length of a fin: 5/16 inch
Height: 7.5 inches
Depth of indentation: 2/16 inch

Summary
The best part about this stake is that it will not break (unless you have a sledge hammer) and it is lightweight. If you have a fear of breaking stakes then this is the best you can find for the weight. I also found that it worked very well in hard/dense soil. But in average soil it did not perform as well in my tests. I love MSR as a company but this product did not perform as well as I had hoped. I recommend you look elsewhere, because of performance and price.

Other tent stake reviews.
Aluminum Hook stake
Coleman tent stake
Easton aluminum tent stake
Reliance 6 inch power peg
Reliance 9 inch power peg
Reliance 12 inch power peg
SMC snow stake
Twisted skewer tent stake


Recommended: Yes