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Soil mechanical resistance is an indicator of soil physical conditions and is frequently related to compaction, water content, and other factors. Since determining soil mechanical resistance using a standard cone penetrometer is time consuming, several different prototype soil sensors have been developed for on-the-go mapping. Two methods compared in this work are: 1) a vertical blade with a strain gage array above the soil surface, and 2) a sensor with five prismatic horizontal sensing tips providing resistance data at discrete depths. Data obtained using both systems were compared to soil resistance profiles established using conventional cone penetrometer measurements. A set of indices describing vertical variability of soil mechanical resistance was developed and validated.