Strikemaster Lazer Mag Express user opinions?

[mr_jman]

I'm interested in buying a new or used auger for the rest of the season or next year. Depending on when I get it or when a deal comes along. I really like the compact design and other features of the Lazer Mag Express, but I wanted to get some opinions about this particular auger before searching one out.

My biggest concern is always reliability! I want an auger thats not going to fail me! So if anyone has one, can you tell me what you like or dislike, etc. Also, if you have had to do any part replacements or other things out of the normal upkeep? If it matters, I would probably focus on the 8" auger.

[boatfixer]

I just got one about a month ago. great auger. SM's customer service is great also. I had an issue with binding at the bottom of the hole. They replaced the blades overnight.

[GCLARK]

Had mine for 8 seasons now and have had no problems at all! Changing blades has been the only maintenance.

[HOGEYE]

Another vote for SM. Great customer service, durability and reliability. I used to own a Jiffy and wouldn't go back for anything.

[HateHumminbird]

I personally own the auger you speak of, and can't say enough good things about it. Take care of these things (even minimally), and they'll last a long, long time.

I run amsoil through mine, and never have starting issues. It's not cold-blooded, which is a common starting ailment, and the thing gives full power without having to idle it for a few minutes.

As far as cutting, make sure a shaver blade fits your style of fishing. They don't re-open holes well (mfr. matters not), but they tend to be faster and lighter.

Replacement blades are commonly found throughout MN and relatively inexpensive. At 24lbs, few augers are lighter.

Joel

[NCLaker]

I've had mine for 2 seasons and love it. Bought it as a display model from Gander - got an incredible price with full warrenty. Had to get the blade pitch adjusted because it was cutting too aggressively (at D-Rock) after the adjustment it cuts awesome.

Love the light weight, easy starting, requires no downward pressure when cutting, fast.

Couple recommendations (some are probably no brainers): Buy extra blade straps for your blade guard (they get cut easily, and you don't want to transport without the guard on - them blades are very sharp), run amsoil (near smokeless, easier starting, less problems with oil dripping out the muffler), be gentle when setting it on the ice to cut (don't want to risk putting blades out of pitch or nicking them), use the compression button to kill the motor (suppose to be easier on the fly wheel then hitting the kill switch), keep the blade guard on when starting & when not in use on the ice.

Good luck - lots of good deals this time of year if you shop around.

[Powerstroke]

I also have one. I've had since new and that was 3 years ago. Its a great auger and easy to use.

[anyfishwilldo]

Another vote for the LM express. IMO the greatest auger on the market. I went up against the hailed nils the other day and beat him through 3 ft of ice. Run amsoil in it and keep the blades sharp and it will give you good service for many years to come.

[SomethingFishy*]

I have a Lzer Mag express that I have used a few times in 2 seasons. It has worked well for me. I will probably sell mine as I also have a stikemaster electric that I use more because of the wheel house. I would however purchase another one in the future if the need were to arrise.

[Iambjm]

I don't have the Lazer mag express but I do have the Mag2000 with the chipper blade. I love it, I had the MagIII that was 15 years old and still going good until the hubby filled it for me one day and used gas with no oil in it. I drilled around 8 holes and it quit on me, now it sounds really sick. I may have SM look at it the next time I am down to the cities but I think it is toast. PS. don't mess with the 10" blade, it increases the weight and the holes can be dangerous. I know from experience.

Barb

[harvey lee]

I have used a NIls for two years and have never seen an auger cut like it does. Light, fast and easy to start.

I'm sure if you look at different brands you will find numerous ones that will fill the bill.

[Sandmannd]

I bought a lazer made 2000 this year and it's awesome. If you wait till next year D-Rock will have a bunch of demo models and you get a pretty good discount for buying one that's been used about 10 minutes. I don't think they have any left this year, but you can call and check. Over all, they are a great little auger.

[Wallyeyes]

I have the Lazer Mag X-press 8" auger and LOVE it. Had to have the idle adjusted down as the auger would turn while idling. Just stoppped in one day and asked them what they could do. He said fix it. Greatest customer service in the world. Also, had my bro-in-law's fixed free of charge when the recoil broke while I was using it. Every unit is a little bit different but overall they have a fantastic product and the best service around.

I second the extra straps for the blade cover. Mine lasted a year and a half, but I do need a new one. Should have just got it right away.

All-in-all, I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

[mr walleye]

 Originally Posted By: NCLaker

I've had mine for 2 seasons and love it. Bought it as a display model from Gander - got an incredible price with full warrenty. Had to get the blade pitch adjusted because it was cutting too aggressively (at D-Rock) after the adjustment it cuts awesome.

Love the light weight, easy starting, requires no downward pressure when cutting, fast.

Couple recommendations (some are probably no brainers): Buy extra blade straps for your blade guard (they get cut easily, and you don't want to transport without the guard on - them blades are very sharp), run amsoil (near smokeless, easier starting, less problems with oil dripping out the muffler), be gentle when setting it on the ice to cut (don't want to risk putting blades out of pitch or nicking them), use the compression button to kill the motor (suppose to be easier on the fly wheel then hitting the kill switch), keep the blade guard on when starting & when not in use on the ice.

Good luck - lots of good deals this time of year if you shop around.

Just a question here how is using the kill switch hard on the flywheel?

all that the kill switch dose is cut the power to the spark plug to stop motor

my SM is OLD with SEVERAL thousand holes cut, and I ALWAYS use the kill switch and have never had a problem with my flywheel

[mr_jman]

Thanks for all the input. I already have the old 49cc Mag 3, but I've had several issues with it since I bought it. However, my dad has a Mag 2000 he bought brand new 8 years ago and for how little he uses it, I've been able to get it started even after nearly 2 years of it sitting around! This has made me trust the Strikemaster quality and I've heard nothing but good things about the customer service.

I just figured I would spend the money and buy myself one good auger to hopefully last me many years. I love to ice fish and have put a minimum of 40-50 days on the ice this year so I know it'll get used hard!

Sounds like the Lazer Mag Xpress will be well worth the money!

I know they run shy of $400 new, but what would you pay for a used one? $250 - $300? I think I've seen some for about $200 and should have jumped on it!

[eyebjim]

Check reeds website I was looking last week and they had them for around $320 new.

[SSSTaxidermy]

I second Reeds. My brother in law bought the 9” mag express last year from them and he can’t be any happier. He got it at season’s end for a good deal. Don’t know the exact numbers. It cuts, handles like a gem.

Boy aren’t those 49cc Mag III’s great augers? My dad bought one of those many years ago at Coast to Coast and still runs top notch.

I personally have the XL-3000, 10”. I personally like the 10” hole, it gives me more room for my vexilar when I can’t have a hole drilled along side. It weights a bit more, but I don’t have a problem muscling it around. Just my 2 cents.

Have fun shopping!

[NCLaker]

Using the compression button instead of the kill switch was a recommmendation that came from D-Rock. They are an authorized SM service dealer. I don't recall the technical reasons, if you want more info, give them a call.

For older SM models they do not have a compression button, so I am not sure if this even applied.

Personally, I'd rather err on following there advice, so that is why I do it.

[Kyle Sandberg]

I love the SM lazer auger. I got a great deal on a demo model this past week. 7" lazer auger (just the auger) for 20 bucks. I stuck that on my old Mag 2000 powerhead (about 6 or 7 seasons on it) and it starts every time and the cutting is awesome. Give SM a call and see if they have any demo models they're trying to sell or else call around sporting good shops and see if they have any deals. Good luck on your purchase.

[JigginIsLife]

I also have a LM express, and so far i have loved it. i at first was a little leary at the plastic handles and throttle cable, but in a sense you dont have to push down on it much so having the plastic handles isnt a big deal. as for the throttle cables they seem to be quite rugged themselves as well. i love mine, and got a great deal. i hear customer service is excellent, havent had to deal with them, but nothing but good things is all i hear of it.

[anyfishwilldo]

Mr jman, if $ is an issue, just get yourself a lazer 8" drill head to bolt on your magIII. The engines are the same except the new ones have that comp release thingy that I don't quite understand the need for it. Just have the Mag III tuned up well and that combo would give you years of good service.

[McGurk]

I got the same advice from DRock on using the yellow de-compression button to turn it off. The switch will stop spark, but there was almost always backfiring going on, and I shredded 2 separate recoil pulley shafts due to that and the higher compression on these newer motors. Upon replacing them, the guy at DRock told me to use the decomp button and the backfiring will be gone, therefore making it more reliable. He also gave me some new "dogs" that were taller and therefore gave me more surface to catch the pulley shaft. I made a nice write up on it about a year ago when I was in the middle of this fiasco in the expert equipment forum.

[McGurk]

Found my old post, might help you out if you do get a used one.

SM Recoil Issue

[NCLaker]

Thanks for all the info McGurk. Great job on documenting it for the rest of us to benefit.

Do you know when they beefed up the guts for the engine?? My SM LE was from the 2007-08 season, I'd sleep better at night knowing that mine has the upgrades.

[McGurk]

This is purely a guess, but in Jan of '07 they were aware of the issue, and had replacement parts available for the initial (non-beefed up) release of the decomp heads. So I'd say if you bought one in late '06 or anytime in '07 and '08, you should be OK. I should qualify this statement with the fact that stock on hand at your time of purchase could have had the initial release (non-beefed up) heads.

The only way to see a difference without tearing your head apart would be to look at the "dogs" and see if they are 5/8" tall or so, relative to the older and smaller 3/8" tall dogs. It is hard to tell the difference without having one or the other on hand to compare to, though. After I swapped my dogs out and used the yellow decomp button to turn it off, I haven't had any issues as of yet and I've drilled hundreds of holes. I have even looked for damage and wear on the recoil pulley shaft, and have not seen any damage whatsoever!

[snoozebutton]

I bought mine at Gander in Duluth about a month ago and they had a really good sale on them, almost $80 off. You might want to give them a call and see if they have any left, they only had 2 when I bought mine (which left them with one.) They had a lot of ice fishing equip. marked way down too, ended up spending all of the $80 I saved.

[Neighbor_guy]

AVOID the laser mag with the plastic/composite handles!!!! This is a must. My brother broke his handle on the second hole he drilled. When he returned it to gander they said everyone out the door this year came back with a broken handle within a week.

Buy something with metal handles.

[mr_jman]

Is anyone else having or has had a problem with the plastic handles..... Or was this a rare case or set of cases?

[Kyle Sandberg]

I've never had a problem with the handle. With the Lazer auger there should be no need to push down on the auger. Either he broke it because of abuse or there were some defects in it. My power head is 6-7 years old with the plastic handles and I never have a problem.

Do they even sell augers anymore that have metal handles?

[NCLaker]

Only examples I heard/read about are people that had it in the back of their ice house sled they were pulling behind a snowmobile/4 wheeler and had it banging around. When ever I have pulled mine I typically go slower, so I don't have any issues - not so much concerned about the auger, more concerned with the auger breaking other stuff in the shack.

I can't imagine they would break with normal use (unless you are hard on your equipment). Breaking handles should not be a problem when cutting holes, since you shouldn't have to put any downward pressure when cutting holes (unless it was already cracked).

The plastic handles help with reducing the weight. For those looking for something more "industrial" strength and don't mind the exta weight, I think SM should consider making a model with medal handles.

[McGurk]

Never had or saw a handle issue except for the very first ones from years ago; maybe a bad run from the manufacturer? In fact, I've never seen a broken handle from any SM owner with normal auger use (that does not include shotputting your auger into the bed of your truck or tossing it on the ice when you are done drilling).