Which auger to buy?

[okstate]

Strike master  lithium Lazer 50 volt

Jiffy propane 4

Ion auger w/ reverse

Strikemaster lazermag

Strikemaster cl-825

Mako m43

 

All used and around $275-$300

 

Thanks

 

[monstermoose78]

The lazer mag is hard to beat

[Rick G]

Laser mag will last forever if you treat it right. Very dependable too

[AlwaysFishing23]

What they said^^. The laser mag is your best bet. Fast drilling, light weight and reliable. If it were me I wouldn’t even think twice. 

[opsirc]

ION!!!  no need to carry gas, worry about hard starting because of cold.  may not be the fastest, but if it take you 5 seconds more to drill a hole, does it really make that big of a difference.

[eyeguy 54]

lazer mag or the ion. lazer if hole hopping like a mad man and ion if not.:)

[Nix769]

I like the Lazer Mag...especially if you want 10" and do a lot of holes.

[CJH]

I had an 8in Lazer Mag with the Tecumseh engine and it ran like carp.  Had it in to Strikemaster and three other shops, never ran right and I took good care of it.  Purchased a Nils convertible and going the Auger/Drill route now.  Done with small 2 strokes.

[okstate]

I bought the Lazer mag for $250. It was bought new last year. 

 

Thanks for all the advice!

[eyeguy 54]

it will love non oxy gas.  

[TheTuna]

Ion

[Jighead4914]

Eskimo HC40 Propane, love it alot of power, and starts in two pulls everytime.

[KidMoe]

Good choice! Non-oxy has and you shouldn’t ever have a problem 

[FowlSki]

There are lots of trouble shooting threads out there for Strike Masters so when yours breaks down you'll have plenty of reading  material.   

I have heard lots of colorful language from SM owners out on the ice. 

[Hawg]

I dearly love my Ion but I think I would do the Kdrill if I had it to do over since I already have a Milwaukee Fuel.

[GarageLogic2]

K-Drill and Dewalt 20v drill with 9ah battery.  I can get 25-30 holes per charge and you can push all the slush under the ice by using reverse. 

[eyeguy 54]

welcome to FM GL. 

[Kettle]

Gas, strike master gets my vote. I have a drill attached to my 6 in lazmag hand augar, absolutely shreads ice, but after 16inch of ice I switch to gas

[redneckdan]

I run a 6" nils on an 18V milwaukee with 9AH batteries. I can drill 60-70 holes on one battery though a foot of ice. I have 5 batteries, onlh rarely use more than one in a day. Love the light weight! I have disk issues on L4/L5 & L5/S1, the heavy jiffy was killing my back.

Ran the piss out of it last weekend on lower red, ran like a champ. Drilled holes all day, charged batteries in the truck and never ran short. The guys running engine driven auger were hurting by the end of the day.

 

[eyeguy 54]

back issue here also and the main reason why I went with the electric also. so light!  no pulling to start is nice also. pulling the trigger doesnt wear me out.  

[Jim Almquist]

Right now Cabelas bargain cave has a sale on the Nils hand augers if your looking. The price is hard to beat.

[Natew48]

I got the jiffy 46x-treme propane and I love it. Its always one to 2 pulls and she's running and drills holes super fast. Not the lightest auger but it helps it drill better. I was gonna go with the ion but I'm happy with what I got. I even got a free head cover and a jiffy hat out of it. 

[Juan Grande]

I got a 6" Nils convertible hand auger and an 18V Milwaukee Brushless for Xmas.  I tried the combo out for the first time yesterday and was amazed.  You can almost drill holes with one hand and I was cutting through 14-16 inches of ice in about 5 seconds.  Drilled 20 holes and still had 3/4 of my battery life left.  I had a Strikemaster Lazer Mag for years and would never go back to a gas auger.  

[monstermoose78]

2 hours ago, Juan Grande said:

I got a 6" Nils convertible hand auger and an 18V Milwaukee Brushless for Xmas.  I tried the combo out for the first time yesterday and was amazed.  You can almost drill holes with one hand and I was cutting through 14-16 inches of ice in about 5 seconds.  Drilled 20 holes and still had 3/4 of my battery life left.  I had a Strikemaster Lazer Mag for years and would never go back to a gas auger.  

That seems to be common no more gas! 

[Hawg]

I have an Ion but wanted a KDrill because of the weight. I tried a KDrill yesterday and here's what I found. I'm pasting this from HSO because I'm too lazy to type. Ion's are great. You won't regret going electric. 

I tried the borrowed KDrill yesterday for the first time and like VTX I was less than impressed. First off the weight was incredibly light and I thought I was going to go buy one when I picked it up for the first time but glad I didn't. If you believe the commercial about you young kids or wife using this thing you better have a wrist brace on them or be close to a doctor. The blades are VERY aggressive in the hard clear 14 inch ice I was on. The drill had to be lifted and cleared multiple times to get through and stuck in every hole I drilled, new or reopening. It did ok reopening holes but its a chipper so it should. The hole is smaller than my Ion and I could tell because regardless of having reverse I still use a slush copter that eliminates skimming totally and the copter barely went down the hole. I had to force it in most holes. It's a very small difference but when 8 inches is no longer 8, but 7 3/4 inches, it was noticeable. My Ion has flat blades that shaves ice into fine snow cone consistency and never jams and seldom has to be lifted up. Ion goes straight through better also without jerking or stopping at the bottom like K Drill did.I think the K Drill would probably do better on a Clam plate or similar handle style outfit that would not torgue your wrist as much as a drill with a handle. I was using a Milwaukee Fuel drill like recommended with a full charge. If I was starting over, had a GOOD drill, then maybe a $200 drill would look better to me than a $600 Ion but no way will I be getting rid of the Ion to get a K Drill. I would love to see this K Drill with an Ion/Eskimo style blade system, that would be a winner and could be the reason that the Nils people are so happy. Bottom line is I think the blades are just a little too aggressive. I'm sure not bashing K Drill, just sharing my experience on a single days try. Plus an extension is almost $60.

 

[Juan Grande]

Interesting Hawg, thanks for the review. The Nils cuts so smooth, never had to pull the auger out of the hole to clear it.  It cut at a fast and consistent pace every hole.