Best Brushless drill for ice augers

Looking at retiring my strikemaster gas powered auger and go with the new lite flight and a cordless drill. Any recommendations as to a brush-less drill that has worked well and reliable in cold weather?

Thanks and good fishing to all.

Can't  comment on which one to buy. I don't have a brushless drill...yet.

I have an older(6 years) Ridgid drill/impact gun set. They come with a Lifetime Service Agreement. They both recently crapped out for the 2nd time. I went into looking for maybe ditching them and getting into a set of Milwaukee M18 brushless.(5 year warranty) When I discovered that the next gen Ridgid(brushless) uses the same battery I have, I took them in for repair. Found out that once the drill is either past a certain age or replacement parts are no longer available, I will get the brushless model to replace it. (How's that for a warranty?) 

Kind of went off topic here. Sorry. You're gonna get as many answers/opinions as there are brands out there. 

Tim

If you don't want the hammer drill option (DCD 996) because you will never use it (you use drill mode, not hammer mode with an ice auger) i'd recommend getting the DCD 991 by DeWalt.  It's the same torque rating as the 996, but without the hammer option (though, technically, DeWalt doesn't use "torque" rating for their drills).  It'll save you about 50-100 bucks.  I've had it going on 4 years now and it cuts way faster than my gas auger does!  I've used a 5, 6, and 8 inch on it.  I highly recommend the Clam Plate because there's so much torque in those drills.

I have been using a Milwaukee M18 Fuel with 9 ah battery for last  two years.  Works great.

Love my cordless set-ups too, but I'll never sell the old 9" Jiffy Model 30 with Tecumseh motor. It's was my dads before mine and is super reliable to this day. Barks and throws ice like crazy, just don't like lugging it around all the time.

It will still be the auger of choice for those trips to Erie, hard enough to get them turned into a 9" hole, not messing with anything smaller. Blowing holes through thick ice in MN and ND it still shines too.

I went with the Dewalt hammerdrill DCD996 20V.  Found a kit with the impact driver plus picked up a free 5 AMP battery with it.  Thing cuts like a hot knife through butter.  I may soon have a gas auger on Marketplace

I use a small soft sided cooler bag I got at a trade show once and put batteries there there along with something like this if bitterly cold. I always carry a few along because they are so handy! Hand warmer, flashlight, phone charger it's a nice tool to have along.

I use the 2803-20 M18 Drill from Milwaukee Tool. It is rated to 1200 in-lbs of torque. I had 2704 that I use at the house and didn't want to make it a dual purpose so I went with this one. A lot of guys get the hammer 2804-20, but I didn't see a need for the hammer part if you're only using the drill anyways. I cut all day long with it. I do carry 2 batteries. One is there strictly for back up use. I modified an old lunch box style cooler, and placed foam inserts that I machined to fit the batteries to keep them warm. 

Ulbian made a great point,  if you go smaller,  expect the drill to work harder and batteries discharge quicker.  I know many that tried their home use drill.  Some will work,  others will work but don't have the balls.  There is a good chance it won't, just look at the ratings.  

It all depends on your fishing style.  I'll dig 10 holes,  fish em all, move.  some days I may dig 100 holes and not find fish.  If you don't do that,  some home drills will probably server the purpose.

My drills just dies,  its not a progressive thing.  you won't see lack of power as you drill.  it will just die mid hole.  So don't be caught without a spare battery.

I'd go with Milwaukee or Dewalt.  Either one will work well.  If you're trying to save money than the Rigid brushless is the way to go and has solid ratings.  I've pretty much upgraded either drills or batteries every year recently until the point where I got my new drill for a really good price.  I'm currently using a Dewalt brushless Flexvolt 60V and it works very well.

As a general rule you want 100 pounds of torque per inch of hole. So a 6 inch hole means you’d want something 600lbs or bigger. 8 inch hole would be 800lbs or bigger. 

Auger size and type play a huge role in this. A flat shaver (mora type) blade doesn’t need as much torque as a chipper (k-drill) blade does. Sure, you could go small in terms of torque and still cut holes with that drill but the drill will take a beating and more than likely crap out on you sooner. 

Makita, Rigid, and Milwaukee all have brushless hammer drills in excess of 1000 lbs of torque.  Dang near every other brand has a brushless hammer drill in the 700+ range. I’m aware of guys who have been using MasterForce (Menard’s generic brand) drill’s and they’ve worked fine. They aren’t over burdening the drill. 

If you already have a set of cordless tools look to find a drill from that company you are already invested in and match up the specs for the bit you’ll be using.  No real point in jumping onto another battery platform if you are on one already. 

I also use the Milwaukee m 18 they are talking about. It works great, so that's what I recommend.

I don't agree either, spend the couple extra bucks and get the 1200 in-pounds of torque. The Milwaukee M18  Fuel 1/2" hammer drill (model 2704 or newer 2804) is probably the most popular.

I run all Milwaukee for everything work and play.  For the auger i have the M28 and it's going on year 8 with no issues and still the same batteries.  It's cut thousands of holes. I take that back,  I replaced my backup battery cause I thought it was discharging faster.  That was a few years back.

I know guys with dewalt that say the same.   I personally wouldn't pinch the pennies and buy anything different.

I know many with the new m18 fuel and they kick azz. 

Prior poster said anything 750....I don't agree.  

Any brushless drill with 750# of torque will give you what you need. Dewalt and Milwaukee are the best known brands and Rigid has an exceptional warranty. I've run the Milwaukee M18 fuel for 3 years now and have no complaints.