power augers

I know somebody the other day mentioned ION blades break. They do when not properly used.  Buddy snapped one of his blades drilling out old holes. I told him lets not do that anymore.

No issues with my ION, battery or its blades over the past couple seasons.

I have switched to a home depot rigid 18 volt with 6 in lazer.. AWESOME I fish the castle rock alot shot lost of Holes never ran out of battery ... My 13 year old son now can cut holes too...Bouns I used it to rebuild my deck and other projects... Well worth the money plus no gas and pulling till my arms get tired and gas on my hands... G O ELECTRIC....

Love my Ion.  I'm also a weekend guy and 20 holes is a lot for me.  It has changed the way I fish.

I love my strikemaster 40v lazer.

Everyone has their favorites and style of fishing but I switch from my 30 year old Jiffy to a Eskimo Pistol bit 8" attached to my Milwaukee M18 drill.  Amazing how much faster it cuts and doesn't take up nearly the space or weight in my truck or UTV. I'm a casual weekend fisherman maybe 15-20 holes a day.  I don't think i'd ever go back to a heavy gas fueled drill 

The Ion has been so good to me. Had it 7 years. Never once has it not started and never once have I run out of battery. Have the 10 inch and 8 inch bit. Interchangeable.  This is in the northwoods too where it's cold! And, to think the new model is even better. 100 trips probably with the thing. 5 dollars a trip. A steal! Or, about 80 bucks a year....that's only one month of cable TV. Two rounds of golf....Not a bad deal at all. Never have to buy gas. It's light and easy to carry. No exhaust fumes. Starts instantly. Fits nicely in the sled. Quiet. And, they will make an even better model in a year or two I bet. 

If I had an old gas auger, I'd keep using it. But, if it was heavy, or it gave me hassle, I don't know...unless I was drilling holes without really moving around, or if I was purposely getting an arm workout, I would probably look at the guy next to me with the Ion and start saving up my money. To each their own, but I just don't see how gas augers can survive in the market too much longer. 

Perchhound, 30+ year Jiffy also that's so reliable I cant part with it. Been thinking of upgrading to modern tech ice drills, but cant justify dozen x's I go out each winter. my neighbor wont let me use his Ion due to fear of breaking it tells me more than I need to know.

I've run my 10" strikemaster solo chipper for 10 years now. Had to replace the transmission last year due to a broken gear, but other than that its been a great machine. If I had to buy a new one tomorrow I would buy an ion x. You couldn't pay me to mess about with k drills, clam plates, and cobbling cordless drills into a makeshift auger, doing that costs as much as buying an ion.

My Jiffy is over 30 years old and runs like new.  When they made them tough like that hard to think about anything new.

I have a 4g 4 stroke jiffy , 46 xtreme propane auger and the new e6 lightning. I can say the 49cc 4g 4 stroke out drills every auger I've seen on the ice period. But I prefer using the the 49cc 46 xtreme propane just cause easier to carry a extra propane bottle than a gas can. But all jiffy augers I own work great. I've have owned strikemaster and ion augers the huge difference from jiffy is the blade. My jiffy stx 10" bit blades still sharp after 12 years and the ion blades crack at the screw hole witch ruins your trip and strikemaster go dull quick. Jiffy has a brand new website with demos that are like close to half price and are used at sport shows and by pro staff like larr y Smith, Gillespie etc. I fish from se Wisconsin to lotw and only ion and strikemaster augers have been a problem. Was on the Mississippi river 3 years ago driving atv at 15-20 mph my jiffy 4g fell out of the sled i was towing and the jiffy still  works like new. Also jiffy s metal.handles protect the motor better. Fishing buddy has my old ion and leaned it against his tailgate and while backing his at v off his trailer the ion cell on hitch receiver and crack went the handle. Glad I sold it.

I won't ever plan on getting rid of my Eskimo Shark gas auger, but I would love to trade someone my 8" drill for someone that has a 10."  I would only plan on using it if the ice ever gets too thick for my battery powered drill, or for when I fish trophy northern, which is maybe once a year, if that.  i haven't run my gas auger in 3 years, maybe even 4 now.  Don't need it down near Madison.  The ice hasn't been over 15 inches thick since 2014!

Used my jiffy to put in a clothes line this summer, ice is soft compared to clay/rock! I don't see a point in getting rid of it when you can barely even give them away these days. I'll never bring it on the ice again though. 

The ice is different every year. Some guys reported having to use their spud to chip out the last inches, to fish a spot when their gas auger bottomed out. Technology marches on but use what you got until you have to use something else. Getting my new auger many years ago meant that the old, much heavier old auger got left behind on trips. I still start out with a hand auger every year. When that gets too difficult I move to my battery drill with the hand auger bit on it, and finally to gas. Even then, having a spud along seems a good idea.

Great topic.  I switched to propane 3yrs ago because my gas auger kept breaking down.  I fish every weekend from when the ice is safe to close.  My “home lake” has muskie and big smallies.  Yes Muskie is closed and we do not it target them But get a couple by accident and have caught 1-2 smallies over 20 each year and those fish don’t fit in an 6in hole!  Can’t wait for the ice to come!