The ION Files (Battery operated Ice Auger)

I have an attachment for my cordless drill so I can attach my 6" Lazer auger to it. I believe the drill is an 18 volt. I get a good number of holes out of it but nothing like the Ion drills. I know that the batteries in the Ions are different in design as they appear to not lose power when cold like my drill batteries do. However, all batteries have a finite life. Is the battery in the Ion drills replaceable as they age and lose charge faster? How much do the batteries cost?

Another nice day with the ION. Drilled 9 holes through 20-23 inches of ice. Left the auger out and after 4 hours it still had full charge. I don't think the cold is a huge issue unless it's extreme. Usually I put the battery in my pocket or the truck, but today I set the auger down and didn't get around to keeping it warm like usual.

Good idea icemore. I have an Ion too and I did my homework and found out that the battery they give you should be good enough. Just have to baby it some but what auger battery doesn't have to be babied. We payed a good price for this auger so it should be good the way it is without anymore investment. I drilled about 40 holes last Sunday and it worked just find.

I just got a new ion after Christmas. Tried it out cutting holes as I moved to deeper water looking for fish. I must of cut 40 holes I 14in of ice the batter was only a 1/3 down. If you need to cut more holes you can get a second battery at Fleet Farm $150. I decided o wait to see how far the first battery would take me.

I was concerned about it being too short. I'm 6 foot 2, but it was actually quite easy to drill and I didn't have to hunch over like I thought I would. That's through 18-19 inches of ice. It has the extra 1 foot extension if need be as well. I really thought I'd end up on my knees or something, but it wasn't the case so far. It fits in the sled so nice too, that's a huge advantage.

if your short this is the auger for you...

How did I become the OP? Did someone get the boot and I was bumped up by default?

It is nice to not mess around with those picky carburators on the the Gas powered augers. I watched a guy pulling on the cord for at least 15 minutes. He said that his arm was very sore. I helped him out and drilled about 10 holes for him.

The throttle and the safety switch on the auger are plastic. It will be interesting to see if they last long. They are working just fine right now.

Drilled 24 holes in 14 inches of ice with temps in single digits fishing for 40 years and this is the sweetest drill I ever used. Takes all the work out of drilling because the unit is so light. This drill will allow me to fish until I am old and gray. Might already be there but what a great tool. If you looking for a new auger don't overlook this one. It's a winner.

Drilled 50 holes through 12 inches of ice in 25-30 degree weather last Saturday. Thank God that this auger is light because I would have been pretty tired after drilling 50 holes with the heavier augers. This one only weights 21 pounds. Had two-thirds of charge at the end of the day. It took me 30 seconds to disconnect the battery and toss it in a cooler between drillings. No inconvenience at all. We can post all the positives that we want this year but the real test will be to see if this battery lasts at least 3 years with all the holes that I drill in a season.....Gforce.

First time using the ION today and I was very impressed. So easy to carry around. Very easy to pull in my sled, it fit well and hardly felt like it was there. And, it drilled very well and the quietness was nice. I drilled 9 holes through 19 inches of ice and was still on 3 dots when I was done. It drilled just as good as ever and could have certainly kept going and going. I almost wanted to drill more I was having so much fun. I kept the battery in my jacket pocket. Yes, it's that small. A few questions for fellow ION users. Why does the manual make it so clear to pull off the battery when not in use? Is it using the charge when it's on or is this more of a safety feature in case somebody would hit the trigger? Also, does it matter which direction the ION is set down on the ice? Do you charge the battery even if it's still on 3 dots at the end of use? I did. Does the battery need to be stored upright or does it make no difference? Great auger so far! All the benefits that I imagined.

This year I pretty much got one Christmas present...but it was the 8 inch ION! I am pumped. I did a lot of research before asking for this. It's rare to see this, but almost every review I read online (and I read a lot) was very positive. It was hard to find somebody dissapointed. It may die in very cold weather, or lose a charge after 40 holes, but for me, it's going to be 1. Get to the lake. 2. Drill 9-15 holes off the bat. 3. Get out the Ion a couple of hours later and drill a few more. I'll be fine. I don't usually stay on the ice all day and if it's super cold, the Ion will go in the truck. I am really happy to not have to pull cords. I rarely fish in groups bigger than 3 and am often either just by myself or with one other. For somebody that fishes all day in very cold weather or drills more than 40 holes through more than 24 inches of ice, maybe the Ion won't work for them. For me, this auger makes sense, especially the weight as I like to go into places where there is some walking involved.

I have the 6" version and used it four times this year. First day left it in truck to keep warm. Tuesday left it out all afternoon with a temperature of eight degrees. Drilled thirty holes in 15" of ice and still showing full charge. On the way home plugged cold battery into a 85 watt inverter in truck. This was sufficient to charge battery. Left battery in truck overnight in below zero weather and placed on charger this morning. Too cold error flashed for about two minutes before battery began charging. Awesome for panfishing. If I was still popping a hundred holes a day on Petenwell for walleyes would be a different story. Just like power tools. Electrics are convenient but not always the ticket for biggest jobs. Being able to charge from truck,light weight and quiet this is the way to go. I had been using an 18V system and four batteries with a 5" mora. Could only punch four to eight holes per battery then put the manual handle back on. Wont ever be using that again.

you can if you hook up to it like Toyota did the spaceship. heck you could pull it with a ford tempo with that rig since none of the weight is actually on the truck.

1.5 hp or 10 hp. It doesn't matter! Everything has to do with the gear ratio! A 1 hp motor can spin and cut just as fast as a 4 hp if the gearing is good. Look at semi/ tractor-trailer engines. A lot of pick up trucks have more hp than some semis. But can your silverado pull 20,000 lbs? It all has to do with the gearing.