Ice Auger

Is there anything better than an ION R1 8 inch? I've had a lazermag for 15 years but she's tired. Only interested in a battery powered auger. Done with gas.

I bought the Jiffy Torch 8" and a Dewalt 20V brushless drill this year as a Christmas present to myself.  Cuts great even with ice 20"+.  All I can say is get the biggest AmpHour batteries you can afford as they will last the longest no matter what you go with.

Thanks much.         CARPIO 

I got an ION 40V 8" 4 years ago and it lives in the backseat of my Silverado in the winter. The battery is brought in for a charge after every use. The Jiffy stays in the garage. Couldn't be happier.....

I sold my eskimo propane and bought a 24v strikemaster last year...its a great feeling to carry your auger vexilar and jig rod with 1 hand and a buschhhh light in the other lol

Never use the hammer function of your drill no matter which bit you're using, none require it.

The only reason some recommend the hammer drill over a standard drill is the gearing of the hammer drill are suppose to be more heavy duty.

Low gear, non-hammer, is the only way to use the auger no matter what the model.

Started using the 8" eskimo pistol bit this year, slow speed on drill setting. Seems to work fine.

I just purchased a 6” ESKIMO PISTOL BIT auger and was wondering if it is necessary to use the HAMMER function on my RIDGID 18v drill?     I have a couple of LAZER drills that require that hammer function but it sounds like that pounding isn’t necessary with the ESKIMO.     I googled the drill but the info wasn’t clear .       Thanks.    CARPIO 

Sure is a lot of people using this scam then!

Had a 8" K-drill on Clam plate and liked it, only complaint is it's horribly inefficient and burns through batteries fast.

Have a 6" Lite-Flight direct on the same MKE now with no plate amd couldn't be happier. Burned through two 9AH batteries yesterday in a derby looking for fish. That's a pile of holes and couldn't be happier with it!

All these augers with plastic flights are a scam. They make them light so you can put them directly into a chuck and not have too much torsion on your chuck. 

Get a regular old mora or lazer, the clam drill plate and an m18fuel and never look back. 

The flighting on the steel auger bit will punch through the bottom layer much better than the plastic flighting of a k drill or light flight

I've got the Dewalt/Clam plate set up with an 8" Lazer hand auger. Wow. Like 1/3rd the weight of my 3hp Jiffy and probably 3x as fast. Saw a guy on Saturday with a K drill and it looked like he was having a pretty tough time getting through. 

This is no contest. The Milwaukee Fuel drill and a 6 or 8" Strikemaster liteflight drill. So light and fast.  I have an Ion its better than gas but can't compare to this combo. The K Drill is okay but doesn't cut nearly as well as the Strikemaster. 

I purchased an 8in 24v this year absolutely love it..at 13lbs I can easily carry it with 1 hand through any conditions.. cuts fast and cuts well through 7in of ice 1 day we drilled 50-60 holes and battery read half full. Last 2 times out I didn't charge battery and still had over 25% when I got home.  I was originally going to shell out the 80 bucks for a second battery but honestly don't believe its necessary.  I was lucky enough to find mine for 299 at farm and fleet mid season. Recently sold my hc40

Gobbler how long g and how many holes can you drill with the 40v? Anyone  have the 24v for comparison? 

40v strikmaster excellent very happy but boy that 24 volt strikmaster is real light, I would go with that. 

I like my Milwaukee fuel on a Clam conversion plate. Put any decent auger on it and you have a tool you can use the rest of the year. Cuts faster than an 8" Ion . My 8" strike master Laser auger is still cutting after 3 years on the blades. Picked up a couple spares last year and haven't taken them out of the package.