auger choices

[tracksnorth]

i am interested in purchasing a gas auger. I'm have come to the realization that i have been spending far too much time and energy punching holes by hand. id like to hear your opinions,in the market for an 8 inch

[adkRoy]

Strikemaster lazer mag express 8 inch. I love that thing.

[Mainedog]

Jiffy (Techumseh...older model) White Lightning w/ 8" blade.
Tanaka + 8" Nils.

[Scooby31]

Just get a hand nils and you'll be fine but I'm from western ny where the Ice is never to thick.

[kyle1982]

i have to agree the nils is a sweet auger the best hand auger i have found

[tightliner812]

Jiffy pro 4 or pro 4 lite . I have the pro 4 and love it. No gas smell on your close all day long after drilling holes . No gas to mix or mess with at all .

[mud_n_fun]

In 10yrs I'll be able to answer this question. Bought the Strikemaster Honda lite last year. Awesome auger. Sold my 10yr old Lazar mag this fall that worked perfect. Just wanted to go 4 stroke and the upgrade was worth it. A four stroke runs so much better than a 2 stroke in cold conditions.

[ducati]

I have a 8" Nils and I really like it and have no intentions of having another gas auger but make no mistake, as good as the Nils is, it isn't as good as a power auger.  The only reason I got rid of the Eskimo and went with the handauger is because I don't drill nearly as much as I use to, I wanted to lighten my gear and I no longer felt like dealing with another motorized piece of equipment.  If I were to get another power auger it would be electric.

[mud_n_fun]

I do run a Rigid cordless drill and a Nils before I break out the power auger.

[Idahogator]

If it has to be gas then Eskimo and Amsoil Sabre 100:1   100% synthetic lubricant (contains stabilizer) .


Proud member of Fraternal Order of Eskimo Auger Owners.   

See it here :    http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=152698.0

StingRay 33 CC:  http://www.glensoutdoors.com/fishing/ice-fishing/ice-augers/eskimo-sting-ray-33cc-8in-power-ice-auger.html

[filetandrelease]

Strikemaster lazer mag express 8 inch. I love that thing.

X2 my lazer mag  is 8 yrs old and runs like new ,

[Rebelss]

[lefty2053]

X 2 on the Eskimo's. The worlds best Eskimo Z71 With Hypercoil and Aluminum handles.

[mud_n_fun]

If it has to be gas then use Amsoil Sabre 100:1   100% synthetic lubricant (contains stabilizer)  if it is a 2 stroke.

I 100% agree!

[Baberuth]

when you say hand nils, do you mean the orange or blue nils 8"? I do have an ols White Lightning, still doing well, but want to add a hand auger.

[Scooby31]

I mean the blue one but I think they make an orange one that comes with a handle and a adapter for a cordless drill if you wanted to go that route.

[Baberuth]

Thanks Scooby. I won't mind cranking a few with a good hand auger, especially when doing a few scout holes a distance from our ice central or adding a few jig holes while the power auger does all the tip up holes.

[tracksnorth]

Ended up purchasing a strike aster laser pro 8 inch

[Tikkaman]

I use a 8" jiffy model 30 that's about 12 years old. On the cold days I fire it up @ home before I head out to avoid wasting time on the lake.  My father in law bought a honda strike master 4 stroke this year and that thing really purrs

[Detcuse]

I've only ever had the strike master mag 2000, but it's never let me down.

[fish8mybait]

X2 my lazer mag  is 8 yrs old and runs like new ,

X3 Have had mine for 6 years and starts after two pulls. Great auger.

[fowl_language]

Depends on what you want to do with it.  I came to that realization year before last, I move around a lot, like to find fish.  So I needed a power auger, but I live in a part of the country that if I get over 8" of ice I am lucky.

So I opted to get the most affordable 8" I could find.  I picked up a Eskimo Stingray 33cc 8".  Only problem I've had with it was a storage problem shrinking a gasket that held the gas intake to the carburetor.  Easy fix and still runs like a champ.  For the price and how much ice I need to drill it does exactly what I need it to.  My buddy always calls it the "slowest auger on the face of the earth" but none the less I drill hole after hole with it, and it's as sharp as the day I bought it.

If I lived in an area that 15" ice or greater was common I might upgrade to an auger with a faster rate (probably mako M43) after awhile.  It seems that the price of stingray's have went up over the last year, being that you can get the mako for about the same as the stingray I would recommend that because of the 30:1 ratio instead of 50:1 and the great cost! Apparently you can get them for under $300 now.

http://www.landmsupply.com/department/sporting-goods/ice-fishing/augers/eskimo/eskimo-mako-43cc-8-quantum-ice-auger

[Rebelss]

Had my Stingray for 9 years now, and not a hitch. As for slow, not too sure about that, I've whipped a few other augers with mine by a fair amount. I usually am drilling 18" of ice and more. If 10 seconds drilling a hole really matters to a person, maybe they need to relax a bit. 

[fowl_language]

lol I've never beat anybody to the bottom with my stingray, unless they have a hand auger . But I agree it's not a race, I would rather have reliability over speed.  Maybe I just have a slow one.

[riverfisherman]

Nils hand or power auger. I have the hand auger wanted to lighten the load. They drill so easy anyway. 

[fishbowl69]

Jiffy pro 4 for me.  Its so easy to summerize just unhook the tank. You don't have to deal with gas  the only way to go

[taubros]

Lazer mag with amsoil sabre 50:1 works find starts better and never spit oil. Not sure if I would do 100:1 like some though

[tracksnorth]

I've heard that the nils augers are about as good as it gets.

[Jermyhiney]

I got the new strike master chipper lite. Runs well, not the fastest out there either but who cares, right? I run amsoil sabre in it. It was easy on the wallet as well and not a chore to lug around.

[jwetovick]

Personally, I was after the lightest setup I could find a gas motor in. After luggin around the ol model 30 i needed a change. So, after months of reading reviews i went with the Tanaka with a Mora auger. By far, the best decision I've made on any ice fishing gear. I think people must get scared away from having to buy an adapater, etc. Truth is, i got my Tanaka power head for under $330 (refurbished which still looks brand new and will still outlast 95% of the china made motors out there) shipped to my door, 8in mora was $59, adapter was $20. Have $410 into this thing and it will flat out destroy ice but more importantly is very lightweight! Sips gas too. I was always a fan of my buddy's pro4 but after using both there is absolutely no question which is the better one for me. Propane is nice, but also weighs 40lbs with a tank on it. Pro4 lite is obviously lighter than pro4 but still not near as light as the tanaka setup. Ok, enough about the tanaka. Good luck deciding.