Clam Ice Auger/Cordless Drill Review

[icefishingluva]

I am using the orange one with great results. ice is like hot butter with the Milwaukee drill. Just got the makita drill from Amazon yesterday and will be trying it out this weekend. My pro 4 is becoming a paper weight because the cordless setup is so good. I will only use it for tip ups and thick late season ice from now on.

I'm excited to hear how that Makita works out for you!! Over 1,000 in/lbs of torque.... Might be the drill to put on it!

[holehopper]

I'll keep you guys posted on my experience with this set up this year.  I've been using it here locally and have been very impressed so far.   However, running through about 8 inches of ice at this point so anything probably would work well.  I will be taking this with me to Lake of the Woods the first weekend of January and then to Winnibigoshish in late February with plenty of local ice trips in between.  I would not have purchased this unit without first hand knowledge from a guy who ran it all last year very successfully.  We had 3 feet plus of ice here last year (exceptionally cold year) and he had 0 issues.  I don't consider him a "run and gun" guy but he had no trouble drilling as many holes as needed last year with a Ridgid drill and 3 ah battery (6 inch Lazer bit).  Thanks everyone for all the comments both pro and con.  I'll get you some feedback once I have more time with it and under some more "strenuous" conditions. 

[prospector]

I'm excited to hear how that Makita works out for you!! Over 1,000 in/lbs of torque.... Might be the drill to put on it!

Put it to some wood today and it did well. Can't say it is better than the Milwaukee yet. One thing that is possibly a better setup is that the handle is much longer than the m18. I am still not sold on the clam drill plate. Not saying it isn't great, but in my line of work, I drill holes in wood that have significantly more torque than a few feet of ice. My corded hole hawg can rip your arms off, yet the m18 can drill just as good. I think a 2 9/16" hole in pine is harder on a drill than an 8" hole in ice. How much does the clam plate weigh? I am into ultralight backpacking and have a habit of counting ounces.

[Damn Yankee]

Put it to some wood today and it did well. Can't say it is better than the Milwaukee yet. One thing that is possibly a better setup is that the handle is much longer than the m18. I am still not sold on the clam drill plate. Not saying it isn't great, but in my line of work, I drill holes in wood that have significantly more torque than a few feet of ice. My corded hole hawg can rip your arms off, yet the m18 can drill just as good. I think a 2 9/16" hole in pine is harder on a drill than an 8" hole in ice. How much does the clam plate weigh? I am into ultralight backpacking and have a habit of counting ounces.

The Clam drill plate weighs 77 ounces (4lbs 13 ounces). You remove the chuck from your drill (9 ounces) so the ready to go Clam plate is 4 pounds 4 ounces. 
Clam says the unit is 6 pounds but that is the shipping weight.

[Shack man Shoney]

Put it to some wood today and it did well. Can't say it is better than the Milwaukee yet. One thing that is possibly a better setup is that the handle is much longer than the m18. I am still not sold on the clam drill plate. Not saying it isn't great, but in my line of work, I drill holes in wood that have significantly more torque than a few feet of ice. My corded hole hawg can rip your arms off, yet the m18 can drill just as good. I think a 2 9/16" hole in pine is harder on a drill than an 8" hole in ice. How much does the clam plate weigh? I am into ultralight backpacking and have a habit of counting ounces.

Prospector I am very interested in how this works for you as well that Makita sounds like a beast to me. I would highly recommend the clam plate especially for a drill with that much torque. Most of the guys that bash on the clam plate on this site are using the lower torque Ridgid drills. The plate is only a few pounds and can save you from bringing home a bucket of broken drill if the auger catches, instead of a bucket full of keepers..... Just my 2c

[fishm_n]

I am curious and would like to see a side by side of Mora vs Lazer on the drill.

[1moslab]

i would too,and maybe up or down a size too.i can see how the plate will help the smaller guys especially on slippery ice but I also try to shave whatever weight I can too.

[XN]

I'm excited to hear how that Makita works out for you!! Over 1,000 in/lbs of torque.... Might be the drill to put on it!

I also got the makita can't wait to try it out with my 8" nils  Home depot has a great deal going on $150 off the XT257M kit I got a radio for 99 and ended up paying 329+tx

[Fisherman-Andy]

Are you guys having issues with the auger binding at the bottom right before the break through?  With the clam 6" auger this is pretty consistent.  I've also notice the clam 6" auger has a power point.

I have an 8" strikemaster lazer havent tried it yet.  But was looking to get a 7" mora or 7" lazer.  I hear the mora's dont bind up at the bottom before break through but the lazer style blade augers do.

[madball13]

Can anyone recommend a drill in the $100-$150 price range that works fairly well? Only plan to drill 10-20 holes per outing.
Thanks

[Shack man Shoney]

Can anyone recommend a drill in the $100-$150 price range that works fairly well? Only plan to drill 10-20 holes per outing.
Thanks

Look on amazon for a used kit..... I bet you can find a milwaukee 18v in that price range....

[kc_]

LOWES HAS SEVERAL DRILLS FOR LESS THAH 100 BUCKS.

[icefishingluva]

Has anyone used the new Dewalt 995 with the 4.0 amp/h batteries?  Just wondering how it does cutting and also with the batteries?

Thanks!

[kc_]

Year I used a 4 year old Dewalt 18 volt lithium. I got 150" of ice on a single battery

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Are you guys having issues with the auger binding at the bottom right before the break through?  With the clam 6" auger this is pretty consistent.  I've also notice the clam 6" auger has a power point.

I have an 8" strikemaster lazer havent tried it yet.  But was looking to get a 7" mora or 7" lazer.  I hear the mora's dont bind up at the bottom before break through but the lazer style blade augers do.

Have you tried pulling up when drilling the last bit of hole before  break through? I started to do that and solved my problem.

[fishm_n]

Has anyone used the new Dewalt 995 with the 4.0 amp/h batteries?  Just wondering how it does cutting and also with the batteries?

Thanks!

   

That's the one I use. The drill is awsome!!!!   I got a lot of holes and didn't phase the battery on leso than 10 inches of ice.

[XN]

The makita drill is a monster! 8" nils we drilled 25-30 (lost track) holes in 6-7" of ice and it still showed a full charge.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I am curious and would like to see a side by side of Mora vs Lazer on the drill.

Been there done that. Both drill well. The lazer is quite a bit faster. However it will catch at the bottom when breaking through unless you lift up on break through. The Mora will break through nice but is a touch slower.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

The makita drill is a monster! 8" nils we drilled 25-30 (lost track) holes in 6-7" of ice and it still showed a full charge.

Nice, I hope my 8in blue nils will work that well on my milwaukee fuel and clam plate.

[mags459]

XN isn't that stacking the deck a laser or Moro will not cut with a Nils😃. Worth every penny.

[Rather-B-Fishin]

Ok guys you have me interested!
A concern of mine has been the lithium batteries tolerance to the cold over the course of a full day.
I remember reading that extreme temperatures really impact the lithium batteries.
Any issues because of that?
I down sized from a hand lazer 10" to a 6" lazer for 90% of my fishing, a third of the work and have yet to see an issue with even larger bass or trout. Northerns and lakers I will stick with the 10".
I like to go light anymore for ease of mobility, run and gun.

[Shack man Shoney]

Ok guys you have me interested!
A concern of mine has been the lithium batteries tolerance to the cold over the course of a full day.
I remember reading that extreme temperatures really impact the lithium batteries.
Any issues because of that?
I down sized from a hand lazer 10" to a 6" lazer for 90% of my fishing, a third of the work and have yet to see an issue with even larger bass or trout. Northerns and lakers I will stick with the 10".
I like to go light anymore for ease of mobility, run and gun.

I do not agree with the poor performance of the lithium batteries... In fact I feel that they provide superior performance if you buy a quality brand. I managed 44 holes through 16" of ice last winter with 1 4ah Milwaukee 18v on a morning that was 0 degrees. I do not keep my drill or batteries warm, In fact they both rode in the back of the pickup to the lake that morning. There is ALOT of misinformation out there, the new brushless drill technology is awesome and the new battery technology is fantastic

[Rather-B-Fishin]

shack man , thanks for the info!
I might actually give it a try, I use bosch and have both an impact driver and drill
just have to find a good adapter

[fishm_n]

There are several on line, or you could make one out of current drill attachments

[icefishingluva]

   

That's the one I use. The drill is awsome!!!!   I got a lot of holes and didn't phase the battery on leso than 10 inches of ice.

I'm glad to hear!! Probably will be purchasing that one..

[icefishingluva]

So I already have a dewalt dc790 drill that puts out about 450 in/lbs of torque.  My question for you guys out there do you think this will be a good enough drill?  I already have one 4 am/h battery, and have found a sale where I could buy two 5 am/h batteries for around $150.  If this drill is capable of getting the job done I would much rather just buy two batteries and save some money! haha also would be using a 6 inch bit, and be drilling quite a few holes..

[fishm_n]

I hear that is a good drill.

[Monticatgeek]

So I already have a dewalt dc790 drill that puts out about 450 in/lbs of torque.  My question for you guys out there do you think this will be a good enough drill?  I already have one 4 am/h battery, and have found a sale where I could buy two 5 am/h batteries for around $150.  If this drill is capable of getting the job done I would much rather just buy two batteries and save some money! haha also would be using a 6 inch bit, and be drilling quite a few holes..

the 700 series dewalts are a little light duty for the plate. since you already have the battery and charger you can pick up a bare 900 series dewalt for like $125 to $175 depending on where you get it from. I made the mistake last year of using a dewalt 771 with the plate and came to find that the drill was under powered and it started to burn the brushes. this year I bought a bare dewalt 995 and used the batteries I already have from the 771 (I bought a 2 pack of the 3 AH batteries) and have had alot better results. I haven't even brought out the gas auger yet this year. this has now became my main auger this year so far unless things get really thick later in the season then I might bring out the gas auger.

[icefishingluva]

the 700 series dewalts are a little light duty for the plate. since you already have the battery and charger you can pick up a bare 900 series dewalt for like $125 to $175 depending on where you get it from. I made the mistake last year of using a dewalt 771 with the plate and came to find that the drill was under powered and it started to burn the brushes. this year I bought a bare dewalt 995 and used the batteries I already have from the 771 (I bought a 2 pack of the 3 AH batteries) and have had alot better results. I haven't even brought out the gas auger yet this year. this has now became my main auger this year so far unless things get really thick later in the season then I might bring out the gas auger.

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it!! The only problem is I only have (1) 4 am/hr batter and would likely need around 3 for all the holes I drill each outing.  The 790 is a brushless drill, however you still would suggest moving up to the 900 series?

[rdhammah]

This really has me thinking hard about trying this out next year.  The question I have for you guys is that 6 inch hole.  I mainly fish for perch, crappies, and some occasional bluegill and walleye, but the majority being perch.  Do you guys think that the 6 inch hole would be that big of a factor?  I rarely go for big walleyes, and if I do would just use my fishing pals 8 inch.  Also, I'm in the neck of the woods where ice gets up to 2 feet of ice, but still, the fact that this unit weighs 13 lbs....we drill a lot of holes and weight is definitely a factor after the 40th hole.  Just wondering what everyone's opinion is....

1) Is 6 inch hole big enough for perch, crappie, and occasional 14-18 inch walleye?

2) Would unit be worth it with 3 batteries going through 24" of ice?

Thanks!

I  had a 2 pound crappie come out of a 6" hole last year. was tight, it made it.