IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Equipment => Topic started by: DEVILSMAINEIAC on Dec 06, 2018, 02:12 PM
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What are your thoughts the battery augers? What do you like better?
I've used the ION, works great, but only comes with 1 battery. I've heard ppl like the Strikemaster that comes with an extra battery an is only a little more. Just looking for opinions b4 I buy. Any input on other brands will be great!!!!
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I have the Ion X. I love it and would do it all over again. I had many reasons for buying it over a gas auger. I will say the reverse is nice but hasn't worked as well as they say. A battery is full at 3/3 charges, I cut about 28 holes through 20" of ice, and only went down to 2/3 on the charge. I would recommend in the 8"
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don't forget about trophy strike.
https://trophystrike.com/product-category/auger/
i use drills on hand augers.
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And if you want even more power than drills or the ION or Lazer, look at the Milwaukee Fuel M18 :
- Mud Mixer
- Hole Hawg
- and the mother of all the Super Hawg
They all have a great form factor and an internal gear box that reduces RPMs and increases torque.
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I have had the 8" Ion for a couple years and am very happy with it so far. Most areas I fish I have gps'd so don't drill a lot of holes in a day any more. Reverse is nice when I fishing in the shack............and no smoke or PIA trying to start.
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Watching YouTube, the strikemaster cuts faster and cabelas has them with an extra battery might be leaning towards that one.
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I have a two year old 10" Strikemaster and love it. Mine only came with one battery.
Last year I had the sled packed full and the auger rolled off and landed battery first on the ice. The battery broke into two pieces. One call to customer service and they replaced it for free. Only cost me shipping to send the old battery back.
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I have had the Ion (I think second generation, no reverse) for about 5 years now and love it. My only complaint is the blades. Watch out for dirty ice with those blades. I've been through several sets and they don't really re-sharpen well. They are relatively cheap to replace so I carry a spare set with me at all times. I've only ran out of juice on the battery once and I drilled more holes than I can count on almost 2 feet of ice. however, with that much ice we had the trucks out there and the rams have an outlet that I could charge the batter back up.
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I have an Ion 8” with reverse and it’s great. I have the upgraded x battery and cut many holes thru 4 foot of ice on Lake Winnepeg last March. Did have the charger in my pickup to recharge the battery once in awhile but auger worked great. Trying to pull slush out of 4 feet of ice now that’s a treat. Lol
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I got the Ion x last year and love it. Chose it over a gas auger because there is no maintenance and my buddy is constantly replacing gas caps, pull cords, and carburetors on his gas augers. I always put the battery in a warm cooler just to be safe on those really cold days in (not a big deal for me because I carried that cooler before the auger for my phone and spare gloves). Only noticed a loss in power once when I left the auger battery-down on the ice, but it was fine soon after.
Should mention I was originally going to buy the Strikemaster 40V, but they were sold out around me. I do not regret getting the Ion.
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Another ION guy here - no complaints with it at all.
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I have a Rapala 43cc auger & my buddy has an ION. I hardly use my auger now.
If I was to buy again it would be an ION.
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I’m a drill setup guy myself. But if I were to go dedicate electric auger, I’d go with strikemaster, they aren’t going to just disappear. Though the ion sounds like it’s going to stay, I’d sure hate to be in the same boat as the ice gator owners.
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Have the Ion x. Once you use one in a hard shack, there's no going back to old stinky. If the gas is a few seconds faster, who really cares. Reverse flush gets you fishing while the gas jockey is cleaning his slush out of the hole.
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I have the Ion X. I love it and would do it all over again. I had many reasons for buying it over a gas auger. I will say the reverse is nice but hasn't worked as well as they say. A battery is full at 3/3 charges, I cut about 28 holes through 20" of ice, and only went down to 2/3 on the charge. I would recommend in the 8"
So the battery gets her done all day in -20C? Been waiting for boxing day, I really want one.
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I got the ION X 8in as soon as I could order it, had 1 of the early ones that had the ice up issue on the bit (the replaced it no questions asked and quickly). Overall very happy with the auger, works great and never ran the battery dead yet. The most I drilled in a day was 30 holes thru 2ft of ice.
For smaller holes I had been using a 6in Laser hand auger attached to an older Dewalt hammerdrill (non brushless and old NiCD batteries), upgrade this year to a K-Drill with a M18 FUEL. So far I have got 50 holes on 1 battery with 50% left.
I do keep the batteries for the ION X and the M18 in a soft side cooler and when it will be very cold I will probably thru a small hand warmer in there just in case
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Strikemaster 40v for me.
Nothing but great things to say about it.
Not as light as my drill setup but I prefer the strikemaster. 8" hole and battery lasts all day
I dont have to carry it on me or keep warm. I let that auger sit out last season in sub zero temps and it worked flawlessly when I needed to pop more holes.
I never intend on using a gas auger again.
I posted a review on it last season.
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Was gonna ad to this thread that if Ion would come up with a 9” bit it would be Awesome.. 8” without hole covers does freeze in a lot quicker therefore losing hole diameter and 9 would be perfect.....👍
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Still happy with the X. I cut a lot of holes and have never worn the battery out yet but I've never had 4 feet of ice either. I don't even bother keeping it warm anymore. Slush sucks but it sucks for all augers, electric or gas. I never really cared much about the reverse for clearing out slush as it never seemed to work that great. But after playing around with it if you are lined up perfectly with the ice hole and the the auger isnt banging off the sides, it blows out 99% of the slush.
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So the battery gets her done all day in -20C? Been waiting for boxing day, I really want one.
Yes. I've had mine out at or below -20 F, which Google tells me is about -28 C.
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TrophyStrike 120 volt unit.
Bought one last year and this thing is a beast.
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Yes. I've had mine out at or below -20 F, which Google tells me is about -28 C.
Sweet thanks!
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I just got to try the Jiffy E6 Lightning on Sunday, and it worked great. Our ice is only 6" right now so not much of a trial by fire. I can tell already though that the new Eskimo P1 Rocket that I got last year will be mothballed. The reverse worked good for slush too, I never had to scoop a hole. I have the 10" auger which is geared down to 24:1. Cuts really well so far.
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TrophyStrike 120 volt unit.
Bought one last year and this thing is a beast.
x2
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Was gonna ad to this thread that if Ion would come up with a 9” bit it would be Awesome.. 8” without hole covers does freeze in a lot quicker therefore losing hole diameter and 9 would be perfect.....👍
Jiffy E6 Lightning takes their 9 inch flite. The only 9 inch I know of.
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I do keep the batteries for the ION X and the M18 in a soft side cooler and when it will be very cold I will probably thru a small hand warmer in there just in case
Ditto. I toss in a non-insulated steel water bottle with some hot coffee in it.
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Jiffy E6 Lightning takes their 9 inch flite. The only 9 inch I know of.
I am the same. I got the Jiffy E6 in 8" and one thing for shire is the jiffy's blades last a lot longer then the rest do and the handles and auger all fit the gas and the E6 and jiffy has the most hole sizes out there. They are a very great company to work with if you have terrible with it. They been around a long time. And it was cheaper then the rest. I did used my buddies Ion and can not say any thing bad of it.
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Ion 8" here , for 3 years. love it. Would at some point like to get a spare 6" blade.
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Strike Master 8" with a DeWalt drill and adapter shaft - simple and bullet proof
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Ion 8" here , for 3 years. love it. Would at some point like to get a spare 6" blade.
The Finn bore 6” works great with the ion.
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I’m a drill setup guy myself. But if I were to go dedicate electric auger, I’d go with strikemaster, they aren’t going to just disappear. Though the ion sounds like it’s going to stay, I’d sure hate to be in the same boat as the ice gator owners.
Ion is owned by Eskimo. They aren't going away. I never heard of Trophystrike until a year ago. That's why I didn't even look at them when I bought an electric auger. I didn't want to take the risk that replacement blades might not be available when I need them.
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I also got the 8" Ion X when they first released it. I had the ice up issue with the flighting but they replaced it immediately. I love this thing. Most of the guys i fish with tried mine then went and got one.
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I have been ice fishing for nearly 35 years. The electric auger is one of the
best products to come out in this time.
I bought the Strikemaster 40 Volt with a 10" blade (after some research). It has exceeded my expectation.
After seeing it drill against the Ion, I decided to go with it.
However, if I could change one thing on it, I would replace the plastic handle with steel...
It was worth every penny
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I purchased a Strikemaster 40v last year and I love it. Sold my Tanaka/Nils and I dont regret it.