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As I said, just the ability to fold in half is huge, I can't believe there aren't more augers like this on the market.
Thunder Bay augers have folding offset handles, and at $60 a pop they are almost worth it just for the handle.
@FreshwaterPhil, what do you think makes Nils build up more ice than something else? The flutes are at a slightly tighter twist, but other than that it just looks like your typical painted steel auger. Or do you mean the blade itself builds up the ice? I'm not going to carry a spare cutting head with me. If these dull that bad, then I have no interest in it.
About 8 years ago a friend who on my advice bought a 8" Nils would not cut right out of the box. My Nils blade was going on 2 seasons at the time. Because of the cost along with shipping and handling his decesion was to go back to the old Mora and not get into any more money being frustrated.
. I've never had an auger go dull in one trip before, and I would not appreciate one that does.
That doesn't sound good. I'm all over the depth. I fish deep plenty, have caught pike in up to 90 feet of water, but the shallows are my mainstays. I've caught some real nice pike in water best measured in inches. We will see how she goes. I can make standard augers work, but sometimes a break down would be the absolute bees knees. Like any time I'm in the car, or even when fishing somewhere such as the BWCA in Minnesota.
I've had some opportunities to really give my new Nils a shot. To get everyone caught up, I sent my first one back for a refund with no issues. I then went with the UR800AT which is an 8" auger which I wanted, but it is the Arctic Trekker model. After using both, to me the clearly better model is the folding auger, however they don't make an 8" version for whatever reason. Seriously, that folding auger is the slickest idea I've seen in a long time. The AT is not bad, but it's not something you want to take apart every time. It can be taken apart into sections for use in a backpack, but I don't have a need for that. Maybe I'll appreciate it the next time I'm in the BWCA. One positive of the AT is you can add or remove sections. You could have a tiny little 12" auger if you wanted, or you could add a section for a taller auger, or thicker ice. At 6'5", I'm considering adding a 12" section, but it wouldn't fit in the sled as nice. As for cutting, again I'm a little disappointed. Unless I got two bad augers in a row, these NILS auger 100% require down pressure or they just spin and polish ice. It doesn't take much, basically just the weight of my arms is enough to get the blades to bite, which is the same as a Mora or Lazer. During the cut I'm not quite sure. It definitely cuts easy, but is it because of the auger, or the handle design? It is not faster than a Mora or Lazer auger. I find the NILS is at its best at a gentle pace, being sure to keep the auger level, and it does not take long at all to go through 20"+ of ice. One thing I do like about the NILS is when you get to the bottom of the hole it cuts clean through. Both the Mora and Lazer will often leave a little bit of ice that you than have to jam the auger down quick for the flutes to break off those last little chunks. It's not a huge deal, but it is nice. I played around with it some, I can drill two holes side by side, and it will do it, but if you cut them too close it will jump sides. Despite cutting clean through vertically, the NILS auger does not like drilling at an angle AT ALL. I was not able to finish a single angled hole. That's something to note if you are a river fisherman, or someone else who uses angled holes. I understand what FreshwaterPhil means by the icing up. I don't think that the paint or anything on the NILS is a problem, but being as the flutes are a tighter spiral, there is simply more area that gets ice built up. I'm not sure the tighter spirals helped clear shavings better or not, I did not notice much of a difference. I'm going to continue to run this auger the rest of the season. At that time I'll see how I feel about it. I'm for sure going to give a Fin Bore a try, which sure looks like a Lazer with offset handles, and I think that might be a good thing. The only downside I can see is they only offer solid augers, and their handles are not as nice as the NILS.
I’ve had the same experience with my gas Tanaka The cutter tips got bent Contact Frank Deluca for help