Ridgid octane Mora combo

[SalmonAndStriper Stalker]

Outfitting my boat with garmin and panoptix. Also will be adding a ultera riptide to it too. From seabass fluke and tautog, stripers and blues, and albies and bones I will be ready.

[lowaccord66]

First season spinning a 10" Nils with a Milwaukee and Clam Plate Adapater. Only put it to 6" of ice thus far. Drilled a few dozen holes only losing one light on the battery status. Quiet and lighter than my Jiffy. Time will tell.

Hows the torque on that setup? 

[CranMan]

Hows the torque on that setup?

Surprisingly not bad. Having no experiance spinning a auger with a cordless and only reading, I didn't think there would be any chance of this setup working. I reached out last season and got verdict from a NH guy that he successfully uses this setup although he did have some pitch taken off his cutting head. I went ahead and set it up. To my surprise it cuts like butter. No down pressure, let the cutting head do the work like a Nils is intended and no prob through 6" of good ice. Drill hasn't torqued out on me once. I think the worst part is when you stop it. The momentum of the 10" stopping instantly prob does the drill the worst harm. Only time and more ice will prove it a legitimate setup.

[lowaccord66]

Thats awesome. 

[ICEHOLE]

Surprisingly not bad. Having no experiance spinning a auger with a cordless and only reading, I didn't think there would be any chance of this setup working. I reached out last season and got verdict from a NH guy that he successfully uses this setup although he did have some pitch taken off his cutting head. I went ahead and set it up. To my surprise it cuts like butter. No down pressure, let the cutting head do the work like a Nils is intended and no prob through 6" of good ice. Drill hasn't torqued out on me once. I think the worst part is when you stop it. The momentum of the 10" stopping instantly prob does the drill the worst harm. Only time and more ice will prove it a legitimate setup.

surprising to hear, considering im still struggling turning a stupid 8" with 1300#

[DR.SPECKLER]

Im very pleased with my ridgid octane and 8” mora so far.ive cut at least 300 holes this season with about 10 fail to starts and 3 cut outs but that was in double layer slush.i like the clam plate also and glad i had it a few times my auger bound up.

[lowaccord66]

I ended up with a Fuel and using my 8" nils.  Its rather obscene how well it works. 

[Jig4perch]

As mentioned in an earlier post ... I have the Octane and Nils set up...it's an ICE EATING MACHINE.   

Last Saturday I got to compare the Ion to the Octane setup.   Admittedly it was not the best comparison since the Ion was 8 inch and Nils a 6 inch.   Next week I will bolt and 8 inch auger on the Octane and try again.   

Non withstanding the auger size which will admittedly affect speed here are some observations:

Weight ......... advantage Octane.   It was about half the weight
Ease of use ... in terms of start stop,run .... equal.  But the weight made the overall Octane experience better
Speed .... advantage Octane ... almost 2:1 holes per
Hole shape and slush .....advantage ION ... uniform hole... little slush left behind
Energy consumption ... not able to do a compare since the batteries are different AMP hrs


Other considerations:

If you are a panfisherman ... advantage Octane/Nils because it is a lightweight, fast, flexible multipurpose machine, with Lifetime batteries and  ability to swap auger bits to fit the situation.   

If you want a single purpose, stable, sturdy, smooth cutting auger built for carving a clean hole  for your ice tackles and jigging .... ION at a 2X price point is for you.

Full disclosure ... I am drill biased ... light weight and speed is my priority.

However ... I realize ... opinions are like belly buttons ...we all have one
  .

Drill away ...

[pmaloney86]

As mentioned in an earlier post ... I have the Octane and Nils set up...it's an ICE EATING MACHINE.   

Last Saturday I got to compare the Ion to the Octane setup.   Admittedly it was not the best comparison since the Ion was 8 inch and Nils a 6 inch.   Next week I will bolt and 8 inch auger on the Octane and try again.   

Non withstanding the auger size which will admittedly affect speed here are some observations:

Weight ......... advantage Octane.   It was about half the weight
Ease of use ... in terms of start stop,run .... equal.  But the weight made the overall Octane experience better
Speed .... advantage Octane ... almost 2:1 holes per
Hole shape and slush .....advantage ION ... uniform hole... little slush left behind
Energy consumption ... not able to do a compare since the batteries are different AMP hrs


Other considerations:

If you are a panfisherman ... advantage Octane/Nils because it is a lightweight, fast, flexible multipurpose machine, with Lifetime batteries and  ability to swap auger bits to fit the situation.   

If you want a single purpose, stable, sturdy, smooth cutting auger built for carving a clean hole  for your ice tackles and jigging .... ION at a 2X price point is for you.

Full disclosure ... I am drill biased ... light weight and speed is my priority.

However ... I realize ... opinions are like belly buttons ...we all have one
  .

Drill away ...

I think you missed a few areas of comparison.  Safety has to go to Ion.  The speed and torque those drills put out can easily injure someone and if you don't have a Nils or a flight with a starting point then the shaver blades walk all over the ice.  Consistency should also go to Ion.  I know several people who have a drill that constantly cuts out, whether its over heating or the load sensor.  I used my drill on LG last weekend and it worked perfectly.  A month ago I used it at Onota and my buddy cut tens holes with my Ion before I got one cut with my drill.

Energy consumption hands down goes to the drill.  I've used up the juice in my battery with the Ion on several occasions.  If the drill isn't cutting out I've yet to have it go down below 3 bars.

Just figured I'd add my 2 cents.  I've got both and typically drag both out with me bc they are light and people I bring typically don't have their own augers.

[lowaccord66]

Safety is a matter of operator experience.  If your a dummy any drill augers can screw you up terribly.  That said ive used the powerpoint and non powerpoint in 8"nills and no walking with either.

[pmaloney86]

Safety is a matter of operator experience.  If your a dummy any drill augers can screw you up terribly.  That said ive used the powerpoint and non powerpoint in 8"nills and no walking with either.

Agreed but try one with shaver blades and no centering point on glare ice.  I'm comfortable using it but it is one of the trade offs.  The Ion on the other hand doesn't have these concerns.  Could even be the angle of my blades on my mora versus Ion.

[PikeKing23]

I found that my mora walks with dull blades. If your auger is walking a lot, sharpen the blades. You never realize how dull they are until you sharpen them. Mine was walking bad until I got em sharp. Now just a little pressure to start and no problems.

[ICEHOLE]

Then 8" blades on my mora were sharpened last year. They dont walk at all and when they turn they cut great.  Went to pick up my x5 brushless from lsa repairs  today..last week it got a new chuck, this week a new clutch. Talked to him a bit about the issue with cut out and he offered to throw more parts at it..

[lowaccord66]

Agreed but try one with shaver blades and no centering point on glare ice.  I'm comfortable using it but it is one of the trade offs.  The Ion on the other hand doesn't have these concerns.  Could even be the angle of my blades on my mora versus Ion.

Dont want to pick on you Pat but the nils with and without the powerpoint both have shavers.  Bigredonice has the cutting head without the powerpoint and I have one with it. Now to be fair, the one without the powerpoint can definitely walk if the blades aren't sharp but id imagine that has to be a constant thing across any brands with maybe some being a bit more prone that others? 

[Gills-only]

Then 8" blades on my mora were sharpened last year. They dont walk at all and when they turn they cut great.  Went to pick up my x5 brushless from lsa repairs  today..last week it got a new chuck, this week a new clutch. Talked to him a bit about the issue with cut out and he offered to throw more parts at it..

.       Sounds like drill in the shop more than on the ice, good thing have the lsa !!

[Jig4perch]

I think you missed a few areas of comparison.  Safety has to go to Ion.  The speed and torque those drills put out can easily injure someone and if you don't have a Nils or a flight with a starting point then the shaver blades walk all over the ice.  Consistency should also go to Ion.  I know several people who have a drill that constantly cuts out, whether its over heating or the load sensor.  I used my drill on LG last weekend and it worked perfectly.  A month ago I used it at Onota and my buddy cut tens holes with my Ion before I got one cut with my drill.

Energy consumption hands down goes to the drill.  I've used up the juice in my battery with the Ion on several occasions.  If the drill isn't cutting out I've yet to have it go down below 3 bars.

Just figured I'd add my 2 cents.  I've got both and typically drag both out with me bc they are light and people I bring typically don't have their own augers.

pmaloney

 nice adds...and yes I did miss the comparisons on safety and starting point.   Agree advantage would go to ION.  I am currently considering purchasing the Eskimo Pistol bit 8 inch to attached to my Octane. Fisherman love the light weight of the Pistol but comment on the lack of a center point.   I may see if Eskimo listens to the feedback and adds a center point next year.  Love my Nils but "shaving" more pounds off the auger is something I can "weight" for.

Would you say the 8 inch Pistol with center point + Octane make it a best of breed choice for most applications.?

[pmaloney86]

pmaloney

 nice adds...and yes I did miss the comparisons on safety and starting point.   Agree advantage would go to ION.  I am currently considering purchasing the Eskimo Pistol bit 8 inch to attached to my Octane. Fisherman love the light weight of the Pistol but comment on the lack of a center point.   I may see if Eskimo listens to the feedback and adds a center point next year.  Love my Nils but "shaving" more pounds off the auger is something I can "weight" for.

Would you say the 8 inch Pistol with center point + Octane make it a best of breed choice for most applications.?

I'd say that is the best setup for combination of light weight with great cutting power.  I have no experience with the pistol bit but I believe I read the flights are plastic.  I know they make some incredibly strong plastics these days but I'm not sure how it will hold up over time.

[pmaloney86]

Dont want to pick on you Pat but the nils with and without the powerpoint both have shavers.  Bigredonice has the cutting head without the powerpoint and I have one with it. Now to be fair, the one without the powerpoint can definitely walk if the blades aren't sharp but id imagine that has to be a constant thing across any brands with maybe some being a bit more prone that others?

I very well may have dull blades.  My mora had been sitting around for a while and I couldn't even begin to say when the blades where changed.  Once it grips the ice it cuts like a banshee so I'll be careful using it for the time being.

[CranMan]

surprising to hear, considering im still struggling turning a stupid 8" with 1300#

I think the only reason I have success with a 10" is because its a Nils. Never could I spin my Jiffy or Eskimo auger with it. Used it again with 10" of ice and worked great.

[CranMan]

I ended up with a Fuel and using my 8" nils.  Its rather obscene how well it works.

I bet that set up works great

[lowaccord66]

I bet that set up works great

It absolutely does.  I'm not so much a fan of the Nils drill adapter but it works.  I honestly think it cuts faster with the milwaukee than it did with the tanaka. 

[capt.shay]

I don't want to start a Chevy-Ford thing but if I were buying new, I most certainly would NOT buy a Mora.  They are about the worst cutting augers out there and I think I have run just about all of them. The drill kind of makes up for the augers incompetence but it is working the drill much harder and you will get fewer holes and more batter drain.  Also, if I was buying new, I would not buy a Nills.  While they are a fine hand auger, they are much heavier than others and part of the drill/auger combo is light weight.  Also the finicky, priority cutting head is harder to have sharpened.  For weight and efficiency I would buy either a Fin-Bore or a Lazer.  These both take the same blades that are readily available, are lighter than a Nills and cut much much better than a Mora.  I would give the nod to the Fin-Bore only because the offset handle works better than the Lazer should you have to hand crank.

[Jig4perch]

I don't want to start a Chevy-Ford thing but if I were buying new, I most certainly would NOT buy a Mora.  They are about the worst cutting augers out there and I think I have run just about all of them. The drill kind of makes up for the augers incompetence but it is working the drill much harder and you will get fewer holes and more batter drain.  Also, if I was buying new, I would not buy a Nills.  While they are a fine hand auger, they are much heavier than others and part of the drill/auger combo is light weight.  Also the finicky, priority cutting head is harder to have sharpened.  For weight and efficiency I would buy either a Fin-Bore or a Lazer.  These both take the same blades that are readily available, are lighter than a Nills and cut much much better than a Mora.  I would give the nod to the Fin-Bore only because the offset handle works better than the Lazer should you have to hand crank.

Captain,

agree on Mora ... my buddy has his Mora on a Fuel ... and it cuts but not as good as the Nils.    Also, you are spot on ... the Nils is heavy for a 6 inch auger and leaves a bucket of slush behind.   I am hoping get a live demo of the Eskimo pistol grip on a Fuel or Octane ...

[Knot there yet]

I’ve had ion 2 seasons and have drilled holes all day with three bars(full battery). I had trouble with cutting out when battery got cold not drained. Sub freezing is all it took not sub zero. I’ve put battery in jacket to warm up then drilled a ton more hole. I’ve threatened to take the old gasser out but that too is for 10” holes. I’ve seen 10” ion work well but will only cut half as many holes. My $.02