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Author Topic: New augers with plastic flites  (Read 6126 times)

Offline jbird68

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New augers with plastic flites
« on: Oct 26, 2020, 09:19 AM »
I am looking to shed some weight on my IceGator Electric Power Auger. I DON'T NEED ANY COMMENTS ON THE ICE GATER. IT'S WHAT I HAVE AND I REALLY LIKE IT.


Last year I dropped a bunch of weight by getting a couple Amp Outdoors Lithium batteries to replace the old 12V 10AH batteries that came with my Ice Gator. I had the auger paired up with an HT Ice Express 7" auger. It rips through ice. And I like the 7" diameter auger.


Now I have been looking at all the current offerings of augers that have plastic flites to try and reduce more weight. But man, are they pricey.


So far this is the list of augers I have found:


1) StrikeMaster Lite-Flite


2) Eskimo Pistol Bit


3) K-Drill


4) HT E-Drill


Some have a center bit and some have the guide ring around the blades.


Last year I got a 4 1/2" StrikeMaster Synthetic Lite-Flite and love it as a hand auger. I am looking for recommendations/Experience/Pro-cons for any of the above listed augers...or any other that you have found that is not on the list.
jbird68





Offline hardwater diehard

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #1 on: Oct 26, 2020, 11:45 AM »


Cabela's offering..seems similar to HT E-Drill

 https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/cabelas-eze-drill?irclickid=UNPS2qxHFxyLTzJ07OwzdzZ-UkExbY2JzSQNWI0&irpid=29332&irmpname=FlexOffers.com%2C%20LLC&irgwc=1&hvarAID=impact&cm_soc=AFF

Now a cheap option is the E-Drill ..from KTP ..sign up for Emails/make an account and get a code for 20% off ..$119 ...also I was not charged tax on my order last season

Pros ...has Mora Style Shaver blades ... Con your going to have to adapt it to your Gator output shaft ..which my guess is 22mm ..the HT E-Drill is 18 mm ..so to get height youll need the Clam Extension for their plate ..and another adapter I believe Eskimo may work

https://geteskimo.com/collections/auger-accessories/products/pistol-bit-adapter
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Offline PIKE FISHERMAN

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #2 on: Oct 26, 2020, 01:06 PM »
I have the 8” SM LF and love it. Blazing fast. Just over 5 lbs. Great drill battery life compared to others. It can cut old holes and side by side holes. Can be used on a drill, or power heads!! I highly recommend them!!
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Offline Agronomist_at_IA

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #3 on: Oct 26, 2020, 02:21 PM »
I am looking to shed some weight on my IceGator Electric Power Auger. I DON'T NEED ANY COMMENTS ON THE ICE GATER. IT'S WHAT I HAVE AND I REALLY LIKE IT.


Last year I dropped a bunch of weight by getting a couple Amp Outdoors Lithium batteries to replace the old 12V 10AH batteries that came with my Ice Gator. I had the auger paired up with an HT Ice Express 7" auger. It rips through ice. And I like the 7" diameter auger.


Now I have been looking at all the current offerings of augers that have plastic flites to try and reduce more weight. But man, are they pricey.


So far this is the list of augers I have found:


1) StrikeMaster Lite-Flite


2) Eskimo Pistol Bit


3) K-Drill


4) HT E-Drill


Some have a center bit and some have the guide ring around the blades.


Last year I got a 4 1/2" StrikeMaster Synthetic Lite-Flite and love it as a hand auger. I am looking for recommendations/Experience/Pro-cons for any of the above listed augers...or any other that you have found that is not on the list.

If the auger you were using is a 7in hand auger....well you more then likely wont shed much if any weight.

I’ve been running augers in size from 6in to 10 in hand augers/drill augers with a 1200in/lb milwaukee clam plate setup.

He is what I ran so far.

6in lazer blade hand auger

7in lazer blade & shaver blade hand auger

7.5 in K drill

8in nils with power point cutting head, lazer 8in hand, & 8in shaver blade hand

10in mora flat blade shaver.

What I found is having a center point on the cutting head to keep them from skating when starting a cut is nice & helps a lot when reopening holes. However, if you keep sharp blades and put a touch of pressure on the auger when starting a cut without a center point it with start the cut fine.


I’ve become partial to the flat blade shavers since I can resharpen the blades myself really well with the $15 gatco sharpener.

If your looking for another synthetic ion has one. It is the same thing as the eskimo pistol just in green. Ion does have a 10in synthetic auger out also.

Offline jbird68

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #4 on: Oct 29, 2020, 01:42 PM »
I just noticed that Cabela's has also come out with a new auger.


https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-eze-drill
jbird68





Offline jbird68

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #5 on: Nov 27, 2020, 04:05 PM »
Well, I thought I wanted a new lite-flite auger to save some more weight on my setup. But I weighed my steel HT AE-7 and it weighs the same as the 8" lite-flite. It cuts through there ice just fine. I'd rather save myself the $200 and get something else.
jbird68





Offline esox_xtm

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #6 on: Nov 27, 2020, 04:18 PM »
Goin' into a 4th season with a 7.5" K-Drill (sold as an 8"). I have zero complaints. Original blades, 100's of holes, thin ice, thick ice, slush, just about all of it. Take that back, my only complaint is I was sold a 7.5" as an 8". Got a couple of accessories that don't work in a less than 8" hole. I'll get over it. I don't even care it's "slow", I'm not a competition driller. I just want light, sharp and low maintenance.

Tell ya what, if you decide you want a well cared for 7.5" K, I'll sell ya mine and get their 8.5" Then I'd be happy. Could even meet halfway in Beloit/Rockford to save shipping it. Drop me a line if that interests you.
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Offline jbird68

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #7 on: Nov 28, 2020, 07:12 PM »
I was set on the lite-flite after seeing a side-by-side comparison video. K-drill, Lite-Flite and Pistol Bit. The Lite-Flite cut faster using the same drill set up on all three. The k-drill was the slowest. But I'm content with my HT AE-7 for now.
jbird68





Offline hardwater diehard

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #8 on: Nov 28, 2020, 07:38 PM »
All about the blades .1).K-Drill has Chipper style great for dirty ice Slowest and uses more battery ..2)Shaver style blade or Mora type ..Pistol Bit ..HT E-Drill ..Cableas Eze ..pretty fast and can be hand sharpen with some practice ..replacement blades fairly inexpensive . 3) Lazer style blades ..Lite flight .. ..fastest but if used on dirty ice game over ..ie paper weight..replacement blades lil pricey.. I am not familar with the Razr ..but believe they have Lazer style blades .. next is weight ..metal heavier ..composite lighter . Having a center point is a great option ..most hand augers do not ..so skipping on glare ice is quite possible/dangerous . As for the Drill you will be using ..Brushless 725 in/lbs or better with 5ah battery or better..IF YOU GO WITH A UNDER POWERED UNDERTORQUED PICTURE HANGING DRILL SET UP IT WILL BE AN EPIC FAIL EVENTUALLY..Buy the right drill and battery set up .
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Offline Drift Dodger

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #9 on: Nov 29, 2020, 08:32 AM »
'
Goin' into a 4th season with a 7.5" K-Drill (sold as an 8"). I have zero complaints. Original blades, 100's of holes, thin ice, thick ice, slush, just about all of it. Take that back, my only complaint is I was sold a 7.5" as an 8". Got a couple of accessories that don't work in a less than 8" hole. I'll get over it. I don't even care it's "slow", I'm not a competition driller. I just want light, sharp and low maintenance.

Same here. In 4th season with 7.5" K-Drill (and extension as needed), original blades never re-sharpened, hundreds of holes from first ice to 40+ inches in all temperatures and weather conditions plus plenty of in-shack hole re-drilling. Super light and effective, smooth cutting and no binding at breakthrough.

Now using a 9AH battery on my DeWalt DCD996 drill. Quite sure this would have no problem with larger diameter augers.
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Offline 1wglanville

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #10 on: Dec 21, 2020, 07:45 PM »
esox_xtm, let me know what your thinking for a price. I drive through Beloit fairly often.  I might be interested of your still looking to sell
Goin' into a 4th season with a 7.5" K-Drill (sold as an 8"). I have zero complaints. Original blades, 100's of holes, thin ice, thick ice, slush, just about all of it. Take that back, my only complaint is I was sold a 7.5" as an 8". Got a couple of accessories that don't work in a less than 8" hole. I'll get over it. I don't even care it's "slow", I'm not a competition driller. I just want light, sharp and low maintenance.

Tell ya what, if you decide you want a well cared for 7.5" K, I'll sell ya mine and get their 8.5" Then I'd be happy. Could even meet halfway in Beloit/Rockford to save shipping it. Drop me a line if that interests you.

Offline Gunflint

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #11 on: Dec 21, 2020, 07:47 PM »
esox_xtm, let me know what your thinking for a price. I drive through Beloit fairly often.  I might be interested of your still looking to sell

My uncle lived in Beloit.
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Offline esox_xtm

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #12 on: Dec 21, 2020, 08:12 PM »
My uncle lived in Beloit.

Q: What city in Wisconsin sounds like a fart in a bathtub?  :roflmao:

@ 1wglanville: If I get that far you'll be first on the list!
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Offline fatty crusher

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #13 on: Dec 21, 2020, 08:43 PM »
Always had a jiffy single handle hand me down from the 80s... meanest machine that retired last year. Nothing sounds better or still feels better in the hand. Nothing like ear piercing loud music that has decent acoustics to let everybody enjoy.

Offline Agronomist_at_IA

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #14 on: Dec 21, 2020, 08:47 PM »
Well, I thought I wanted a new lite-flite auger to save some more weight on my setup. But I weighed my steel HT AE-7 and it weighs the same as the 8" lite-flite. It cuts through there ice just fine. I'd rather save myself the $200 and get something else.

Just a heads up....if you are looking for speed.....if that HT AE-7 is a flat blade shaver, you can turn it into a lazer. There is and adaptor kit on ebay that lets you put lazer blades on it. Works well.

Offline kpd145

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #15 on: Dec 26, 2020, 01:14 PM »
I have the 8” SM LF and love it. Blazing fast. Just over 5 lbs. Great drill battery life compared to others. It can cut old holes and side by side holes. Can be used on a drill, or power heads!! I highly recommend them!!

X2, I love my lite flite, I removed some extra flites I did not need so I can just sling it over my shoulder to run and gun. I've drilled over 30 holes in 10 inches of ice with my Milwaukee, battery had 3 bars left.

The 40V strike master is no joke either, I love that auger for ice over 12 inches thick. I have never ran out a battery on this, I have drilled many holes over 2 seasons in pretty thick ice.
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Offline 1wglanville

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #16 on: Feb 23, 2021, 07:24 PM »
Q: What city in Wisconsin sounds like a fart in a bathtub?  :roflmao:

@ 1wglanville: If I get that far you'll be first on the list!


Highland, WI. By Dodgeville or Platteville for reference

Offline wygeargeek

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Re: New augers with plastic flites
« Reply #17 on: Feb 24, 2021, 12:55 AM »
Love my Eskimo Pistol Bit with DeWalt 996 drill. Bought my son a Strikemaster lite flite and he loves it as well. Both cut very well. Wyoming sand chewed up the Eskimo blade on my Pistol Bit. Put a Mora blade on and it's working great. Can't imagine using my old Jiffy again but I'll keep it for the 10" hole and maybe years with massive ice depth.

 



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