Author Topic: 8" auger reviews  (Read 5990 times)

Offline Light liner

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8" auger reviews
« on: Mar 06, 2019, 03:53 PM »
Ive done a bunch of research, tried some out. Looking for real world ice reviews.
Looking to upgrade my "run and gun" auger.
5th season on my nills 6" convertible its been a great auger but want to go to a 8".
18 volt rigid octane 4ah batteries.
Like the nills but pricey wanted to see how the others compared.
We get thick ice up here 3'.
Looking at:
Nills
K drill
Lazer
Eskimo pistol bit.
Champlain
Memphremagog

Offline burgerunh

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #1 on: Mar 06, 2019, 04:00 PM »
If you don't have the new 1300 inch-pound ridgid you will not be able to turn an 8" K-drill.  You should probably stick with a 6" auger or consider buying a more powerful drill as well.

How do I know?  I bought an 8" K-drill last year thinking I would run it with my Ridgid that had 700 inch-pounds of torque with 4 amp hour batteries.  Lets just say I ended up buying a milwaukee!

Offline RyanW

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #2 on: Mar 06, 2019, 07:10 PM »
For 3’ of ice, skip the $200 8” bits and find a used gasser. Drill setups are a game changer but I wouldn’t use them for ice that thick.  18”+ of ice on an 8” bit is a lot of work going on. I use an 8” Lazer on my Milwaukee Fuel and it excels with ice under 18”. 2’ would be pushing it (especially on a 4ah battery, I use a 5ah). If I were dead set on using my drill setup on ice ~3’ thick, I’d stick with the 6” bit and upgrade the battery to a 12ah. Or invest roughly the same amount of cash into a gasser that I know would do the job.

3’ is just a lot of ice for a drill man, especially with an 8” bit. An 8” auger removes twice the amount of ice than a 6” auger. So right there you’re cutting your hole count in half. So cutting an 8” hole in three feet of ice is the same as cutting a 6” hole in 6 feet of ice. Your tools will definitely notice the difference.
“When the fish are biting, it really doesn’t matter what you’re using. When the fish aren’t biting, it really doesn’t matter what you’re using” - Uncle Dave

Offline Light liner

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #3 on: Mar 06, 2019, 10:06 PM »
I have an ion love it, but like the light set up for packing light on foot.
My beat 6" nills still does it but time to replace. Probably going with a 6" K drill.
Would need more power for an 8".
Thanks for the replies.
Champlain
Memphremagog

Offline hawg

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #4 on: Mar 07, 2019, 10:04 AM »
Remember though- a KDrill is a chipper and an Pistol is a shaver blade. Shavers cut much smoother with less draw on the battery. 3 ft is nothing for my Ion but never tried the drill setup yet. Also, if you fish in a permanent house you can reopen holed easily with either drill auger so you really aren't doing 3 ft all the time.  If you are a hole hopper the Strikemaster or Ion will work but at the least I would be hesitant with a drill combo without a 5 gal pail of batteries along. 

Offline IceFishFreak

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #5 on: Mar 07, 2019, 10:21 AM »
Nils by far is the fastest,  smoothest auger on the market.  If I was in the market,  there are no other options that are as smooth and fast giving you more holes.

That said,  the eskimo and a strike master laser are the same basically.  You can use the eskimo blades on a lazer.  If you already have a nimrod adapter for your drill and you want to be cost effective,  buy laser.  IF you don't have a nimrod and don't want to mess around with a plate and getting a adapter,  buy eskimo. 

If money is not an option,  the Nils can't be beat. 

Kdrill really are over hyped,  I don't understand why,  I wouldn't own one.  my personal opinion with the Ion is much the same as the Kdrill,  they make very little sense to me.  You can't bust out the Ion in the summer if you have some landscape timbers to punch holes in with a half inch bit.  I don't know,  maybe it's just me but I think the ion's are bottom of the list.  If I won one,  i'd sell it.  same as the Kdril.

That said,  3ft of ice is a lot for any auger.  If it was a lake you never been to and are unsure if it will take 20 holes or 200,  you better have an extra battery or two.  Doesn't matter what brand of drill.  Unless you have a milwaukee fuel 18 with the 12ah.  I haven't seen that battery dead yet but that's with a 6 inch

Offline shiveringjoe

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #6 on: Mar 07, 2019, 11:10 AM »

That said,  the eskimo and a strike master laser are the same basically.  You can use the eskimo blades on a lazer.  If you already have a nimrod adapter for your drill and you want to be cost effective,  buy laser.  IF you don't have a nimrod and don't want to mess around with a plate and getting a adapter,  buy eskimo. 

Unless eskimo has a different auger than I have seen, they are the same as a Mora (blue), not a Lazer (black). The lazer is a much more aggressive shaver, so it cuts faster but also requires more drill torque.

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #7 on: Mar 07, 2019, 11:24 AM »
Unless eskimo has a different auger than I have seen, they are the same as a Mora (blue), not a Lazer (black). The lazer is a much more aggressive shaver, so it cuts faster but also requires more drill torque.
  they do it's called a silver tip looks like a laser 

Offline shiveringjoe

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #8 on: Mar 07, 2019, 11:44 AM »
Learned something new today... Its just a red lazer right? Didn't see anything about it being more drill compatible.

  they do it's called a silver tip looks like a laser

Offline hawg

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #9 on: Mar 07, 2019, 05:36 PM »
KDRill is not a laser, it's a chipper.  Sorry, in my post I was comparing KDrill (not Strikemaster) to Pistol as SM is yet to be seen. Not sure why you steel drill guys keep throwing Nils and others into the lightweight debate.

Offline Light liner

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #10 on: Mar 07, 2019, 06:09 PM »
Ordered up a 6" K drill, really like the lightweight of it. Mostly going to be used for when im on foot panfishing.
Thanks for the replies.
Champlain
Memphremagog

Offline GBguy

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #11 on: Mar 07, 2019, 06:47 PM »
How substantial is the weight difference between the 6" kdrill and the 6" strikemaster auger half of the hand auger?

Offline Deal Ninja

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #12 on: Mar 07, 2019, 06:57 PM »
I’ve been following this thread.  You will not like the K-Drill for ANYTHING beyond its light weight.  I have an 8” Nils.  I also have a 7.5” K-Drill.  The K-Drill warms the corner in my garage collecting dust.  If light weight is your paramount concern, you might be happy, but if you’ve used a Nils previously(and you have)you’ll be be sorely disappointed otherwise.  There is simply no comparison.  The K-Drill is a Rada, where the Nils is a Shun in knife terms.

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Polar Bird 3T, Eskimo EVO 1it
8" K-Drill, 8" Nils Arctic Trekker, Milwaukee Mud Mixer, Milwaukee 2704-22, Clam Plate, Adapters to make everything work with everything. lol
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Offline Gills-only

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #13 on: Mar 07, 2019, 07:25 PM »
Remember though- a KDrill is a chipper and an Pistol is a shaver blade. Shavers cut much smoother with less draw on the battery. 3 ft is nothing for my Ion but never tried the drill setup yet. Also, if you fish in a permanent house you can reopen holed easily with either drill auger so you really aren't doing 3 ft all the time.  If you are a hole hopper the Strikemaster or Ion will work but at the least I would be hesitant with a drill combo without a 5 gal pail of batteries along.
.        Unless u have a 9ah battery, I have 2 of those and one 12 ah

Offline Evil Tom

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #14 on: Mar 09, 2019, 05:48 PM »
Ion.No review needed.Thing kicks ass drilled 25-30 holes last week thru 28" in upstate NY np.Third year now.

Offline Kevin23

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #15 on: Mar 09, 2019, 05:56 PM »
If I had that much ice, i would probably just bite the bullet and buy the strikemaster lithium lazer 8" set up.  24lbs, plenty of torque, and you could have an adapter made to put your nills on it if you want.
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Offline VTMatt

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #16 on: Mar 09, 2019, 06:02 PM »
Nils by far is the fastest,  smoothest auger on the market.  If I was in the market,  there are no other options that are as smooth and fast giving you more holes.

That said,  the eskimo and a strike master laser are the same basically.  You can use the eskimo blades on a lazer.  If you already have a nimrod adapter for your drill and you want to be cost effective,  buy laser.  IF you don't have a nimrod and don't want to mess around with a plate and getting a adapter,  buy eskimo. 

If money is not an option,  the Nils can't be beat. 

Kdrill really are over hyped,  I don't understand why,  I wouldn't own one.  my personal opinion with the Ion is much the same as the Kdrill,  they make very little sense to me.  You can't bust out the Ion in the summer if you have some landscape timbers to punch holes in with a half inch bit.  I don't know,  maybe it's just me but I think the ion's are bottom of the list.  If I won one,  i'd sell it.  same as the Kdril.

That said,  3ft of ice is a lot for any auger.  If it was a lake you never been to and are unsure if it will take 20 holes or 200,  you better have an extra battery or two.  Doesn't matter what brand of drill.  Unless you have a milwaukee fuel 18 with the 12ah.  I haven't seen that battery dead yet but that's with a 6 inch

Nils has the same head and blade specs as a lazer....only difference is how u deal with the blades.

Offline tjk3rd

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #17 on: Mar 09, 2019, 06:28 PM »
I have a Nils 8" paired with a Ridgid drill, not the 1300, and use a 9 ah battery.  Spent all day cutting through over 2' of ice and never even got down to half power.  Drill cut through no problem.  We also had an 8" Eskimo gas auger that was only carried as a back up but was never needed.  Ridgid with 8" Nils was faster and lighter.  Highly recommend.

Offline VTMatt

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #18 on: Mar 09, 2019, 07:10 PM »
I had my 8" Lazer on the Ridgid Octane and was blazing through 18" of ice insanely fast today. About 30 holes and my battery was still 3/4 at the end of the day.

Offline fishingeek

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #19 on: Mar 10, 2019, 11:54 AM »
I have a m18 fuel drill with clam plate and 7" strikemaster lazer setup. I was hole hopping on a pond and drilled close to 75 holes yesterday in 10" of ice on one battery. Could've gotten more if I wanted and still had 1 bar left. Temps was in the lower 40s so I'm not sure how I would fair in extreme cold temps. Just my 2 cents.

Offline ICEHOLE

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #20 on: Mar 11, 2019, 10:53 AM »
Electric drills on 8" augers is starting to give me a head ache..multiple issues, multiple drills, multiple batteries, running out of ideas
i like the idea of the eskimo pistol, but it being PLASTIC nope...plastic in the cold means CHA CHING for eskimo..anyone know how the plastic flights attach to the shaft of the auger?

Offline shiveringjoe

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #21 on: Mar 11, 2019, 12:41 PM »
My 8" lazer on a clam plate with the Ridgid Octane was a hero on Saturday. Drilled holes for 49 tipups with another 30 or so for jigging on a single 9ah battery. Ice was 18-20" and still perfect quality with no slush in the holes. Temps were also ideal at 35 and sunny. We had an M18 with 3 batteries as our backup but never took it out of the sled. Sunday was on a different pond with mediocre ice (20") with some slush and my drill would occasionally cut out if we weren't clearing shavings once or twice from the hole. Still did 40+ holes and had 1 bar left on the battery.

Offline JSONICE

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #22 on: Mar 11, 2019, 12:50 PM »
Nils by far is the fastest,  smoothest auger on the market.  If I was in the market,  there are no other options that are as smooth and fast giving you more holes.

That said,  the eskimo and a strike master laser are the same basically.  You can use the eskimo blades on a lazer.  If you already have a nimrod adapter for your drill and you want to be cost effective,  buy laser.  IF you don't have a nimrod and don't want to mess around with a plate and getting a adapter,  buy eskimo. 

If money is not an option,  the Nils can't be beat. 

Kdrill really are over hyped,  I don't understand why,  I wouldn't own one.  my personal opinion with the Ion is much the same as the Kdrill,  they make very little sense to me.  You can't bust out the Ion in the summer if you have some landscape timbers to punch holes in with a half inch bit.  I don't know,  maybe it's just me but I think the ion's are bottom of the list.  If I won one,  i'd sell it.  same as the Kdril.

That said,  3ft of ice is a lot for any auger.  If it was a lake you never been to and are unsure if it will take 20 holes or 200,  you better have an extra battery or two.  Doesn't matter what brand of drill.  Unless you have a milwaukee fuel 18 with the 12ah.  I haven't seen that battery dead yet but that's with a 6 inch

I actually OWN a KDRILL 7.75 and love it...I also used my friends Nils and thought it worked well too... The Kdrill drills very fast with no downward pressure...Not sure what there is to not like?

Offline Damn Yankee

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #23 on: Mar 11, 2019, 05:47 PM »
Electric drills on 8" augers is starting to give me a head ache..multiple issues, multiple drills, multiple batteries, running out of ideas
i like the idea of the eskimo pistol, but it being PLASTIC nope...plastic in the cold means CHA CHING for eskimo..anyone know how the plastic flights attach to the shaft of the auger?
Material technology today has far surpassed the knowledge of us mere mortals.
Weeks ago in upstate NY (approximately 0˚F) I had ice totally enclosing my 8" Pistol Flites. I whacked at it with my indestructible
(BigDipperHockeyStickIc eScoop), the ice shattered, the flites flexed and seemed to look at me saying "moving right along lets get with the program".
The 8" Eskimo Pistol AugerBit is as good as they get today. They're on the market today around $180 and next year (hopefully) with a power-point will be in the $200 range and competitive with the New Strikemaster and the other pretenders.
Leave Some For Seed

Offline marquette

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #24 on: Mar 13, 2019, 11:38 AM »
How close are the Eskimo bits and Ion bits?   Since the come from the same parent company do they share technology?   They certainly seem in competition with each other.  A Eskimo bit plus Milwaukee drill is pretty close in price to a Ion but Artisan only got half the money.

Offline Miles59

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #25 on: Mar 13, 2019, 01:55 PM »
I actually OWN a KDRILL 7.75 and love it...I also used my friends Nils and thought it worked well too... The Kdrill drills very fast with no downward pressure...Not sure what there is to not like?

I also own the K-Drill 7.5” and think it is great.  Paired with the Ridgid drill and 9ah battery, and I am very happy!  It is super light, and it cuts as fast as I will ever need to cut a hole in the ice.  I’ve seen the comparison videos, but don’t get the need for speed, I guess.  I don’t cut 100 holes a day either.  I will cut 20 or so holes through a foot of ice and still have 3 out of 4 bars on the battery lit.  I also disconnect the K-Drill and use the gun to screw in shanty anchors - something you can’t do easily with some other options.  And I can tell you from experience, the float works!  The one negative is that it has fallen out of the chuck a few times.  Not sure if that relates more to the K-Drill or the Ridgid.   I learned that it works better if you re-tighten the chuck after cutting the first hole.  Anyway, I love it.

Offline PazzoCorso

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #26 on: Mar 13, 2019, 02:41 PM »
8" Mora -$45
Milwaukee mud mixer- $130
9ah battery -$100

50 holes in 24" of ice... Still has 2 bars on the battery... I could not be any happier

Offline rickwalley

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #27 on: Mar 13, 2019, 03:06 PM »
Pazzo....I tried the 8" Mora, but didn't like how Strikemaster opted to hang 8" Mora blades on a 7" Mora auger bit.  Is that the same way yours is that you bought?  I'm not sure if Strikemaster has always done that, or it was a recent change?

Offline Ice Scratcher

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #28 on: Mar 13, 2019, 05:04 PM »
Pazzo....I tried the 8" Mora, but didn't like how Strikemaster opted to hang 8" Mora blades on a 7" Mora auger bit.  Is that the same way yours is that you bought?  I'm not sure if Strikemaster has always done that, or it was a recent change?

Always been that way, until this year, the 8" auger has 8" flights..

I actually prefer the 8" on 7" bit.. If one blade gets a nick in it, it will tend to wander to one side, with 7 inch flights, you don't have to worry about the bit binding against the side of the hole.

A 8 on 7 is also the lightest (metal) 8 you're going to find..

This is my 8 on seven, flights shortened, chopped and lengthened with an aluminum shaft. Lighter than a kdrill, with a true 8" hole..





<°)))>{

Offline PazzoCorso

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Re: 8" auger reviews
« Reply #29 on: Mar 13, 2019, 05:55 PM »
Always been that way, until this year, the 8" auger has 8" flights..

I actually prefer the 8" on 7" bit.. If one blade gets a nick in it, it will tend to wander to one side, with 7 inch flights, you don't have to worry about the bit binding against the side of the hole.

A 8 on 7 is also the lightest (metal) 8 you're going to find..

This is my 8 on seven, flights shortened, chopped and lengthened with an aluminum shaft. Lighter than a kdrill, with a true 8" hole..





<°)))>{

Now that's a sweet auger.  You might be able to retire if you mod a few and sell them as the latest greatest. The pistol is how much?!?
Think of the profit margin  :tipup:

 



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