New ION Auger......

[duck_hunter_69]

Dude, love ya to death.  But it seems you have an agenda against strikemaster.  Nothing anybody says seems to sway your vocal opinion of them.  I respect that, and personally, I dont care what you buy or what your reasons are for such.

And nothing will Bro     no agenda at all...this thread was started to see "opinions" about the ion not start strike master, jiffy, Eskimo, ion,nils,keco kruge debate everyone had their choice and that's the beauty of it!

[Chris338378]

I think it's way too much money besides how much do spare batteries cost?  The 40 holes through 2 feet of ice sounds good but I don't think that is really that many for the cost of it.  If it's the only auger you take and you have one or two kids with you you'll blow through the 40 holes in not time if you're runnin and gunnin especially here in Pennsylvania since we are limited to 5 holes each.  For me I'll stick with my gas powered Eskimo and save the money.

[esox_magnum]

  I like Jiffy auger but they are a bit heavy.  When I am drilling 100 plus holes in pre fishing a tournament I need something durable and light.  If the average joe is drilling 1 or just a few holes all you really need is a hand auger with very sharp blades on it to tell the truth.  I am lazy so A gas auger is still the ticket.  I like the old strikelite the best and they are coming down in price I see.  I know strikemaster doest make tham any longer.  Wonder if there will be a parts problem tho???
  I know Trying to get parts for a nils is nilely imposible and when you can get them its very very expensive for the blade head.  I have yet to find anyone who can sharpen them or service any part of those.  So that makes them even more expensive.  The Jiffys are a solid investment good customer service and nice augers that last.  The Jiffys are just very heavy is there only drawback.  I cannot attest for those chinese engines they put on them now.  I havent heard anything bad but who knows??  They were left with no choice but to go overseas for there engines.  There are NO manufactures of american small engines that will fit a auger.  Ill be working on how to lighten up my 9" jiffy this year.  I am looking at reducing the flight count and drilling out the rest of the flight to lighten it up.  I am also looking for carbon fiber or aluminum handles for it.  ANy other suggestions would be appreciated.  Maybe a smaller fuel tank?  Ounces add up really quick into pounds.
  So every ounce counts.  Lighter is always better out on the ice as long as your not sacrificing durability.  You need something that will last too.  I do agree with RICO yep its just another case of ford  -vs- chevy -vs honda!   I like my neighabor to have a job so I am going to buy the ford or a chevy when ever possible.  Support america or someone will take her away from us!
  Tight lines and I wish everyone well.  Hope you had a great summer!!!
  See ya!
  Da-Roc

 As far as parts or service on a Nils, any small engine shop can work on them and there are Nils certified service shops all over the country..... Frank Deluca can resharpen the blades better than new and at about half the cost of competitors new blades and need resharpened maybe every 4-5 years over replacing the other brands shaver blades once a year....The Tanaka motors on a Nils have been around for 30-40 years, many I know of that are 20-30 years old and never been in a shop and still run great....

[rico]

And nothing will Bro     no agenda at all...this thread was started to see "opinions" about the ion not start strike master, jiffy, Eskimo, ion,nils,keco kruge debate everyone had their choice and that's the beauty of it!

Right on!!!!!!

[CRA]

I think a lot of people are excited about the ION because it's new and shiny. Concept's great. Now set aside the start up cost of owning one (500.00 +/-), let's talk maintenance and repairs. I'm not sure what the end cost of a replacement battery goes, because if you look at the big picture how often will you half charge the battery, or how long will the battery last in sub zero temperatures or laying on the ice?

There are a lot of youth programs in the fishing industry. In this economy,  how does one determine what program is more worthy of a POP item? Seems that every pro I know is involved in some sort of youth program or another- and I personally helped  start  up a region wide adult/ child youth outdoor program, and work for a nation wide environmental education program.  Even with our resources and expertise we get difficulty in getting POP's from manufacturers and businesses.  We don't blame them one bit, because point being made, if one was to give to every charity program asked- be it youth, vets, animals,cancer, whatever; there would be NO money made at all!

"Sure sponsoring kids events sounds noble and is noble as they are the future of the sport, but the reality is the youth don't have any buying power, and thus the ROI is near zero in that case or at best can't be realized for many years down the road"

CORRECT! There is a misconception that children are the future of the outdoor (or any) industry. Truth is, ages 25-50 is. Reason being, yes, it's fun to take kids out; yes it's fun to have youth fishing derbies, and youth fishing days. BUT what happens to the child after the event is over and they have little to no parental support? They fall back to their regular routine.  Industry dynamics show that the equipment we use and purchase today isn't going to be the same when little johnny grows up and starts his personal outdoor ventures.  ROI is huge concern for businesses that sponsor youth events like one time tournaments or small youth clinics.

[Hard Water Maniacs]

Well, may as well add my two cents. All of you had some pretty good opinions about your auger choices. Well, most of you. One of you is still a smoke blower. You know who you are, don't you hypocrite?   

Anyway, I own two IONs myself. I have put these augers through the ringer, all conditions, and they have come out on top. If it was crap, I for one would tell you. I have a strong reputation for telling it exactly how it is in the fishing industry. Truth is, I could care less if anyone likes it or not. I'm not going to give a false report just because of a product sponsor or someone's feelings may get hurt. If I lose a friend or a sponsor, who cares! I move on with my dignity intact.

I have run this auger and left it exposed in -12 degree weather, run it and left it exposed in pouring rain, dropped it, smacked it, everything! Never once did the ION not perform or impress. I have only once ran the battery dead, -7 degrees, cutting through 10" of ice, 98 holes, EXACTLY! Does the battery freeze? Perhaps. Would most of us even be out fishing in temps where it would? Not very likely.

The price may be high, but when propane technology was released, the price was high there as well.

This auger works well in competition also. Keeping up just fine with the Jiffy, SM, Nils, and Eskimo. You have to realize, while you are choking, priming, and pulling, I am already on my fifth hole. Do that with a team and that's 10 holes before you have your auger running. In a strict time tournament, that is important. Being that my circuit partner is a 115lb, 5'6" petite woman, the size and weight of the auger is ideal. She cuts holes with this thing perfectly and handles it with ease.

I will continue to beat the crap out of this auger all season so that I can keep you up on anything I find. Either good or bad, I'll surely let you know!

[tater140]

HMMM

[Hard Water Maniacs]

One thing I did forget to mention. The glide ring around the bottom is awesome. It is designed to help the auger glide smoothly through the ice without taking an aggressive bite into the ice. It also makes it so you can easily cut through pre existing holes without suffering lock up of your auger. This ring does ice up and when it does, it's hard to get the auger to bite, as you are not supposed to push down or add weight to get the auger to bite. Although frustrating, a couple of smacks with a rubber mallet and you are good to go. We keep one with us for ice up on all of our past augers anyway, so really it's not that big of a deal. Hope this helps. Go green, stay clean, tight lines, and be safe!

Remember, "Learn what you can, but teach what you know!"

[muskyjoe]

Don't wanna carry extra propane though and not big on gas mixing carrying extra or paying for the fuel....electric i can charge and go......and at 22lbs vs 33lbs....idk just tossing around ideas

I drill a bunch of holes every time i hit the ice. And i can go  most if not all year on a tank of propane. And it takes no room to to carry a little extra tank. Clean no gas spills and no gas smell on you

[Hard Water Maniacs]

One tank on the Pro 4 will only drill 100 - 120 holes, in the best conditions. Most can achieve that in a single trip. Especially if trying to stay on a hot school of fish. If speed and performance is worth it to you, then the ION is the way to go. It has out-cut and outperformed all of the big name brand augers. There are videos all over YouTube showing this. Even cut faster than the new Honda 4 stroke by StrikeMaster. SM had a bird that someone got it on video and wouldn't allow them to release it. Add the fact that it was a kid running the ION against the SM at one of the big Minnesota ice shows, and that is salt in the wounds.

[Moose416]

I've been using a cordless drill for over ten years now.  Updated to a ridgid 1/2" with lithium batteries.  They offer a lifetime replacement on the batteries and I caught it on sale for $99.  I've been making the adapter drives and safety clip for quite some time.  I usually make nearly 500 in the fall and pass them on to bait shops up in Wisconsin.  As long as you care for your blades, it's the cheapest,lightweight, and will last a lifetime with no fuel or gas.

[Damn Yankee]

The Rigid does well with a 6" auger but is hard put to do a 8" hole.

[Damn Yankee]

I call this the "ION SLITE" Ion motor w/ strike-lite auger. Weight 19lbs 12ozs. (stock Ion weighs 22lbs 1oz) cuts about the same as the Ion. If you're a Strikemaster person you'd say it cuts about 5% better.

1oz

[pikemaster1]

that looks awesome man. how fast does it cut?

[Damn Yankee]

The "ION TURQ"  w/Nils 8" auger, actually just a Nils extension w/PP bit and adapter shaft. Weight 21lbs 13ozs. Cuts a bit better than all the others but not enough to get excited about. 

[gruntngrin]

Still love my icegator, great auger

[Damn Yankee]

The 2 adaptions above were actually the augers that I used on my Icegator. The Strikemaster Strike-Lite was the most user friendly on the IceGator.
The Nils is just too fragile for everyday use. You can't let anybody use it for fear of banging it or beating on it. One below O day the Nils (on start up)
skid around in a circle and instantly sliced  through my boot. Another inch and a toe would have been gone. On reason I like the power-point bit.
Is IceGator still alive? Have not seen any advertisements.