propane or ion...drill?

[FrozenTRD]

I'm looking into a new auger and have been thinking I am going with propane...but the more I research it seems like the ion and now going with a drill should be the route. Generally no more than 20 holes in a day; almost always at least 10" of ice...more commonly 16"+.
What say you?
Thanks.

[Raptortrapper]

I have a propane one that a buddy left with me when he moved to Texas.  Works very well.  Another local buddy has a battery powered auger.  Much lighter and works well also.

Since hole count isn’t huge, I’d find the best deal and go for it.  I’m still on the same bottle of propane after two seasons.  I’m out almost every weekend, and don’t still more than 20 holes either.  10” to 12” of ice usually.

[GBguy]

Do you typically go after big fish or sight fish at all? I guess what I'm getting at is do you think you'd need a 10" hole? The Ion or propane drill can make a 10" hole no problem, the battery power drill can't.

Do you have any power Milwaukee, Ridgid or Dewalt tools/batteries already that you could just get a bare tool? That makes the cost of the drill setup a bit easier on the pocketbook.

Last year I drill 27 holes through about 17" of ice with my Ridgid Octane and 3ah battery drilling 6" holes with a strikemaster lazer hand auger bit. That combo cost less than $200 and is still my go-to setup, though I just bought a 9ah battery and 8" mora auger bit for days when I'm sight fishing and want a bigger hole.

Do you have any need for a high-torque drill around the house? That can be another reason to go with the drill setup. A "wife write-off" so to speak.

End of the day you can't really go wrong with any of those 3 options you listed. They'll all put holes in the ice. I think the drill is most versatile, propane might be fairly affordable if you find a used one, and Ion would be the most expensive.

[JH57]

I have the 2800 series Milwaukee fuel hammer drill (1200 in-lb torgue)  With an old 8" Mora auger and the Kovac adaptor I think it will drill roughly 45-50 holes in 12" of ice on a 5 ah battery.  I think I drilled 12 or 15 holes one day and still had 3 bars on the battery.

[Seamonkey84]

Drill and 7/8” auger! I’d recommended a clam plate as well, but that’s personal preference. They add stability, but the cost is going way up on them.

[bigfoot86]

Either seems like it would be a good choice.  Seems many ice fishermen are gravitating toward the lighter end of the spectrum when it comes to augers these days, the portable electric hand drill set up or the 'ion' type of drills.  I have the Eskimo P1 which is one of the lightest 4 stroke power augers out there but still not as light as the electric power set ups.  Only reason I shied away from the ion style drills was the cost of batteries when time comes or especially dealing with charging them.

All depends how many holes u drill on average throughout the day really.  If you don't drill many go electric.  Where I live fishing can be tough, where I don't have a lot of venues to fish within an hour drive so I fish highly pressured waters in where I'm drilling 'sometimes' 40-50 holes a day to find something goin.  Just ONE propane tank lasted well over 400+ holes in average about 9-10" ice.  Basically your avg. fishermen that doesn't drill a lot of holes, one tank of propane will easily last you the season depending on ice thickness of course.  Good luck with your choice don't think you can go wrong either way.

[Tom1983]

If you’re good at making sure the batteries are charged, it would be a lighter option.  I went the propane route because I know I would forget.

[Raquettedacker]

My buddy bought a propane 10" and it works great. Not sure of brand..Had it out on several sub 0* days and it never froze and started on first pulls.  The only problem is the weight..

[geo315]

Propane 8" Eskimo  and a drill.  The drill is a Milwaukee fuel and the blade is a strike master mora.   The mora works fine.  Used it up to 18" of blue ice. Made my own conversion kit for about 25 bucks   also works great.  Much less weight than the propane.  Kinda wish I did not buy the propane. 
Geo.

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

If you have a quality power drill at the house already, a drill auger is a good option. Something with 750in/lb of torque or higher, a brushless motor, a side handle and a 5ah battery is recommended. If you don't, and had to buy one, you'd be looking at 400+ for a drill set up. Big advantage is they are much lighter than most other options.

I have never used an ion, but have fished next to 3 over the years, and they were painfully slow. May have been dull blades, but they were mega slow.

Propane augers have their benefits, but are the heaviest augers on the market (last I saw.)

If money wasn't an option, and I had to go buy an auger, Id buy the StrikeMaster 40V.

Good luck. When it comes down to it, all augers will drill a fine hole to fish out of.