Which one

[IceFiserman4Life]

I am planning on buying a gas auger but cant figure out which one. First question, what kind of blades. Are like the normal straight  sharp blades better than the jagged edge blades? And which kinda auger would you guys recomend for about $300


THANKS

[camo_fish]

I would go with a jiffy if  you can. and most gas augers I think use chipper blades, they last longer.
I'm seen strikemasters run just fine, if your looking for one under 300.
But, if you can handle a little more $$$, I would go with the jiffy, they have been around the longest, so I wonder why, mmm, maybe they will always outlast there competition.
Just my .02's.

[can_of_worms]

I have a Jiffy, I would not advise anyone to buy one. It is very heavy twice as much as any of the Strikemasters. It is loud, it cuts ok at best with sharp blades. I am going to go to the Lazer 224 this year and see how that works. I just read a few articles about augers, they were results from an ice competition. Strikemaster won every event they had. Nils was the next name, Jiffy was only mentioned as a snack. I do think that the nils is a quality auger, it is priced higher too. Look around and handle a few of them. Talk to the guy's on here, it is probably the largest pool of info from hands on guy's that you will find. Good luck

[settlepa]

Maybe Jiffy is heavier because they are better quality?  My friend bought a strikemaster and it was a piece of crap.  Took it back and ended up getting a Jiffy Stealth, I dont know I guess its an opinion, I do know that they are heavy though.

[Bob_D]

$300 is a tough price point. First....Stay away from Eskimo. I've yet to see one that works well. For $300, you are not going to get light or fast. You basically have two choices....Jiffy 76 and Strikemaster 2000. I've yet to see a Strikemaster 2000 cut worth a damn, so I'd recommend the Jiffy. If you have a few more bucks, you could open up a few more options.

can_of_worms,
Don't forget that Strikemaster puts on the "competition". It's a bit of a joke....The first year they forgot to invite anyone else.  IMO....Strikemaster is long on marketing and short on engineering.

[Robb]

$300 is a tough price point. First....Stay away from Eskimo. I've yet to see one that works well. For $300, you are not going to get light or fast. You basically have two choices....Jiffy 76 and Strikemaster 2000. I've yet to see a Strikemaster 2000 cut worth a d**n, so I'd recommend the Jiffy. If you have a few more bucks, you could open up a few more options.

can_of_worms,
Don't forget that Strikemaster puts on the "competition". It's a bit of a joke....The first year they forgot to invite anyone else.  IMO....Strikemaster is long on marketing and short on engineering.

My eskimo runs awesome and cuts awesome too!! I think they are all good if you get one that's been taken care of! And all of them can have junk one's (even new one's). I had two Jiffys before and they were both crap! My .2cents.

Robb

[pontiac787]

I just picked up a Jiffy 76 with a 9" blade.  You can find them for about $310-$315.  This place has free shipping http://www.bobbershopfishing.com/index.html.  It's a very sturdy and simple design.  No bells or whistles and very little plastic.  I'm not really interested in auger racing so if it takes an extra 3 or 4 seconds to cut through 2' of ice it won't make much of a difference.  According the manufacturer website it weighs about 3-4 lbs. more than the Strikemaster mag 2000.  I'm pretty sure both the Jiffy 76 and Strikmaster 2000 use the same engine. 

[Shrek]

The others might be fast while they last , only older augers I have seen were Jiffy. Bought one three seasons back and it cuts better every year. I get a kick out of listening to a good running auger cutting holes. Sharpened the blades a little and just hold it straight, let er rip.

[Waubay Fisher]

I have a Jiffy, I would not advise anyone to buy one. It is very heavy twice as much as any of the Strikemasters. It is loud, it cuts ok at best with sharp blades. I am going to go to the Lazer 224 this year and see how that works. I just read a few articles about augers, they were results from an ice competition. Strikemaster won every event they had. Nils was the next name, Jiffy was only mentioned as a snack. I do think that the nils is a quality auger, it is priced higher too. Look around and handle a few of them. Talk to the guy's on here, it is probably the largest pool of info from hands on guy's that you will find. Good luck

I'm not quite sure where you're coming from here.  Last year I bought the Jiffy 2HP stealth 8" and it was just as light as all the strikemasters I picked up and lifted in the stores.  As far as cutting... I burned through 30" of ice last season with brand new blades in a LOT less time than I saw other people doing.  All in all - by the end of the season I probably drilled several hundred holes at least, and it cut just as fast at the end of the season as it did when it was brand new!  As far as noise is concerned, mine didn't seem to be ANY noiser than any other drill out there.  As far as competition, I've heard Strikemaster is about as equal as Jiffy - they both use the Tecumseh engines.  Nils I know is supposed to be the top of the line, but I think Jiffy & Strikemaster are probably about equal, IMO that is.  However, that new Strikemaster that just came out (no mixed fuel) - is supposed to be quite the auger from the articles I read.

Not meaning to be contradictory or rude... just stating my opinions as I'm perfectly happy with my Jiffy!!! 

-WF.

[can_of_worms]

You are not being rude at all, this is as old of a debate as is Ford or Chevy, someone is looking for info as to what is going to be his best bet, he will take in the info and make his choice. That is why this board is so helpful. because people can give their opinions to help others decide. I never said I thought the Jiffy was junk, I have found enough things with it that I don't like. I will post as to how I like/dislike the new one also.     


As for the competition it was a name that I had never heard of that put it on, it was a manufactures invitational in Canada. Nils won the hand auger, and Strike won most of the power. I will try to find the info again.

[Waubay Fisher]

Yep - it's definitely a huge debate .  I remember reading plenty of debates about them in the last few years here on IS  .  I guess it depends all upon personal preference... hopefully whichever auger you get IceFisher4Life - you'll enjoy and be happy w/ your purchase!  Let us know what you decide on!!!

-WF.

[ice dawg]

You always get a lot of good information here when you ask. Mostly what you will get is opinions from owners. In the end, the only one you have to please is yourself. In my opinion I would probably buy an auger with a chipper style blade for the first time because they are a little more forgiving than some of the shaver type blades. I takes a little while to learn how to treat your auger. I like something that is a little more forgiving if you happen to get a little careless once in a while as I do. Just one more opinion.

[tommy-n]

I'm pretty much in the same boat, gonna get a new one soon. The strike master is 5 pounds lighter than the jiffy, on the 2hp 8" models. The jiffys are definetly built to last, I have a 32 year old 8" one handled nuckle buster that still runs,just need something a little newer and lighter. The newer jiffys have different blades and seem to cut pretty good.