Suggestions Please - Ice Auger choices

[ttankster]

As the title suggests, I am looking to purchase either a gas or battery powered auger for ice fishing this year.
For those of you that have one kind or another, I would certainly like to hear your opinions of what is good, bad or what to stay away from. Thanks

[BuckCuller]

I miss the old augers. The ones that were made mostly of metal parts not the plastic garbage they have now.
I looked at the new gas augers and didn't see any that would last 20 years like my last one so I bought a cordless.
I went with the first gen Ion and bought the X battery for a spare it's light and seems to be working nicely.

[dutchpirate]

I also have the Ion and it's been epic so far. Key to getting full use out of it is keeping the battery from getting cold. I use a small insulated lunch bag and one or two hot hands tossed in to keep it warm. Epic customer service as well. Original charger had a broken LED to show when it was fully charged. They sent me a new charger within days and I could keep the old one. Haven't needed a second battery yet, but may invest in one this year.

[bobalong]

I have an Ion as well, made an ice shack last year so it worked great for that. Still have the old Jiffy (1997), works well but the Ion is much lighter, no mixing gas and no smoke in the ice shack.

Also happy with the service I broke the thumb tab on mine last year and contacted them for a new one. I received it in about a week. Seemed like an odd part to make out of plastic but that seems to be the way the last few years.

[calgarygringo]

Lots of choices and some would depend on your fishing style. Like many other tools a few questions before deciding. I personally have an older eskimo and much older but classic jiffy. If I were to replace in my case I would consider electric. I dont usually drill a ton of holes so it makes sense for me. Some go out and drill the ice until it looks like
Swiss cheez then electric is not ideal. I would also consider a K Drill if you have a heavy duty drill already. I am thinking about one now. Same deal though how many holes do you drill. There is no magic correct answer. Like asking who makes the best pickup.

[TylerThomson]

I went from gas to electric and will never go back. I got the strikemaster lithium lazer.

[DisplacedCaper]

Chalk another one up for the ion here. Never failed me! I also heard if the batt gets cold it’ll act up, but I read that before my purchase and have always just put it in my jacket pocket and never had an issue. Lost count of the seasons I’ve had it. This will be the 5th or 6th I think.


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[Sloughsharkjigger]

Chalk another one up for the ion here. Never failed me! I also heard if the batt gets cold it’ll act up, but I read that before my purchase and have always just put it in my jacket pocket and never had an issue. Lost count of the seasons I’ve had it. This will be the 5th or 6th I think.


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Have used most everything, in all conditions... still using the Jiffy 34 upgraded to 10" bit.

If I was to buy another... I would go with electric... most likely the Ion with 10".

[spurly]

Another vote for Ion

[Russ C]

Here is another vote for the Ion.

[honker_clonker]

Strikemaster lazer mag fan here. I am a firm believer in drilling many holes to find fish and the speed, power and reliability that my strikemaster has shown has earned my dollars. The plastic handles are great since your skin won’t stick to them if you drill without gloves. My auger lives in the back of my truck for the entire season and it is still looking great going on 8 years even though it’s ‘plastic’. The only negative is the blades can be hard to find. The only parts I have had break on it were due to my negligence and not the craftsman ship. I like drilling a lot of holes, it works for me, guess I am the black sheep with my gas auger though!

[JohninAB]

I use an older Eskimo Stingray 8 inch. Works well for me. I use the premixed Stihl gas in it. Has never let me down. I drill my holes first then set my tent up.

If I was feeling the need for a new auger I would go electric. Ease of use and no fumes or gas leaking concerns be nice.

[PerchBuster]

Ion X all the way! No carb issues, no mixing or carrying gas, no pulling your guts out to get it started, so light you can drill all day without being exhausted, reverse is a great feature as is the light on it when drilling inside a dark tent or shack, never had a problem with the battery freezing up, cuts effortlessly, no broken pull ropes when you are 20km back in the bush somewhere, way way quieter, no flooding problems, no spark plugs to change out on a cold morning when you should be fishing. I’ve had just about every problem possible with gas augers it seems over the years. I’ve had a jiffy, the old ones were pretty bullet proof but still problematic for reasons above, I’ve had Eskimo, and the high end Husqvarna. So far this Ion X has been very impressive and I will never go back to a fuel Auger of any kind now but I would suggest you would probably be just as happy with any of the electrics but the Ion X is top shelf in my opinion. My buddy won’t even start his jiffy up anymore when he fishes with me, he grabs my Ion all the time instead. Good luck!

[neilsledder]

I bought the Eskimo Z71 last year and love it. It cuts like mad! I bought gas power over battery cause I have a bad memory, I would forget to charge it or forget the battery on the charger lol. Plus I like to winter camp over for a few nights and no way to charge them up


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[ttankster]

Thanks to all that have commented! There seems an obvious tilt towards the Ion brand...but I need to get on "The Google" and look at that one and the gas models mentioned as well! Thanks again for your input!

[Fishwhere]

Ive always had an old jiffy - and though it can be a pain in the @$$ its always worked. Ive been talking to a lot of people and the amount of holes you can put out on one battery is extremely impressive. I think ive heard numbers around 80x 1 1/2’ deep ice... the price i believe is near double for the electric one so if you dont ice fish alot i dont know if its worth dropping 600-800 bucks. The impressive things (which is the part i was most worried about originally) is the battery operation in the cold, and the years that it seems to continue to work well and not seem to diminish. Honestly if you fish a dozen or more times and money isnt a huge issue i would probably do the electric, if i start increasing ice fishing frequency i most likely will to.

If anyone else reads this and you guys have the electrics could you respond with a few stays for your units if you dont mind. Cost, number of holes - lets say 2 ft. Of ice, and how many years youve had it....? Now im curious again too..

Thanks guys!

[timbo]

I use a hand auger until the ice gets thick its light and fast , then I switch to my ION I love it no stinky gas no fumes and very reliable

[lsxfirebird]

Have an Eskimo z71 and a s33 and the stingray gets the bulk of the use, going on 4 winters with it and not a single thing has gone wrong or broke. Change the plus and filter yearly and run shell premium and Eskimo oil and starts first pull everytime. As with everything that has plastic fuel lines just make sure to store out of direct sunlight or excessive heat in the summer

[TROLLER]

I looked hard at the Ion and decided to go Strikemaster instead. With the Honda motor it is only 1 pound heavier than the Ion and no battery to go dead. Starts everytime on 2 pulls max and drills very fast and without any heavy lifting. Best auger I have ever had.

[Bigwoodsman]

I looked hard at the Ion and decided to go Strikemaster instead. With the Honda motor it is only 1 pound heavier than the Ion and no battery to go dead. Starts everytime on 2 pulls max and drills very fast and without any heavy lifting. Best auger I have ever had.

Is this the 4 stroke model? No fuel mixing?

BW

[newscientist]

Cordless drill and a manual auger work great for me. Light, cheap, and versatile.

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[Bigwoodsman]

I see no one has mentioned the propane powered Jiffy. Is this one to avoid?

BW

[jeffrey929]

I see no one has mentioned the propane powered Jiffy. Is this one to avoid?

BW

I have one... Issue free for 7 seasons... I did however purchase an Ion a couple seasons back, strictly for the lighter weight

[TROLLER]

Is this the 4 stroke model? No fuel mixing?

BW

Yes 4 stroke and runs very quiet. I also owned the propane model but it was just way too heavy for this old guy and that is why I went to the light weight 8" Strikemaster. Sure glad I did.

[Mayhem]

I looked hard at the Ion and decided to go Strikemaster instead. With the Honda motor it is only 1 pound heavier than the Ion and no battery to go dead. Starts everytime on 2 pulls max and drills very fast and without any heavy lifting. Best auger I have ever had.

Also running the Honda powered Strikemaster, very light, love it. Had a Lazer Mag Xpress with the 2.5 hp Solo motor for several years before that and it was an awesome auger as well. If you are going gas can't go wrong with SM.

[Map Maker]

Another happy customer with the honda powered strikemaster.
I bought it when it first came out (i was waiting with baited breathe for 4 stroke)
Never a problem.

[ttankster]

Thanks to you all again for the continued input.... each of your comments is being read and I'm doing a little research on those models commented on! Cheers.

[Poppa]

Bought a Jiffy Pro 4 last year and loved it. It's heavier, for sure, but can't get over how well it cuts. For $275 on clearance at CT last year, it was a steal...great buy for us.

[Aztec]

So does the new Ion X battery work in the reversible auger? not the newest auger.

[huntsfurfish]

Yes

[neilsledder]

Bought a Jiffy Pro 4 last year and loved it. It's heavier, for sure, but can't get over how well it cuts. For $275 on clearance at CT last year, it was a steal...great buy for us.



I see there’s a jiffy on sale now at Canadian tire for about that same price.


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[Saskieboy]

Jiffy Pro 4 10" propane , Hands down the best. I punch a lot of holes when I go out, and one bottle of propane lasts hundreds of holes. Depending on how cold it is & where you store the motor( out of the wind & cold) the bottles last & are cheap compared to gas. And the best part is no smell or mixing/ spilling gas/oil.The power is better than my buddies old Jiffy Pro 30 gas& cut holes way faster! 5 winters now & thousands of holes drilled every winter & not one issue. Starts on first pull & I can drill in the tent without smoking it out.

[StringTheory]

I had a really old Eskimo auger 8” all metal. It was good but a real pain to start. I upgraded last year to a jiffy pro 4 lite. It actually weights the same as my old auger so not that light. But starts first pull and I’ve never used a full bottle. Maybe go out2 or 3 times a month. It’s has been flawless. I move around a lot more drilling holes for everyone and I don’t come home smelling like 2 stroke or spilled gas.