Has anyone compared the Honda Lite to the Strike-Lite II?
I have a new in the box Strike-Lite II that was purchased last season but not gassed up due to a hunting injury and am debating whether to keep or to sell and buy the Honda.
Why would you want to? You have got a great machine right now. And if you sell it you will lose money. Or do you think that you need something better? You have got great right now.
I think you’ll be happier with the Honda. The Strike-lite II was a decent auger in its day, but improvements in the design, specifically the fully-encapsulated engine bladder, prevent some of the engine oil leaking seen in the Strikelite. The Honda was a reliable runner for me last winter, and the starting ease of the 4-stroke was pretty incredible. Less compression than my 3hp Lazer Pro means easier pulling, and it liked to fire up with minimal choke and fuss.
Good luck with your decision!
Joel
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Has anyone compared the Honda Lite to the Strike-Lite II?
I have a new in the box Strike-Lite II that was purchased last season but not gassed up due to a hunting injury and am debating whether to keep or to sell and buy the Honda.
I don’t know if I can recommend you sell a new in the box Strikelite II for the Honda without knowing what you paid for it and if you could easily find a buyer at the price you need to get clear of it… that’s your call.
There are some noteworthy improvements of the Honda over the Strikelite II. The encapsulating oil bladder that eliminates the need to keep the auger in one particular position during storage and transport is a huge improvement in 4 stroke powerheads. Although this is an extreme example, you can even drill with your Honda upside down without issue. This means no more oil leaking out of the powerhead because you set the auger down on the wrong side, no more fouled plugs or blown gaskets.
As for the performance of the two augers the Honda is definitely faster. I’ve done side-by-side testing and there’s a noticeable speed advantage to the Honda. The Honda has more torque which allows the Honda to be certified by Strikemaster to turn a 10″ auger bit. The Strikelite II won’t turn the 10″ bit well enough to be sold with the 10″ bit.
Is it enough to sell the new Strikelite II…? Again, that’s a call only you can make. If I was in the situation where I didn’t own either of them and I wanted a 4 stroke auger I’d pick the Honda without question.
Thanks for the info. I have $440- in the Strike-Lite. The major concern is transporting in the back of my pickup, otherwise the non-oil bladder wouldn’t be a big problem for me. Whatever one I end up with, I plan on keeping for a long time.
My strike light II works just great and I’ve had no issues with it riding around in the back of my truck. It usually rides around for a few weeks at a time. Only problem was a broken blade I’m not sure if it hit the box hard or broke during drilling but that is the only problem. The motor sure looks similar to my little Honda cultivator tiller 
I own the Strike lite II and have used it a lot in the last 3 or 4 years. I love it however it does have a few drawbacks. I would take a Honda lite in a heart beat if I could sell and buy for not much difference. The reasons stated by Joel and James are spot on. But again, I would suspect the Strike lite is worth about $350 and we are talking $575 for a new Honda. To me it just isn’t worth it. The Robin is a great little engine as well. Good Luck!!
James, it is interesting that your side by side had the honda faster. I was just commenting to my buddy that I thought my strike lite II was faster (we’ve never done a side by side comparison though) We do run 6″ bits. To solve the tip over issue I typically bungee it with that side up and try and make it so the auger doesn’t move. For a $200+ difference I’m personally sticking with my strike lite 2 until it’s days are over. Sweet little auger for sure.
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