My ion is great. I love it. BUT. It is not the right tool when very cold with thick ice. I consider it my first half of winter drill.
The coldest days are when I envy the strikemaster 40v. January this year at -35F I start my well maintained and good running gas auger after a lot of pulls and let it warm for 5 minutes before drilling. My buddy with the 40v hops off his sled, pops the battery in and starts drilling.
MMM trying to say this tactfully, I wonder if the hand drills that are used with the k-drill or similar are designed to withstand the (I) current loads that the system will draw especially in thick ice. That funny smell that you notice in the air while drilling in thick ice is the motor getting hot. Curious, for you guys that use hand drills and have burned them up, do you tell the retailer that you used it for ice fishing? and if so do they honor the warranty? And man does that hurt when the auger gets stuck and the drill smacks you in the hand or wrist, it screwed up a night of bowling for me.
And if you like for fun compare the performance of the 40v Strikemaster to the Kdrill/Hand Drill combo, no comparison 40V Strikemaster hands down.
If your wondering what to expect for battery life on the Strikemaster 40V, with an 8″ auger you can drill approximately 80 holes per day in 20″ of ice with a single charge, under this scenario I would say around 500 ice fishing days. So lets say you actually fish 60 days per season that is right at 8 years of use. Next scenario lets say you ice fish 30 days per season like many, well then the life cycle could be doubled. All this assumes you take care of your battery pack as per easy to follow instructions provided by Strikemaster. In regards to electric versus gas please take a look at all gas trimmers, chain saws, blowers etc etc. The trend is clear. And lets be honest messing with carbs all the time, mixing gas and carrying gas is a pain. The 40v Strikemaster is a great buy for the money, get one enjoy it, and the lights are cool.
Finally was able to find a weekend to fish with my dad. he has an old stingray auger. For the last few years it has started malfunctioning and dies out when you hit the gas. We went out saturday and we were not able to get to run enough to drill holes. He has taken to the shop many times for repairs. We tossed around the idea of getting something newer. The idea of an electric auger seems appealing because no more gas mixtures, no more pull cords, etc I have the Strikemaster 40volt and I absolutely love it. Cuts holes like butter and no gas and no sore arms and hands trying to pull start. ????
From those of you that have electric augers are their brands to stay away from or recommendation. We typically drill less than 20 holes. Besides making sure they are charged is their any other maintenance or issues with these drills?
Thanks in advance.
Finally was able to find a weekend to fish with my dad. he has an old stingray auger. For the last few years it has started malfunctioning and dies out when you hit the gas. We went out saturday and we were not able to get to run enough to drill holes. He has taken to the shop many times for repairs. We tossed around the idea of getting something newer. The idea of an electric auger seems appealing because no more gas mixtures, no more pull cords, etc
From those of you that have electric augers are their brands to stay away from or recommendation. We typically drill less than 20 holes. Besides making sure they are charged is their any other maintenance or issues with these drills?
Thanks in advance.
I wonder if the hand drills that are used with the k-drill or similar are designed to withstand the (I) current loads that the system will draw especially in thick ice. That funny smell that you notice in the air while drilling in thick ice is the motor getting hot.
If you get a new brushless drill it won’t get remotely warm and the new drills cut out if you draw too many amps. It kind of sounds like you are talking about the drills from 5 yrs ago. Technology has advanced…
I do agree that a Strikmaster will cut circles around a KDrill though. No comparison.
I was in Eau Claire and stopped at a local hardware store Not big Box store and was looking at the Milwaukee Fuel Brushless and the guy behind the counter said that Milwaukee will not cover warranty if used as an ice drill. Not sure if they will or won’t but that’s what the salesmen said.
I have also heard Milwaukee won’t warantee them if used as an ice drill. Even though I have one I can’t say I blame them for that.
Yep stopped working on the job.
I have been using a brushless Ridgid with a k-drill and a 6AH battery and am very happy. I chose Ridgid for the lifetime warranty.
I have also heard Milwaukee won’t warantee them if used as an ice drill. Even though I have one I can’t say I blame them for that.
Just make sure to disconnect the auger before sending it back.
I had a mag 3 plus gas for 30 years and never once got stuck at the bottom of the ice! now 2 year old jiffy doesn’t seem to break through! I believe these fast high speed augers don’t have the torque like my old mag 3 that just drills right through. I bought a new used mag 3 and am ready to s can this jiffy!
I have been taking both the KDrill and my gas auger out this year. So far the electric is nice but have problems with it cutting out and glad I brought the gas auger with.
Joe wrote:If you get a new brushless drill it won’t get remotely warm and the new drills cut out if you draw too many amps. It kind of sounds like you are talking about the drills from 5 yrs ago. Technology has advanced…
I do agree that a Strikmaster will cut circles around a KDrill though. No comparison.
Joe, I can assure you that all brushed and brushless drills develop significant heat under load while cutting ice, especially the hand drills not designed to cut ice…… Many factors involved in regard to cutouts and I understand them quite well. I try to tactfully make comments to help provide a good choice for the actual user based upon real testing.
Good luck
oe, I can assure you that all brushed and brushless drills develop significant heat under load while cutting ice, especially the hand drills not designed to cut ice…… Many factors involved in regard to cutouts and I understand them quite well. I try to tactfully make comments to help provide a good choice for the actual user based upon real testing.
Thanks Jay it sounds like you know a lot about these drills. I’m sure more than I do, so thanks for the input. All my knowledge is just from first hand experience and far from scientific. I’ve had no detectable heat drilling 8″ holes quite aggressively with my Dewalt 996. I also did my best to test the torque required to turn an 8″ laser auger and its far less than the drill is rated for. So far it’s been doing a great job, but time will tell. The drills are only $80 if something does go wrong I guess.
If you could let us know which drills are rated for “Ice” as you put it and which ones are not. I’m sure everyone would love to know. I’ve never seen a drill company list something as rated for ice. Can you tell us where to get this info? Thank you!
Joe, I believe it is a good idea to purchase a product that is designed for the application. Strikemaster, Ion and Jiffy are examples of ice augers designed for ice fishing and have been in the market for many years.
IMO, drills are a better choice for 80% of ice fishing applications, maybe more. All you get with a ice auger company is a higher cost and a lesser battery design.
Joe, I believe it is a good idea to purchase a product that is designed for the application. Strikemaster, Ion and Jiffy are examples of ice augers designed for <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>ice fishing and have been in the market for many years.
I totally disagree. I’ve been using my hilti drill now 2 full seasons pushing a 6 7 and 8 inch bit. No issues and it still comes to work with me on the daily. No wasted money there. And it’s not over priced like some augers
Have used both a ION and a K-Drill. They were nice but I will stick with my Strikemaster Chipper Mag. My Strikemaster Mag III seized up last year after over 20 years of dependable service it became a wall decoration in a buddies man cave.
IMO, drills are a better choice for 80% of <em class=”ido-tag-em”>ice fishing applications, maybe more. All you get with a ice auger company is a higher cost and a lesser battery design.
There is truth to this. Issues with the hand drill setups in general are due to using inferior equipment (Craftsman, Bosch, B&D). High-end, modern, DeWalt and Milwaukee drills have proven their capabilities over several years.
You do use them in unintended ways that could potentially pose reliability concerns if you’re not careful (heavy bits that put a lot of leverage on the chuck and driveshaft), but the actual torque placed on the drill itself is well within the capabilities of a DeWalt 996 or Milwaukee 2804. Extra thick ice isn’t going to change this either. There is a lot of competition for performance in the drill market for power, reliability, and run time.
Plus now you get a super high end drill to use around the house all 12 months of the year, whereas a dedicated auger sits on the shelf and doesn’t get used. If money was no object I’d grab a new model strikemaster to always have the optimal setup to choose from. But really, you have pro tournament fisherman using drill setups so I’d say that’s validation enough the drill combo is a legit solution
I have the original ION and a spare battery. I’m sure you bring extra gas! I have drilled up to the head and have never had any problems! You couldn’t give me 100 gas auger to replace my ION. It’s great when the gas guys are struggling I bring the ION Over and let them drill. Just replaced the blades for the 1st time drills like a hot knife through butter! I drill a lot of holes! Like to hole hop electric is the way to go!!! 
StrikeMaster is discontinuing gas augers because there’s little to no consumer demand for gas augers. Pretty simple, really. I get to see combined sales numbers for companies competing in this category and gas auger sales can’t even be optimistically described as dying. They’re dead.
Well Strikemaster’s 2019/20 offerings are out now (probably for a while) and I suppose we all knew this was coming. Only the one 40V and one gas that looks like a leftover ’til that’s sold out.
Strikemaster Augers isn’t much an auger company anymore with their newest offerings being an ice suit competing with Striker Ice and Clam ice fishing flotation suits. And the other new offering being a “K-drill” type auger. Both of these latest and greatest seem late to the party now and they’re chasing after ideas, innovation, and newer technology years behind their competition.
Rather sad I say that an iconic power auger company has been reduced to nothing more than a copycat following the footsteps of companies that make ice suits and augers using an electric drill. 
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What’s the big deal. Companies come and go. Someone invents something better, people buy it. The other companies better copy to stay alive until the next big thing. Right now it’s shifting to the kdrill style auger. No engine. Less parts. Super expensive. Only companies feeling the heat are the drill companies dealing with warranty issues.
In a few years some no name company will have an electric auger that’ll weight 5lbs and drill 200+ holes in 3’ of ice…
I can make memes too
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i’m going on year 6 with my original Ion auger and batteries and both are just as good as they were when brand new…wasn’t the big argument against buying electric that the battery wouldn’t last more than a few years and you would be constantly repurchasing new ones? The $ savings and zero hassles over the past 6 years has been great! Just pull the trigger and drill….
A new drill or auger bit are both great reasons to buy each other! The M18 fuel 1/4 impact driver that came with the combo will pull lug nuts.
I did lose against a 40v Strikemaster in a late season drill off. Left him impressed though. And I’m still happy..
I have an Ion, it works real nice
The truth will set you free! 
and newer technology years behind their competition.
How do you figure?
Have you actually used or looked at any of their offerings?
When I was at Vexilar last fall….and met with the gentlemen that handles the K-Drill…he showed me letters from both Milwaukee and DeWalt stating there warranties would be honored even if used just for ice fishing. Just to let you know
I can attest that Milwaukee honors their warrantee when used as an Ice Drill. Had mine fixed last year.
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