Fastest ice auger ?

[Esox_Magnum]

When you factor in tht with the Nils you basicly get a hand and power auger, you'r realy not spending any more. Resharpenings cheaper than buying new blades and as stated your buying an industrial built motro that should last you a lifetime. I know of many Tanaka motors pushing 25-30 years old nd still running great with little to no matinence.

[tsande00]

When is the last time you saw a 15 year old Strike Master?

Nels

I see them all the time. My brother has one. Cuts about as fast as Molasses in January (original unsharpened blades) but gets the job done. I'm not a fan of having to put weight or downward pressure in order to cut a hole and that is definitely the case with my brother's but I've used an Eskimo that is the same way.

[leech~~]

what is the fastest ice auger? if you were going to line them up side by side what auger would cut a hole the fastest?

Power Ice Auger World Championships

The top two in the modified used chainsaw motors. Pic attached.

Strikemaster won the stock divisions.

I thought we already covered this before!!

[brian6715]

I have never seen a strike master that did not look like a ton of work to get one hole down compared to the 4 my jiffy will cut in the same time.

I would be scared #@#*less by something that could cut 4 times as fast as my SM Lazer! Holy smokes!

Ladies and gentlemen don't always believe everything you read on the google

[harvey lee]

I was a Nils fan for years and never found an auger that was faster and I raced many different types.

I now use a Strikemaster and this thing is faster.

Yesterday I was on the lake and another with me was using a Nils 8". I watched when he started to cut a hole and once he was started, I started and I was out of that hole and had started another before he was done.

I thought man he must have dull blades but after asking, I found out they were not that old. My StrikeMaster's blades have been on for all of last season and this season so my blades were hands down older and we were both drilling through the same ice depth and mine was faster without a doubt.

The Nils is a few pounds lighter but the Strikemaster leaves the hole so much cleaner.

I know some Nils guys will not believe this but it's fact. I realize some Nils owners have rejetted thier Nils and have a more agressive cutting tip than others but stock auger for stock auger, Strikemaster wins for me hands down.

[harvey lee]

Nils all the way. I have seen them all cut and havent seen one as fast as my Nils. Get the blades sharpened by Surface Tension and hang on!

I would have agreed with you Steve a few years ago. My Strikemaster is a bad boy for sure. It honestly does cut faster than a Nils with a stock cutting tip and a stock jet.

[cabin]

Nils is faster and more expensive than Strikemaster Solo. In my experience Nils is also a lot more reliable. In this case, you get what you pay for.

[Big Tom]

15 years on my SM and on the third set of blades. Don't care about fast. I enjoy that it starts first or second pull every time out and it's not as heavy as a Jiffy. Cutting 7-15 holes is not a big problem to me.

[harvey lee]

I agree fatire. The Strikemaster augers work very well and cut great. That's all that matters in regards to cutting.

Thier CS is great and the new SOLO German motor is a great motor. If one is to have any issues as all augers do at some time or another, Strikemaster is right here in Minnesota and one can get it repaired and at times for no charge.

Both the Nils and the Strikemaster are good augers and will get a guy fishing. One may be a couple pounds lighter but another leaves a cleaner hole so it's about a wash.

[songbirds]

I had a Strikemaster LM 8" for thirteen years-finally died. Last week I bought the Strikemaster Lazer Pro 3hp, 10". FANTASTIC!!!! Rips holes like crazy, plus not smokey like the older models. I'd go against any auger compatable on the market.

[MN BassFisher]

I have an Eskimo Mako (not fast but for $250 it does what I need it to) and I used my buddies newer Strikemaster Solo, holy cccrappp was that thing fast. It had so much power it wanted to jump out of my hands.

[herefish101]

I love it when Jiffy owners say they'll out drill anyone......lmao..... I'm a Strikemaster fan myself but I'v never used a nils. What about Eskimo? I'm pretty sure a top of the line Eskimo will smoke a Jiffy. In my opinion you cant beat the lazer pro.

[tsande00]

I think the most underrated thing with the SM lazers is how easy (not just fast) they cut a hole. It literally takes no effort. You just hold on to the handles and let her rip. The auger drills the hole for you (like a power auger should). There is no pushing down or leaning on the auger to make it cut. It just rips away.

(Sounds like the Nils also do this) Must have to do with the Shaver blades...I don't know. But both the older SM Mag and Eskimo I have used in recent years require a fair amount of effort from the user to get through the ice. Yes they get the job done, but it takes some effort and I've *gasp* actually broken a sweat *gasp* drilling a hole with these other augers.

[tsande00]

I love it when Jiffy owners say they'll out drill anyone......lmao..... I'm a Strikemaster fan myself but I'v never used a nils. What about Eskimo? I'm pretty sure a top of the line Eskimo will smoke a Jiffy. In my opinion you cant beat the lazer pro.

A Jiffy is a reliable tank that will probably last 25 years, but yes...it's hilarious to imagine one out drilling a Lazer or Nils. It's just not going to happen. Probably last 10 years longer though and drill more holes in the long run.

The weight turns me off of Jiffy. Cutting speed is overrated though...unless your the type punching more than 20 holes in an outing, which I do occasionally, but more often than not, not. The only other brand I would consider besides SM is Nils and truthfully I would pass on Nils simply because of my proximity to SM headquarters and my experiences working with their CS. It's just too convenient.

But yeah, I definitely like my Ford more than my old Chevy...wait, was it my Polaris over the Arctic Cat? Oh yeah, we're discussing augers.

[aanderud]

A couple comments....

First, Tom is correct - his SM solo yesterday was faster than my Nils. So to answer the original poster's question, it seems that SM wins, assuming Tom's is stock. Second, he was bent over about as far as possible to finish the holes, with his powerhead touching the shavings, after drilling only 21 inches of ice. Give it another few inches of ice, and he'll need the extension, while I won't. So there are advantages to the Nils, but speed isn't one of them. Mine's lighter WITH that longer blade.

The SM solo didn't exist when I bought my Nils. I bought the best auger that was available when I was in the market. Unlike some people, I don't have the luxury of a free auger every 2-3 years when a new sponsor joins HSO/FM, so I'll be drilling with the lowly Nils for another 20 years or so, til it is worn out. That's how long my last SM lasted me anyway -- roughly 23 years on the strikemaster Magnum III.

Bottom line -- both are good augers, but today it's a lot tougher decision to make than it was in the past. I might go so far as to say SM would win my businss if I was buying today -- faster, local customer service (which is apparently a godsend because most people nowadays seem to need service on their SM it seems at one time or another), cheaper (though I bought my Nils new in the box for cheaper than a solo from a guy who changed his mind after buying a half dozen of them for his fishouse rental business), more widely available blades, etc.

Do I regret the Nils purchase? Not one iota, because as I said it was the best auger out when I bought it. Today it might be a tougher decision though. Sorta like when I bought my Dodge Ram Quad Cab, and then 3 years later Toyota came out with the newly revamped monster Tundra. I though "boy, that would be nice". The Tundra had a wimpy 235 hp V8 when I was in the market, just about enough to tow a utility trailer with a lawn mower on it. A few years later, the new 385 hp engine would have been great for towing my boat, but alas I already have a truck

[tsande00]

I bought an extension at SM the other day for $10 and it weights about a pound. Took about 90 seconds to install. I don't think an extension should be a factor when deciding an auger.

[Cyberfish]

I see them all the time. My brother has one. Cuts about as fast as Molasses in January (original unsharpened blades) but gets the job done. I'm not a fan of having to put weight or downward pressure in order to cut a hole and that is definitely the case with my brother's but I've used an Eskimo that is the same way.

I still have my lazermag I bought in 1995

[DTro]

I bought an extension at SM the other day for $10 and it weights about a pound. Took about 90 seconds to install. I don't think an extension should be a factor when deciding an auger.

The point isn't really what it weighs, but rather by the time you purchase an extension and a hand auger (which also comes with the Nils) you are just about up to the same price as a Nils.

I'm not saying one is better than the other, the fact is that things evolve and no doubt get better. Companies tend to leap frog one another. Like Aanderud said, you make an educated decision at the time of purchase.

As far as speed, he failed to mention to Tom that he probably drilled at least 3 or 4 hundred holes on that "sharp" blade. I'm pretty sure we popped more holes the past 5 times out that most people do in a year.

[TravP]

I bought a new solo this season. One of the biggest things for me is the availability of blades. Ya, I could send the head to have it sharpened, but that's not exactly convenient. Pretty much all of the bait stores I've been to carry 8" lazer blades. Also, I like not having shavings in my holes when I'm done drilling. If its all about speed to get your lines down, I bet I get mine down faster because I don't have to scoop my holes out.

[rkpolaris]

I bought an extension at SM the other day for $10 and it weights about a pound. Took about 90 seconds to install. I don't think an extension should be a factor when deciding an auger.

I agree, at most an extension is 30 bucks

[Esox_Magnum]

So when in a shack ( flip over) how do you keep shavings out of the other holes?? My holes are clean enough to fish when drilled if I'm hopping.

BTW some of us drill 5-6 holes in our flip overs so no matter what holes fill up.

[TravP]

No need for me to drill more then one hole for a house as I have a fish trap pro. In my buddies otter cabin we drill 2 holes, when pulling the auger out I just don't rap on the throttle, no mess but still have 2 clean holes. There's really no reason in trying to make more out of this never ending argument of stikemaster vs nils.

[brian6715]

The point isn't really what it weighs, but rather by the time you purchase an extension and a hand auger (which also comes with the Nils) you are just about up to the same price as a Nils.

I'm not saying one is better than the other, the fact is that things evolve and no doubt get better. Companies tend to leap frog one another. Like Aanderud said, you make an educated decision at the time of purchase.

As far as speed, he failed to mention to Tom that he probably drilled at least 3 or 4 hundred holes on that "sharp" blade. I'm pretty sure we popped more holes the past 5 times out that most people do in a year.

This is where it comes down to absolute personal preference. I prefer the shorter SM, in fact if it came in two options I would go with the shorter option for the auger. I fish in both the south part of the state and around Duluth, and I have never really needed an extension. Even fishing up north you more often than not don't need an extension. To me it is worth it to have the auger shorter, being 95% of the time I don't need an extension (in fact I have an extension I have never used, and I fish Mille Lacs and LOTW quite a bit). The shorter auger is easier to fit in my Trailblazer and takes up less space to store it in the summer. That advantage far outweighs the rare time I would need the SM longer.

Drilling 300-400 holes should not be a factor in a blade's cutting speed; in a hard week of ice fishing I will easily drill 200 holes! Although I like to move a ton and I am never content even if I am on fish, as I think finding fish in a different area presents a fun challenge. I am on year two with my Lazer and it still cuts like butter! I have a second set of blades, I put them on two weeks ago on Mille Lacs and there was absolutely no difference in cutting speed. You just have to be smart with not touching sand or things like that.

[schmoe147]

Strikemaster 224 hands down fastest stock auger.

[TravP]

Strikemaster 224 hands down fastest stock auger.

Not with no tecumseh its not!