Clam Drill Plate - HAS REALLY COME TO THIS?!?!?

[courtlandpond]

Current auction as of today. For the Clam drill plate only. No auger. Current bid $182.49!

I realize they have been popular and many, many store are out. This ad claims Clam will be out-of-production of these for the season.

Supply and demand I guess. No way I'd pay that though. Especially knowing it retails for $69.99.

[Big A]

guess i should have bought a dozen at the show this year...

oh well...

another missed get rich quick opportunity. lol

[MnCatGuy]

I still don't understand why anyone would buy these unless they already have a hand auger and a drill powerful enough to run it?

Hand Auger - $60 to $150

Drill Plate - $70

Drill - $150 to $200

Extra Battery(s) - $30 to $50+

If you went low end on everything you'd be in the mid $300s, closer to $500 with a synthetic hand auger and high end drill. Why not just go gas or electric at that point?

[ammoman16]

I still don't understand why anyone would buy these unless they already have a hand auger and a drill powerful enough to run it?

Hand Auger - $60 to $150

Drill Plate - $70

Drill - $150 to $200

Extra Battery(s) - $30 to $50+

If you went low end on everything you'd be in the mid $300s, closer to $500 with a synthetic hand auger and high end drill. Why not just go gas or electric at that point?

I suppose weight savings and the fact that you may already have the drill are the only reasons at that point.

[MnCatGuy]

The weight is a good point, especially for those that walk into more remote areas. I'm not knocking the product, just trying to figure out exactly where it fits in with all the gear available these days.

[courtlandpond]

My thoughts exactly. I strongly considered getting this just to save weight. But when I factored in the cost of everything I ruled it out. And I needed everything. $300+ to do this setup and not really that dependable over the years (motor burn out, quality of drill plate).

I just sold my 40lb jiffy for the new 27lb clam gas auger. 14lbs for drill plate setup versus 27lb gas auger. I think I can handle that. Selling the jiffy and buying the Clam came to net $200 out of pocket.

I think I made the right choice.

[brian6715]

It sounds like getting the drill setup for the unit can be a big pain as well. One thing I know, lithium ion batteries do not last when they are used hard, and drilling through ice is going to be extremely hard on any 18V drill. Anyone who says a battery is going to last you over 4-5 years has never actually used their equipment on something this tough. Both our Makita and Dewault sets at work (construction) the batteries last around 2 years, but yes they do get recharged a lot.

Even if you get 5 years out of a set of batteries, having to replace a set of two at around $150 would get really annoying, really fast. I can also speak from experience that a commercial grade Makita drill would not have a chance of lasting 5 years if I used it as my ice auger, but I probably drill more holes than most.

[JoeMX1825]

I was in the boat of having an extra DeWalt 18 volt Hammerdrill I wasn't using. I only drill a few holes when I ice fish, so it was a no brainer...super lightweight (especially with the deWalt LIon battery pack) and I don't have to mess around drill the holes by hand or worry about gas/oil... for my application, it couldn't be better...

Clam was guessing most ice fisherman have a hand auger lying around the garage as well as a power drill (it's easily removable) so for $60 you have a lightweight power auger...

[JoeMX1825]

It sounds like getting the drill setup for the unit can be a big pain as well. One thing I know, lithium ion batteries do not last when they are used hard, and drilling through ice is going to be extremely hard on any 18V drill. Anyone who says a battery is going to last you over 4-5 years has never actually used their equipment on something this tough. Both our Makita and Dewault sets at work (construction) the batteries last around 2 years, but yes they do get recharged a lot.

Even if you get 5 years out of a set of batteries, having to replace a set of two at around $150 would get really annoying, really fast. I can also speak from experience that a commercial grade Makita drill would not have a chance of lasting 5 years if I used it as my ice auger, but I probably drill more holes than most.

If you're using it that much, then you should be using a gas auger, it's meant for early ice or those who only drill a few holes..an easy entry level auger to get into ice fishing.

[fishwater]

I was kinda surprised it took me half a day to sell mine with extension

for $65

[MuskieJunkie]

Reeds has the auger/plate combo on sale for $130

I still don't understand why anyone would buy these unless they already have a hand auger and a drill powerful enough to run it?

Hand Auger - $60 to $150

Drill Plate - $70

Drill - $150 to $200

Extra Battery(s) - $30 to $50+

If you went low end on everything you'd be in the mid $300s, closer to $500 with a synthetic hand auger and high end drill. Why not just go gas or electric at that point?

I paid $130 for the plate and 6" auger, then $260 for 20v Dewalt Hammer drill and two 3ah batteries. So $390. Plus I got a Dewalt impact driver that I "needed".

I sold my Jiffy STX for $300, I liked it but it was 40lbs, this set up is less than 20.

As far was what drill to use, there is a thread in the ice team section specifically about that. From reading it, it sounds like the everyday 18v drills burn out and you really need a big heavy duty 20v drill. Clam Drill plate

[amateurfishing]

to get back on topic, aint any different that the black betty reel bonanza last year, or when twinkies went away, etc. pure supply & demand

as for the clam drill package, its a dream. I will use strictly for early/late ice, anything under 12inches, it is awesome, lightweight, super portable, like a hot knife through butter, but learned fast even though I can do 18 inches of ice easily with it, not smart for batteries or drill. put it this way, I would drop $300 a lot faster for this (if needed)over a really high end fish finder. & just got a 2pack of extra batteries for my dewalt yesterday on clearance. ecstatic about the possibilities with this

[ozzie]

gimmick...like said we will see if it is still popular in a year or two. The best application I see for this is remote trips like in the BWCA. For early ice if you have the hand auger with sharp blades getting through 5-7 inches of ice is easy and after 7 inches of ice pull out the regular auger. Just don't see it being a long term deal when replacing the batteries is costly and every few years you will probably need a new drill. An auger if used and cared for correctly should last 20+ years

[aanderud]

Just don't see it being a long term deal when replacing the batteries is costly and every few years you will probably need a new drill. An auger if used and cared for correctly should last 20+ years

I agree with you. These drills are not designed to be drilling an auger bit that large through ice. Sure, they "work", but only about as much as a minivan makes a good tow vehicle. Yes, a dodge caravan might technically say it can handle my 18 foot crestliner. However, do it for 100k miles and see how much additional wear and tear is on that thing, if it even still runs.

From the number of folks I read in the other thread that burned out their $100 to $150 drills in less than a month, and then decided to upgrade to $250 drills hoping they'd last longer, I'd guess your "every few years" is even generous. At some point between battery and drill replacement cost when they wear out, I'd guess the total cost of ownership on these things will approach or even exceed the Ion or Ice Gator. Yeah, those larger motors might cost more in the beginning, but they will last much longer, simply because it was designed to handle that kind of load.

To each their own, though.

[DTro]

As far as I know, this isn't even allowed in the BWCA? But yes if so then I agree a great application.

But at this price? Sorry, but even the lowest end power auger at a few pounds more for the same price is better a better option. IMO

[aanderud]

I don't think they'd be allowed in the bwca based on things I read. I think it'd be classified as a power auger and be outlawed in much the same way electric trolling motors are.

Quote:

MOTORS NOT ALLOWED

With the exception of a few lakes, motors are not allowed in the Boundary Waters. This applies to all motorized equipment: boat motors, electric trolling motors, chainsaws, power augers, generators, pumps, snowmobiles, ATV's, remote control boats and planes, etc. You cannot have them in your possession, whether in use or not.

[ozzie]

never thought if they wouldn't be able to be used in BWCA...guess it would be one of those if it motorized section of the BWCA or not

[ammoman16]

BWCA is 100% hand augers only unfortunately.

[SDS]

No thanks

[Savage Brewer]

It saves a few pounds.

My Clam Drill plate with 6"auger, extension, drill and two batteries comes in at 20 pounds.

My Clam Edge 8" auger comes in at 26 pounds with a full tank of fuel.

So is it worth it for a 6 pound savings? probably not.

But because its electric I can use it in a shack without getting gassed out, and its easy enough to use my wife can go open a hole if she desires to.

[Lawrence Luoma]

gimmick...like said we will see if it is still popular in a year or two. The best application I see for this is remote trips like in the BWCA. For early ice if you have the hand auger with sharp blades getting through 5-7 inches of ice is easy and after 7 inches of ice pull out the regular auger. Just don't see it being a long term deal when replacing the batteries is costly and every few years you will probably need a new drill. An auger if used and cared for correctly should last 20+ years

Wow, you really haven't used it yet have you? I was using a 7" drill last weekend on 22" of ice. I was still at 40+ holes on one battery before I had to go home. The bearing built into the plate takes all the pressure off of the drill. Greatest thing that Clam has came out with since the fish trap!! Anyone want to see it in action come check it out at the UPL weigh in on Big Marine this weekend. I'll be using it all day!!

[fishersofmen]

Greatest thing that Clam has came out with since the fish trap!!

[MuskieJunkie]

I was thinking that same thing, lotta people bashing it in but I haven't seen anyone say "I've used one and did not like it".

I've never used one so I'm not going to comment on if it's good or bad, and I will say there are a lot of gimmick items that come up in ice fishing. But I think this is a great idea and I'm sure when gas augers first came out there were a lot of people saying "why would I deal with mechanical breakdowns, weight and putting gas in that thing when I can just use my hand auger"

To the comment about towing with a minivan - I tow a 5,000 lbs boat/trailer with my V6 SUV that is rated for 5,000 lbs and I have a 104,000 miles on the truck. Of course all those miles are not while towing but the drills in question are only being used on an auger 3 months out of the year.

[ammoman16]

It saves a few pounds.

My Clam Drill plate with 6"auger, extension, drill and two batteries comes in at 20 pounds.

My Clam Edge 8" auger comes in at 26 pounds with a full tank of fuel.

So is it worth it for a 6 pound savings? probably not.

But because its electric I can use it in a shack without getting gassed out, and its easy enough to use my wife can go open a hole if she desires to.

There are probably better tools available if you need to use an extension. For me, the real need that this fills would be early and late season when you're dealing with ice less than a foot thick. I don't really see this as something to replace a gas auger. When you're only dealing with 3-12" of ice, you can cut the weight of the extension and the extra battery and the weight savings is pretty substantial vs. a gas auger.

[JoeMX1825]

People - it's meant to replace a hand auger, not a gas auger...it's ideal for those who have a cordless drill and hand auger collecting dust in their garage... for $60 you can turn them into a early/late ice power auger..it doesn't claim to do anymore or anyless...

for those adding up the dollars of what it costs buying everything brand new, good lord, go buy a gas auger...

I have one, it works as advertised...