Best auger

[centralmnguy]

Check out this guys auger...this was at the World Championship Auger Race at Breezy Point a few years ago!

[video:youtube]http://youtu.be/0-OLn-JH9nU

[Lusid]

relates to the previous video link

[buzbunni]

I had a Nils for 4 years. I got a great price on it used and "upgraded" to a strikemaster lazer pro 2 years and 1 month ago for basically the same as what I sold my used Nils for. I figured they seemed like good units and why not have a brand new auger? I love the clean holes and it's as fast as my Nils was.

But then yesterday something in the cheap plastic transmission/clutch housing busted and I was stuck on the ice with no way to drill. This was in 27 degree weather, drilling through 6 inches of ice.

Before today, I thought the same as you -- those rumors that strikesters are cheap pieces of junk must be unfounded, because mine was running like a champ! Now I'm thinking of switching to something else. At a minimum, I'm going to need strikemaster to give me an aluminum transmission.

Sorry to hear that.

I own a 1998 Mag 2000 that has served me well, but I am considering upgrading next year. Probably won't go the Nils route, and so it looks like it's Jiffy for me. I had planned to purchase a Strikemaster 4-stroke, but not at all interested in plastic gearing. Not at all.

[CaptainMusky]

I agree those are not manufacturer problems, but i think what Clown Color is trying to get at is that "stuff" happens and when it does, it is nice to have equipment that will hold up and not send u packing and reaching for your wallet.

trust me, I have dropped my auger several times. Stood it on end leaning against the garbage can, it tipped over crashing to the ground at -20 temps. Didn't break the handle. Opened the back of my truck only to find out the load shifted and when the gate opened it fell out onto the handles didn't break a thing.

I broke more on my old metal handled auger when "stuff happened" than this thing.

[gonehunting]

Strikemaster Lazer Pro •40:1 Transmission with Heat Treated Gears They are not plastic gears.

[buzbunni]

Strikemaster Lazer Pro •40:1 Transmission with Heat Treated Gears They are not plastic gears.

What does "heat treated" mean?

[CaptainMusky]

Heat treating is a process done to metal that makes it stronger. Changes the molecular structure. Everything that needs go stand up is head treated basically. Brake rotors gears etc.

[gonehunting]

Go to the following link. They have a colored schematic of the gearbox taken apart. The gearbox housing is synthetic. The gears and shafts are all metal.

http://bayservice.ca/Strikemaster/IPLs/G...20BOX%20ipl.pdf

[Greenhornet84]

Plastic handles suck well at least a lot of the first ones they had out did mine tipped over (like 12 inches not 3 feet)and broke on my elecra.winter and plastic just don't mix I'll lug round that whole extra pound for steel handles.

[highlife4me]

Afer looking at the pic one can see why the gears break. They could have beefed up those gears a little but I guess they didn't want the machine to weigh half a pound more. The engineers need to remember that these things are made to auger through a couple feet of ice sometimes at extremely cold temperatures. I have seen heavier pieces of steel on my Erector Set that I had as a kid.

[ClownColor]

I wasn'ting you to admit it was owner caused issues. I bought a $35 case for my cellphone just to protect my $200 investment. You really think you should be able to drop your auger and expect things not to break. I hope everyone else has a different grain of thought. I can't believe that someone would give a review on a product based on this type of incident. Hold your vexilar 4ft in the air and drop it on the ice. You'll probably go buy a Marcum then. Instead of a $650 auger you may need a $7 pair of ice cleats. Really?

Hey, I'll review them anyway I want. Go do a Google search on the biggest problem with SM and why people are having problems with them...its all because of those stupid plastic handles. Honestly, how much weight are u saving vs. Some sort of metal handles?

Did I blame SM for all those broken handles and expect free replacements? Nope. Just went with another manufacture.

P.s. my flasher HAS bounced on the ice once or twice and still runs great...it was in the sled next to my plastic handle auger. I get its my fault, but come on, its a stupid problem to have for an ice auger. Plain and simple.

[aanderud]

Strikemaster Lazer Pro •40:1 Transmission with Heat Treated Gears They are not plastic gears.

You're right. The gears are metal. I wasn't sure exactly what was busted, I said "something" in the cheap plastic gearbox housing was busted because all I knew at the time was that when I revved the engine the auger didn't turn.

I pulled it apart today to find out what exactly was busted (last night at 11 pm I wasn't motivated). It was the MAIN GEAR (yes, a metal one) that reduces the spin rate at that 40:1 ratio. Part number 211310. The small gear on the middle of the shaft shattered and I pulled about 3 large pieces and 50 small shards of metal out of the gearbox.

This might be even worse, I think, than some under-engineered cheap plastic piece breaking -- this chinese steel can't handle up to 500 holes in 2 years! The strikemaster mag III that my dad bought in 1982 is still running, with notransmission/gear replacement that I know of. Too bad they don't manufacture them to last 1/10 as long as they used to.

I'll be calling strikemaster tomorrow and asking them to send me a new gear. If they can't or won't replace this for me on a 2 year old auger, It's akin to your transmission failing on your truck. This is a part that should NEVER fail -- there's no fuel mixture or carb issues to worry about, no combusion here. Just raw steel. I can afford to replace the part my self -- its 50 bucks or so -- but there's absolutely no reason I should have to be replacing this particular part. Ever. What a joke.

[smnduck]

Older red Eskimo, I think it was called a barracuda.

I've had to clean the carb twice and replace the plug once.

Had to put a new gas tank and hose on it.

Still runs great, starts on the 3rd pull 95% of the time.

Bought it 1998.

[smnduck]

Sounds like almost all new augers suck donkey breeding parts.

[Esox_Magnum]

During pre fishing for a local tourney a 4 year ols SM shucked a gear, another friend had his 1 month old SM sieze walking to drill a hole, my partner with a 1 year old SM is also having problems with his...None are abused and all owned by just ordinary fishermen...So glad I got my Nils instead of a SM 5 years ago....

[Pooh]

I'm no auger expert. Ive owned a mag 2000 {junk as far as I'm concerned) and an Eskimo stingray. Also used a jiffy 30, jiffy white lightning(I think is the model) and an Eskimo mako. I like the stingray the most. By no means is it real fast, but much faster than my mag 2000 and also runs all around better, not to mention lighter. That's my 2 cents I guess

[aanderud]

Sounds like almost all new augers suck donkey breeding parts.

I'll tell you this -- I don't think the nils sucks at all. Yes, you do need to have a spare blade around -- but that's really true of any auger with the shaver-style blade rather than the chippers.

Why did I change out my nils for a strikemaster? I thought SM had its [PoorWordUsage] in a group (as I said my dad's mag 3 is over 30 years old and still runs), and I could trade up for the new auger for basically the same price as I could sell my nils used for, and I actually liked the shorter shaft better (I'm not tall by any means).

[highlife4me]

Older red Eskimo, I think it was called a barracuda.

I've had to clean the carb twice and replace the plug once.

Had to put a new gas tank and hose on it.

Still runs great, starts on the 3rd pull 95% of the time.

Bought it 1998.

I got the same auger bought about the same time. Only thing I have replaced is the rubber gasket on the fuel cap vent and I also bought a spare set of blades. Still even has the original plug in it.

Sure its a little heavy but so am I. Maybe carrying it around helps keep a few pounds off.

[ammoman16]

I always like topics about the "best" something, where virtually nobody has experience with everything being discussed. How many people have tried a Husqvarna or Stihl auger?

[CaptainMusky]

[PoorWordUsage] happens. Sometimes its user error sometimes its manufacturing flaw.

I don't care what product you buy some can be junk while others can be flawless.

I have 25 years on various strike master augers and never broke anything in the gearcase or handle.

I would be interested to know how you drill holes aanderud. Do you settle the bit on the ice and then attempt to drill or do you do the walking drill where the blade is spinning or jamming it while you lower to the ice?

[Esox_Magnum]

I had an old Lazer Mag before the Express and a great auger and would still own it if it wasnt stolen, Mag 2000 was and still is a POS, see issues with alot of my friends newer augers thats come out since I bought mine, I honestly dont think anything made in the last 5-7 years will last more than 10 years, my Nils should last my lifetime....

[aanderud]

CaptainMusky -- You haven't had any issues, and that's great. I'm glad, because issues are a pain in the rear.

The thing is, I guess both of us can give opinions of what the "best" is, but in the long run, no single person here is a statistically-relevant sample set. If you had asked me yesterday, I would have recommended a SM. In fact, I have recommended them several times over the past year or two. Now that I've had this experience, I'm not sure I will. Most of all it will depend on the service I get from SM when I call tomorrow.

When you get multiple of these opinions together, sample large sets of people, you start noticing trends. I'm just one irrelevant (staticially) sample at this point. I'm interested to see other opinions, so let's keep them coming, folks!

[CaptainMusky]

Aanderud you missed my very simple question. I realize your opinion is worth just as much as mine thanks.

[ammoman16]

From what I've seen, most perform well for the average guy if maintained well, so the statistics can easily be skewed just by the sheer volume of the various augers on the market. I'm not saying anyone's opinion or experience isn't relevant, it just may be a little incomplete. There are some very good augers on the market that most people have never even heard of, let alone seen.

[gonehunting]

It's obvious that metal handles would take more abuse. However that's what makes those augers heaveier. I travel to Lake Winnipeg and drill through 3 feet of ice with a 10" auger shaft(with chipper blades) and have never had any problems. You won't find much tougher conditions than that when talking about torque on a gearbox. All augers will have a bad apple hear and there. I just didn't think that giving a bad review on plastic handles was justified in the way that they broke. Metal gears should not fail and I'm sure Strikemaster will treat you right. In all seriousness I hope you get years of use out of your Nils.