Best auger

[DarthBaiter]

Aanderud hit the chinese nail on the head, which probably shattered it. The whole problem is junk from china. Good luck finding an auger not made or partially made in or with parts from China. Strikemaster(suckmaster) and clam are the BIGGEST offenders of slashing costs to make a buck by turning to china. Made in the USA means assembled/sometimes assembled in USA with foreign parts. I'd be more then happy to pay a little more for quality 100% USA products

[LittleHuck]

I use a jiffy white lightning 8" that's probably half as old as I am. My buddy has a SM lazer that hasn't been around more than 3 years. Anytime we head out more than an hour or two away, he doesn't even bring his with. Sure mines heavier, slower, uglier, etc... But it's never let anyone down. Ever. Proud to say I've got a good one.

[pushbutton]

Auger, wash machine, toaster….almost anything "older" was probably produced "better" than today. Pick one that fits your style of fishing(or toasting), your ability to afford, use, and maintain….. and hope you don't get a "lemon"…..no matter the brand.

[Mistermojo]

I'm on year 2 with my SM Lazer Mag Solo and I love it! Starts on first pull every time - at least when I remember to turn on the power switch on the throttle . Why couldn't they put it on top of the motor like on the Tecumsehs. This auger is twice as fast as my old Eskimo Mako. That was a good auger too, started first or second pull after sitting all summer. I have a bad back so that's why I went with the SM - the polymer handle is good for guys like me.

Have not used Nils power auger, but was not impressed with Nils hand auger - did not go like a hot knife thru butter.

Owned a Jiffy model 30 for a while - too heavy and leaked gas like a sieve.

[fisherman-andy]

Aanderud hit the chinese nail on the head, which probably shattered it. The whole problem is junk from china. Good luck finding an auger not made or partially made in or with parts from China. Strikemaster(suckmaster) and clam are the BIGGEST offenders of slashing costs to make a buck by turning to china. Made in the USA means assembled/sometimes assembled in USA with foreign parts. I'd be more then happy to pay a little more for quality 100% USA products

The blame is always parts or products made in other China or other countries are always the fault or problem. And if made in the USA is the resolution then will someone please show me today an ice auger that is 100% made in the USA that is reputable and never breaks. Make sure it affordable also and has warranty for more than at least 1 year.

My Strikemaster Solo Lazer Pro is running 4 years strong and drilled couple thousands of holes. If it breaks I will either fix it or buy a new auger. But im not afraid to say I may end buying a new auger before it breaks down...

[FISHINGURU]

Whats up Aanderud? What happened with Strikemaster? You get her purring again?

I hope I don't run into the same issue down the road, this is my favorite auger to date, a 10" that cuts as fast as my Nils 8". I guess if it happens down the road in a few years and it's only a $50 fix I won't complain. That's about the same price as a set of new blades lol.

[Valleye]

I no longer have my Strikemaster Lazer Mag, just hated maintaining it and have it not start or loss of power. So I sold it. I went electric to the Icegator about 5 years ago. with a 6 in lazer it cut fast and better than any gas auger. Now I have a six inch NILs on it and that will beat any stock gas auger. While your trying to get your gas auger started I have already cut 5 holes. Its pretty darned heavy with the 2 12 volt Lead batteries but that will change when I switch to the LI-Ion battery packs.

[Rost]

I bought my Jiffy model 30 ten inch auger in 1995 and I have to say it's been about as durable as an auger could be. It's been through hell and still starts and runs like a champ. Thousands of holes drilled and still going strong.

[ikona]

I'll give my 2 cents I've ran Jiffy 1 arm bandit to Eskimos. What I own is a 224 auger with a xl-3000 power head and I like the ease of use and it is faster than most augers I have used.

[slick2526]

Ended up buying a jiffy model 30 in mint shape this winter. I had one just like it before but I sold it and this one is even nicer with a two year old ten inch flighting. It isn't the lightest but I will take it any day over all the plastic dump on the new augers.

From what I have looked at if I didn't get a propane auger it would of been a Eskimo Z71

[tracker185]

nils

[aanderud]

Called Strikemaster earlier this week about my broken gear (see above). Unfortunately I was out of town all week on a business trip, but I would be back Friday. They said Jason would take a look at it and replace not only that compound 40:1 gear, but check the other bushings and whatnot in there to get me running again. My plane flew in late, so I was no longer going to make it there by their 3:00 closing time -- but I gave them a call and said I'd be there by 3:30. Showed up at 3:15, Jason hooked me up within 15 minutes I was out the door. Great customer service! Considering I can get that kind of service 15 minutes from my house, I'm once again happy that I made the strikemaster choice. Yes, my Nilsmaster auger was rock solid, but I have to figure eventually somehting would give. In the case that it does, I'm not convinced I'd get as good of service just 15 minutes away from my house.

Thanks again to Jason at strikemaster for sticking around late on a Friday to get me fixed up and running again for the weekend.

[FISHINGURU]

That's what I like to hear. I'm gonna ride mine hard and not worry about it one bit. If anything happens I'll be taken care of.

[schmoe147]

Best auger ever strikemaster 224 !!

[walleye44]

Called Strikemaster earlier this week about my broken gear (see above). Unfortunately I was out of town all week on a business trip, but I would be back Friday. They said Jason would take a look at it and replace not only that compound 40:1 gear, but check the other bushings and whatnot in there to get me running again. My plane flew in late, so I was no longer going to make it there by their 3:00 closing time -- but I gave them a call and said I'd be there by 3:30. Showed up at 3:15, Jason hooked me up within 15 minutes I was out the door. Great customer service! Considering I can get that kind of service 15 minutes from my house, I'm once again happy that I made the strikemaster choice. Yes, my Nilsmaster auger was rock solid, but I have to figure eventually somehting would give. In the case that it does, I'm not convinced I'd get as good of service just 15 minutes away from my house.

Thanks again to Jason at strikemaster for sticking around late on a Friday to get me fixed up and running again for the weekend.

Nice they hooked you up, but a 7 year Nils Tanka warranty is tough to beat too. They have service center everywhere.

[aanderud]

Nice they hooked you up, but a 7 year Nils Tanka warranty is tough to beat too. They have service center everywhere.

I agree -- 7 years is hard to beat. However, the nilsmaster I had didn't have this -- it had a 2 year warranty on the auger (maybe 5 on the engine?). Similar to how the solo engine has a 2 year warranty on strikemaster, but the rest of the auger is 1 year.

In my case, the part was out of warranty but was still covered -- and IMHO it should have been, considering it is a part that I'd never expect to fail on an auger. Kudos to strikemaster for standing by their product.

[muskie hunter]

I have the strikemaster honda and do not like it. I have has 3 engines bloe out and don't run. And they told me they would have me an auger in a month so I gave up on them and bought a jiffy pro 4 lite yesterday and ran it for one day and works good but is slower drilling but at least it runs compared to the strikemaster

[Surface Tension]

Just an FYI. The 7 year warranty on the Tanaka was extended back to 2009.

[V-12 Merlin]

I have a StrikeMaster electric auger that works fairly well. It's a little slow and the number of holes per charge is limited. However, it's quiet, never needs to be started and works well when I'm fishing solo.

Just got back from a fishing trip with a bunch of guys and we drilled all of our holes with a propane auger. After seeing a propane auger in action, I'll never buy gas. The difference in starting and idling was impressive. Power and speed were good, and we ran the whole weekend on a single tank of propane. No bad gas to worry about next fall, either.

[BLACKJACK]

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.

I've let several people use my auger and when they're done they set it down and balance it on one handle instead turning it 90 degrees and letting it rest on two handles - I've seen other guys do that too - why?? There is NO way for it to get tipped over if you set it on both handles.

[BLACKJACK]

I've had my Strikemaster Lazer Mag for about 15 years, whether its -20 or +30 it starts on the third or fourth pull every time, just choke it, when it starts, take off choke and start drilling. Morale of the story - if you're auger doesn't start, get it into the shop!!! Don't sit and complain about it here!!!

[FISHINGURU]

Good gas and quality oil goes a long way.

Here's another tip, practice starting your auger so you know exactly what to do. If yours is a beast to start then fire it up while your at home and let it warm up so it fires up right away on the lake.

I got buddies show up with last years junk gas and junk oil that haven't even tried starting their auger yet. Yet they are on the lake when it's -10 and windy trying to get her going for the first time, then they blame it on the auger being junk lol.