K-Drill

[leech~~]

Seen a few videos of WalleyeDan using this thing. Looks like it works pretty well anyone have one?  Looked on line and their page says "Sold Out until March" So someone must be buying them.

Edited January 14, 2016 by leech~~

[HSOThrowaway]

Haven't tried the K-Drill itself, but I'll jump on the bandwagon of people that love the new Drill-Augers in general. 

I've got the CLAM Kit with a 6" Mora Auger and a 18V Li-Ion Makita Drill (Not hammer/Industrial/etc) and it's been exactly the auger I want and need for early season, so far. Perfect for walking around and hole hopping as it's almost as lightweight as my Sonar (w/ battery), no need to pull the cord a few times to get it started, no need to let it 'warm up' for a few seconds. Heck, last outing I even drilled a hole in my Scout TC (1man) without flipping the top up; just stood up, plopped the drill down and had a hole ~5 seconds later, no heat loss, no exhaust build up. 

In 2 outings so far this season I've probably drilled ~30 holes (15 each time) and only just noticed the battery starting to get a little weak towards the end of the day. I'd expect I could probably get 15-18 holes per battery (Have 2), maybe 35 total on a good day. All those holes have been drilled on 4-7" of ice (With aforementioned 6" auger), so probably a few less holes when we get up to a foot+ or go for 8" holes. So if I had one complaint, that'd be it. 

My two cents would be that these rigs are absolutely worth it, but I couldn't recommend one to someone to use as their primary auger all season long just yet. Maybe if I had 3+ batteries and a Hammer/Industrial drill I'd rethink that position. They absolutely made me reconsider my position on the IONs, though. Don't think I would've even considered an electric auger until I tried this out. 

Edit: Just to add to the last paragraph, I think these rigs are absolutely worth it IF you have a drill lying around to use. I don't know if I could justify the ~250$ initial cost of a new drill, auger, and conversion kit, but ~100$ for the auger and kit seemed like a great deal. Keep in mind that some of them require removing the drill chuck, so it's not exactly usable as a normal drill in the meantime (And takes ~20minutes to convert back and forth, and the correct tools). 

Edited January 14, 2016 by HSOThrowaway

[nxtgeneration]

I've used a K-drill many times.  I don't own one but a fishing partner of mine does so I've had plenty of use with it.  Currently he has a couple 4.0AH batteries and after two seasons they were somewhat worn out.  But Milwaukee has a 3 year warranty and he just got them replaced.  One wasn't holding a charge as well as it should and the other had bad contacts.  Anyway if I was in the market for a new drill i would pick up a Milwaukee fuel and the k-drill.  Like rl_sd said the new batteries that Milwaukee is coming out with could be a game changer.  

When we are hole hoping we just make sure we have the charger and a small inverter with so we can just plug them in in the pick up or on the wheeler so the battery life hasn't ever played a big role.

[bobbymalone]

I'm surprised these things have the torque necessary to cut through a good amount of ice.  Seems like they would snag up unless the blades are razor sharp and the ice is pure and virgin.   Enough people are fans of these things that it must not be the case though.   

[leech~~]

1 hour ago, bobbymalone said:

I'm surprised these things have the torque necessary to cut through a good amount of ice.  Seems like they would snag up unless the blades are razor sharp and the ice is pure and virgin.   Enough people are fans of these things that it must not be the case though.   

They have very aggressive drill blades for sure. I was thinking that they may not be to good for late season ice but these guys seem to be drilling pretty deep ice.

 

Edited January 14, 2016 by leech~~

[perchking]

The inventor of the K-Drill was on Lake Gogebic in Michigan about 10 years ago and was having a rough time catching perch, I showed him a few tricks and like the rest of the group he started catching fish.  I saw his auger and was impressed by the weight, he let me use it a few times and it cut great.

When he was leaving he stopped by my shack and give me the auger minus the drill of course.  I used it a few times, but forgot to the old style pin one day and of course you know the rest.  I am sure its still in 26 feet of water right where I left it.

[Mid-Lake Rock]

I purchased the 8" in November.  Got it on sale for $40 off.  I paired it with the second generation Milwaukee hammer drill, model 2704-22.  The drill comes with two 5.0 Ah batteries.  I got the drill at Fleet Farm with a coupon for a third 5.0 Ah battery.  The retail on the battery is $129.  Fleet has run this deal twice in the past couple months.

So far I have been very impressed and everyone that has used it has been impressed.  My brother made fun of it, then used it and said he's selling his Solo.  Light, fast and smooth.  I did a lot of research before making the purchase.  That included talking to reps from AWC and other owners.

Now I'm waiting to use in on 20-30 inches of ice and see how it performs.  

[leech~~]

I think the Mfg better get on the stick and ramp up production ASAP. Lots of sales will be lost if they wouldn't have any until March. New product growing pains are a good thing to have though!

Edited January 14, 2016 by leech~~

[slurpie]

I have been running my nils 6"'shaft with a Milwaukee drill so far impressed with what the combo does. M

[wormdunker]

I have the 6" K-drill Milwaukee M18 With XC batteries.  It is everything that has been mentioned and more.  The reduced weight is a game changer.  I drilled close to 60 holes in 5" ice and the 1st battery was still going.

Last season I cut 20 holes in 24" inch before the 1st battery died.  Charger was in the truck, had one charging and one on the drill.  Just a fantastic product.  It has made me a far more active ice fisherman.

Edited January 15, 2016 by wormdunker

[leech~~]

Here's another video with the K-Drill against a gas drill.

 

[BartmanMN]

I thought that I read the K drill blades would never need sharpening.  Is that true or myth?

[leech~~]

58 minutes ago, BartmanMN said:

I thought that I read the K drill blades would never need sharpening.  Is that true or myth?

I think they state Free sharpening on their vid but never heard "Never need"

[BartmanMN]

Maybe they revoked that claim.  That was from 2013.  The k-drill has actually been around for multiple years now.  Free sharpening sounds good though

[MidCoast]

How many inches of ice can the K-drill drill without having the extension on it?

[Gus]

Last year I ran the 8" kdrill with the clam plate and a dewalt brushless hammerdrill using 4AH batteries.

I had no issues drilling in the wheel house or anywhere, and I saw up to 36" of ice towards the late season.

The only thing that you have to do when ice gets really thick is to clean the shavings from the hole before  you break through like you see in many of the videos. If you don't, when water rushes up, it mixes with the shavings and forms a slushie. The drill I had wasn't powerfull enough to wipe that out. Once I started clearing the hole, even if it isn't perfect, I had no issues. Up to 24" of ice I don't think it matters, after that I would clear.

So after a full year under my belt without using another auger, I'm 100% happy. It is so much lighter and easier to haul around, that I won't be going back.

The 8" kdrill does take a lot more out of your battery than the 6". I was planning on adding the 6 to my stable this year for panfish outings, but since they are sold out everywhere I'll have to wait. No issues with the 8" though, other than using more juice.

I've owned or currently own these other augers that get left at home:

Strikemaster Laser

Strikemaster strike lite

strikemaster big volt

Jiffy pro4 (sold)

numerous other hand augers.

 

 

[blue_healer_guy]

How is the product for reopening holes, like in a permanant.

 

[Gus]

To answer two other questions,

1. I think you could get about 3 feet of ice before you needed the extension, as long as you were using a portable and close to the ice. Pretty much on par with most other augers.

 

2. My wheel house goes with me, so I haven't re-drilled holes much. I did re-drill one as a test when I first bought it, and it seemed to do just fine. I have drilled overlapping 2 and 3 holes together with the 6" auger without any issues. My fishing partner has the 6" kdrill and we did that frequently before I purchased the 8". However, having owned a permanent skid in the past, I can tell you that sometimes re-drilling can just be a pain depending on how much or how little they are re-frozen. I don't think there would be any exceptions for this auger, but in my opinion, it isn't any worse than any other on the market. Drilling overlapping holes really makes me think that it may be above average... but again I really haven't re-drilled many on purpose.

[wormdunker]

3 hours ago, blue_healer_guy said:

How is the product for reopening holes, like in a permanant.

I reopen holes every with my K-drill.  I was opening holes I had cut when the ice was 4-5" thick.  It was about 10" thick this weekend.  Cut them just fine, not sure I could tell a difference if it was a new hole or reopened hole. 
On a related note, I have a 6" K Drill.  Just to try it out I cut 2 holes side by side.  The drill never wavered, drill straight down without catching or anything.  I was super surprised/impressed.

I drilled 30 holes on a weedline in deep subzero temps and could not tell a difference.  Great part about this type of combo I bring it right in my trap with me.  I fish out of an insulated trap II, it is old but it is light and very portable which is my goal.  I don't want anything anytime to slow me down from being mobile.  Basically I don't want to give myself any reason to be lazy.

This drill absolutely provides me with the most portable solution available and works incredibly well.