Strikemaster 4 stroke

[fishinmajishin]

I let my father-in-law try my 8" Lazermag last winter, and now it looks like I'll be looking for a new one. Anybody out there own the 4 stroke? I haven't been in the Strikemaster shop in a while, and I figured I'd get some unbiased opinions before I go in. I will definitely be buying a Strikemaster, so no Jiffy salesman here please. Strikemaster guys are the greatest, second only to their augers.

[tonkapat]

don't buy anything until u try a nilsmaster

[fishinmajishin]

Any more info to give? Pros/cons?

[Neiko]

I got one last year after I sold me Lazermag. I love the light weight and the effortless cutting. I am sure the Nils are nice but I know and have experienced many times the priceless customer service Strikemaster gives and that is why I keep going back to them. I have heard reports of people braking fins on the Lite but Strikemaster would replace them for free or let you change to other attachments.

[Matt Johnson]

The StrikeLite is a very quick and light auger. The fuel efficiency is nice too. If you punch a lot of holes and like to run and gun then you'll like the StrikeLite 4-stroke. Also doesn't give off fumes and exhaust. This auger makes punching a couple dozen holes in short time easy and less straining...

[Sandmannd]

I got a Strikemaster last year and love it. I'm sure the Nils are nice, but are also pricey. If you wait till winter you can get a good deal on a demo at Drock in New Brighton.

[koonie]

If it burns gas it gives off fumes and exhaust.

Not nearly as bad as regular augers though.

[Matt Johnson]

Sure, it gives off fumes, but doesn't smoke up your fish house or shoot out clouds You knew what I meant

[dan z]

as for punching holes I would go with the 224 it iz amazing and not that much heavier. if your drilling holes in a perm I would get the strikelite. I have a 224 and I can keep up with the nils. you can cut angles so you can join holes to. I am a runnner so if I start the auger it is drilling 30 plus holes when it starts I love trollin on ice!

[Dragonsm]

I too have the Lazer224. Picked it up just over a year ago and it has been a great auger. However, the other day I was surfing the web and decided to hop over to strikemaster to see what they had for "new" stuff and couldn't find any links for the lazer224. I gave them a call and it's what I feared....they will no longer be selling the 224 as a unit as it didn't take off quite like they expected. They will however, continue to offer/sell the drill part if someone wanted to upgrade or replace a drill...(maybe a certain composite drill that comes on a certain 4 stroke auger?!?!?)

Steve

[NCLaker]

If money is not an issue than the Strikelights are pretty nice. Light weight, quieter, low fumes, and local service avaliablity are pretty good selling points. With the plastic flights you have to be a little more careful with how you handle it. Some of the issues I have heard of include:

1) Auger got stuck in hole while drilling - trying to work it free they broke the plastic flighting. This can be avoided by periodically clear out the ice while drilling (pull up once in a while, then resume drilling)

2) Not cutting as well when ice is soft (spring). I think it gets clogged up easier with the slush and can't grab.

3) Letting it bounce around in a probable flip over style shack when pulling behind a snowmobile may break flights. Don't think this should be a problem as long as you secure it and watch the speed in rough terrain.

If you take good care of your stuff, none of these things should be an issue. I've heard of people that buy a lazer/224 bit and put it on the Strike light head (DRock sells the bits for a reasonable price). Give's you the best of both worlds (durabilty of a metal bit, low fumes and quiet of a 4 stroke).

Personally, to save some money I went with the 8" LazerMag. Working great so far, replacement blades easy to find, a little heavier, and with AMSOIL 100:1 oil mix it hardly smokes at all.

Didn't go with the 224 cause I don't redrill holes (suppose to be one it's strenghts) and did not want the extra cost/hassel of maintaining 4 blades instead of 2. Tried one and they do cut pretty sweet but not a big enough improvement to justify the extra cost/weight.

Good Luck with you decision.

[Northlander]

Clogging/freezing auger assemblies and leaking oil when layed down the wrong way were some cons I heard about the 4 stroke Strikemaster. I dont know if they have done anything to fix these issues yet. I found them short.

Pros have already been said. Light weight, less smoke etc., Do a search from last year and you will find a lot of info on these.

[Dan Brelje]

Last year I ran down to big lake to replace the auger on my fathers stikelite. I got to the shop expecting to shell out a buck or two but they exchanged the strike lite auger for the auger off the express no questions asked. Now the auger cuts like a dream.

[fishinmajishin]

Good info guys. Like I and others have repeated...Strikemaster service is THE best. I've got some better knowledge to enter their shop with now. I know they'd give me the straight skinny based on my needs, but it will help to know the right questions up front.

Thanks to all.

[jwhjr]

Yep, as others have stated you can't go wrong with their customer service.

[WinterHaven]

I am glad this came up again because this year I will be buying a power auger for the first time and I definitely want to go with Strikemaster for sure. I really like the 4 stroke because I pull my portable by hand (don't own a snowmobile or ATV) and weight is important to me. Living up here in Northwest Illinois the ice doesn't get really thick until Feb.

[Tod Todd]

Have one for two season and not a lick of problems and I drill a lot of holes fishing from the old Traps to the new NAIFC and helping instruct at Ice Roads.

Never broke a flite and don't leak I have replaced blades one time.

[snowgoose]

2 cons for me with the 4 stroke.

My buddy has one and has broke the flutes on 2 different augers within a year. Strike Master replaced both times. After the second one broke they gave him a metal auger at no cost.

The other is they are much slower drilling than a 2 stroke. You will really notice the differance side by side. In 3 feet of ice a laser master with the same size bit will drill 2 holes to one with a 4 stroke.

On the other hand as stated before they are nice and light and are really quite.

Personally I would not buy one with the plastic flutes.

[dan z]

winterhaven It is not that much lighter I pull my house around also I think my 224 is 24lbs and the strike light is 21

[cold one sd]

I pull my ice house around with my terribly heavy Jiffy and I'm 65. I guess I'm just one tough old bird. I do like it that they are coming out with some light weight augers, but I just can't afford everything that I would like to have. I don't think I have even seen one of the new 4 stroke Strikemasters around where I live. If you have one and get to my area, you may have a curious old coot asking for a demo.

[BartmanMN]

Picked up my 4-stroker on Monday. Can't wait to give it a shot.

[Ed Carlson]

Nice unit, light, clean running..everything the guys said is true.

The elephant in the room is the synthetic flightings are known to shatter when deep ice drilling. The weight of the ice appears to bind up and shatter the upper flighting, or snap it off near the bottom support to the blade.

I seen 6 in a week last last winter, 3 more the next week, and a few more at the end of the season. StrikeMaster replaced or changed the lower unit out for any lower flighting in the line at the customers request. They stood up for it well, but the synthetic flightings became in short supply by late ice.

The cause of this is in dispute. The likely culprit for this failure is not clearing the hole about half way through when drilling deep heavy ice....so it binds up causing damage or failure.

Just reporting the facts as I witnessed them...so don't shoot the messenger...Eh.

FYI: I used one with Jason Mitchell on Devils Lake over a few days last winter. I had no complications with it and really liked it. I didn't hear any negative feedback from Jason on them or from Zippy Dahl and the Perch Patrol gang. We discused the flighting concerns and came up with the same conclusion....must clear the hole during deep ice drilling, and it will not bind up.

[NCLaker]

Congrats on your new purchase! Nothin better than getting new dream gear - got to be killin you having to wait 3+ months to use it. May want to get it fired up early to break her in.

As long as your careful with your auger you generally should not have a problem with the plastic flights. When drilling, it is always a good idea to clear the hole periodically. As long as you do it should be okay.

If it does get stuck, try not to tork on it by yanking it up or rocking it hard back and forth. Typically better to try to back it out by hand if you can.