Electric Ice Augers

[YoMoma]

What are the best ones out there in your opinion? Planning on buying one for this season.
Would rather have an auger that I dont have to tote a seperate 12 volt battery would be nice. Of course I know they all need a 12 volt batt to operate. Not interested in heavy duty drills to turn an auger.

[crappiekid24]

I would recommend getting an ice gator. I don't have one but everyone that has one loves them.

Welcome to Icegator Ice Augers

[MAINEIAC]

A friend of mine has a 7" Strikemaster that has served him well for 5yrs. I had an 8" inch Jiffy Lectric that I sold. Didn't cut nearly as well as the Strikemaster. I don't set traps, jig only. He can cut 25 holes at least with his Strikemaster, 18" of ice. I have an 8" Strikemaster now but have not used it yet. I just don't like dealing with the gas.

[gotcrappie]

I have used the 7" Strikmaster Electra for the last two years. It has a rechargable battery pack with it and you can also hook it up to an external battery. I agree with Maineiac that it can drill about 25 holes on one charge. I've never had to use an external battery. The icegator's are nice, but cost way much more.

[no1son]

For 6" holes in med to shallow ice an 18V drill on an adapter into a 6" hand auger shaft will work. This is the lightest option as far as weight goes, but even a lithium will not give more than a dozen holes per charge once the ice gets over a foot to foot and a half deep. A heavy duty commercial drill (1/2") with a pair of lithium batteries will not be cheap either, but the drill can be used for a pile of other stuff in the off season. I got a Ryobi drill and with a pair of lithium batteries you can do some fishing. If you are fishing around the SE Iowa area this might just be what the doctor ordered. If you do a lot of traveling up to the real deep ice, you will want more guts.

[chaunc]

What are the best ones out there in your opinion? Planning on buying one for this season.
Would rather have an auger that I dont have to tote a seperate 12 volt battery would be nice. Of course I know they all need a 12 volt batt to operate. Not interested in heavy duty drills to turn an auger.

The OP said he's not interested in a drill setup.

[CTom]

Here in Minnesota the commercial electric augers are led by Strikemaster. People will put together all sorts of pieces and parts to make ice cutting easier than a hand auger but a lot of those won't do well in super cold or if the ice is 30" thick....or thicker. There are a couple other electrics on the market too but they won't hold a candle to a Strikemaster.

My answer to ice fishing is to wai until its warm enough that yesterday's holes can be opened with a heel.

[no1son]

Won't take a drill? Then carry the extra weight and follow CTom's suggestion or get a Gator. It pretty much boils down to that. Weight was also a concern as it is for me.

I'll keep carrying my drill, that has worked just fine for me for about half a dozen years now even when we had 30" of ice. I passed 63 this fall, but that approach allows me to carry everything onto the ice and off again in a single trip and without pulling a sled. Mostly I fish where only carry on is allowed; so that works out just fine. My 18v 1/2" Ryobi is both rugged and compact, and the lithium batteries I use though expensive are light and small enough easily to carry a spare in a parka pocket. In my case weight is important but I have not run out of juice for enough holes for two of us since I went over to the lithium. I am not talking about some big ol hammerdrill.