Oh ...the resident tough guy......I buried my gas auger to the handles one year...without going through....you can keep your hand tool ...:)

A lot of times here late season we need an extension on our augers, at least a 12". Add another 12" on top of that and you need a ladder to start drilling the hole lol

X2

My MN ice fishing buddy tells me propane is the way to go.

I don't fish enough on the ice to have an opinion.

I still use of school hand spoon auger. I have access to s gas auger but my old spoon if well sharpened works like a charm. Drilled many holes with it and starts every time. LOL

I tried to get my Eskimo auger started this summer but it wouldn't start. I haven't been ice fishing in 10 years.

the new K drills would be your best bet as long as you have a working drill you have a working auger for as long as you want my buddy just got one for early ice. with the bits that go on drills you dont want the metal flighting it will bind up in the thicker ice.

I use a clam plate , its going on its third season . Its been one of my best investments and I use my drill year around

Propane sucks....the augers weigh a ton...and the propane freezes up when cold....you can't leave it in the back of your truck overnight and expect it to start on a cold morning.

Propane has it's issues. I wouldnt own one, be better off with an ION. Propane might be okay in temperate climates like Pennsylvania.

Nessy, don't they sell extensions over there? Most years we have to put one on fishing Lake of the Woods. It's the ice combined with snow that gets ya most of the time. I dont recall ever have to put two extensions on fishing LOW but did once on lake winnipeg.

Don't need an extension 98 % of the time...but one year we were in Northern NH ice fishing...near the Canadien Boarder....wish I had an extension on that trip....

Got this 4 stroke ,3 years ago... no mixing gas...10 inch...lightweight 26 lbs...love it !!

I got by without an extension all last year. I thought about putting it on as it's easy to suck water in the carb but that was as far as I got lol.

I don't have any experience with the four strokes

I would guess he is one of the very few that does. Unless he only fishes when it is above freezing.. Nils are the best augers out there but just about any commercially made auger will suffice for a guy that only fishes a few times a year imo

Clam plate here also. I run a 6” lazer on it. Or I can put the handle on it if I need to.

would this be a good one?

https://www.fishusa.com/product/Nils-USA-Hand-Augers

I like the idea of not having to deal with an engine, fuel, or charging a battery to use the auger.

well that's no good!

Yes. The Ion will easily do that. Couple things with the electrics- It helps to keep that batteries warm. I've only used them a few times, but that is just what I've heard about keeping batteries warm from friends who have them. So if your out for a long cold day that could be a potential issue. Also, one of my favorite things about the electrics is that they have a reverse (at leasat the Ion does...), so that once the hole is drilled, you can you the reverse to push 95% the snow and ice shaving down the hole and under the ice instead of having to scoop them out of the hole or make a big messing trying to pull them out of the hole with the auger. The Ion does a really good job cutting holes in clean ice, if the ice has silt in it or the blades get dull, performance goes down alot.

As far as gas augers go- Had a Jiffy for a few years. One of the newish models (bought it in 2012 or so). When it was running, it cut great. But it was kinda of POS and I struggled alot with the throttle cable getting water in it and freezing. It was also pretty finicky and I had to be extra careful with keeping snow off of the power head when it was one the snowmachine sled. Got rid of that thing and got an Eskimo. It's been great so far. I've drilled hundreds of holes with it and it hasn't given me a lick of trouble (knock on wood).

The K-drill auger flytes cut really awesome and are light, but I just can't get on the 20V cordless drill bandwagon for drilling through any more than really thin ice. I have a k-drill flyte that I mated up to a Tanaka gas powered drill head. Had to have a custom adapter machined up to attach the flyte to the power head, but other than than it is awesome!

Right now a 10" ION runs about $650.00 delivered to the door. The 8" is $500.00 delivered.

If either ice fishing or setting traps through the ice, my choice is the 10".

Look at the bottom of a plastic 5 gallon bucket. Its just over 10".

That's a lot of room for my 160's set under the ice.