My dads birthday is coming up and we’re thinking of getting him an electric ice auger and/or fishing shelter. Anyone here got experience with electric augers? Want to get him a real good one, I’ll be splitting the cost with my mom and brothers so we aren’t looking to go cheap. And shelters? A nice one that sets up and packs up easy, can comfortably fish at least 3 or 4 people with room for a heater. Thanks!

Does he have a flasher? Out of a fishing shelter, electric auger, or flasher I would buy a flasher first. That’s based off he already has an auger to start with.

Not sure where he’s fishing, but I doubt the ice gets thick enough where an auger is super important. If I only fished where the ice was 12” or less I would have a manual auger.

I probably didn’t answer your question.

Strikemaster electric auger are fantastic in my opinion. As far a shelters I wouldn’t buy anything but an Otter. Those are my opinions. Otter shelters will last way longer than Clam. I’ve seen brand new Clams not last a weekend in harsh conditions.

x2 on strikemaster...... otters are great but i dont think they make a 4 man like clam does

he doesn’t have a flasher, but knowing my dad he’d rather have the shelter and auger lol. He don’t mind sitting fishless and catching a nap as long as he can be comfortable doing it. I was looking at the jiffy 80V, the ION or the strike master 40V. The jiffy claims to be faster and drill 25% more ice than the others

I have a couple Eskimo hub shelters and an Otter flip shanty - all with the insulated fabric shells - and would recommend either of those brands. If you're looking to fish four people the hub style is likely your best choice, but you still need to take seats to sit on and have a sled to haul it around. As for size I wouldn't go any smaller than the Eskimo 949i. For spearing I prefer the Eskimo's as the inside fabric is black versus gray in the Otter shacks. If not going to spear the gray does help with light to see easier.

I use an ION auger and it has worked really well for the past five seasons, but I would also consider going with an Eskimo Pistol Bit run with a Milwaukee Fuel drill - much lighter setup.

not sure on jiffy ... but id stay away from ion..guys have had trouble with auger and blades..... strikemaster for me

I would, definitely, go with the Strike master.

Strikemaster augers have a good reputation, probably don’t need to buy the biggest most powerful model unless he’s the type of guy who is going to run-and-gun all day long and drill a ton of holes.

Perhaps one of thse augers that work with a cordless drill. A friend of mine has one and it'll easily drill a dozen 8" holes with no problem. Light weight and easy to change out the battery when needed. I'll never use a hand auger after fishing with him for an afternoon. As far as a shelter goes, my vote would be Otter as well.

I've been known to drill a hole or several hundred during ice season.

This is what I use exclusively now. Milwaukee mud mixer and a Strikemaster Liteflite 8 inch.

If I ever feel the need to use a ten inch I'll buy the strikemaster 40v.

What type of house are you looking to get flip over or a hub style.

That by the way isn't my auger, it belongs to trapper les. Mine looks "slightly" used lol.

1. Strikemaster 24v Auger. I have both the 24 and the 40. The 40 sits most of the time.
2. Vexilar FL8 Flasher. I wouldn’t fish without it.

get him a good pair of ice cleats

Yup, broken hip and elbow preventers!

Katoolas for ice cleats

Upgraded last year- bought an adapter for my old hand auger, works great with my dewalt 20v hammer drill, bought a marcum M5 flasher that works great, although I am not 100% onto it yet, I also bought a cheap 3 person hub shelter, while it works I really wish I would have bought the Otter cabin.

Ice augers and ice shacks and fish finders are like traps, there isn't one brand that is better for everyone in every situation.

I personally have had good luck with Eskimo ice shacks. Their Outbreak xd shacks with a full door and stormshield insulation are nice, I have the 450xd which is good for 2 adults and maybe a kid or two, but for 3 or 4 adults I would recommend the 650xd. I can set up the 450xd in a few minutes by myself.

For an auger I use a Milwaukee drill, clam plate pro and strikemaster lite flite auger. I don't think you can go wrong with either the Strikemaster or Ion electric augers. Even if he's only fishing 4-6" of ice, a nice auger is worth its weight in gold.

Actually, that's what I use. I have 3 - 5 AMP batteries and I have drilled more than 100 holes in a day and never ran out of battery.

Brian, if your in need of a new battery I suggest buying a 9amp. It will drill a lot of holes