Augers; hand, gas, or both?

Through the Xmas season I was the much grateful recipient of a SM lazer hand auger, and a Jiffy 4g lite gas.

Being a complete newb to ice, is there any benefit to having both? Will be hoofing it until I can drive out.

I’m not opposed at all when it comes to elbow grease. Does sound make a factor when popping holes? Any stealth factor when it comes to the hand auger? Is there really any appreciable sound transmission under the ice with either?

Remember popping holes with my dad’s hand years ago and not sure if my girls should be able to experience the same kind of work/reward that comes with that.

Trying to think this through before making any decisions.

I usually use a hand auger for early ice when weight is an issue when going out. Other than that for speed and hole hopping, gas/electric is a big help when drilling many holes in a row.

I think if they were both gifts you are very lucky.Somebody knows what you can use and will use.I use both, hand auger up to 8-10 inches power after that.I did break down buy a dewalt drill last year and put it on my 6inch lazer and it worked great.I used all winter, up to 20-24 inches of ice.I don’t know if this helps but I would keep them both.

I agree with Chuck100 on that a hand auger works just fine for 8-10 inches and you might want to use the power one after that. Last year I used a hand auger in maybe 6-7 inches of ice in southeast Minnesota a week before Christmas. The next time I ice fished was about a month later in north central MN. I had planned on using my hand auger until someone with us laughed at me LOL. The additional month of winter, plus being 4 hours north of here, meant I was now in at least 24 inches of ice. I still don’t have a power auger, so when I fish later in the winter or further north I find friends that do.

I would bring the hand auger every time for a back up with that jiffy

TimHyvonen wrote:

I would bring the hand auger every time for a back up with that jiffy

I didn,t think the words Lite and Jiffy went together.

I don’t care what gas auger is I will carry it out before a hand auger. My chisel gets used tell it is 3-4″ then gas from then on.

TimHyvonen wrote:

I would bring the hand auger every time for a back up with that jiffy

That is why he has the jiffy to use when the pos strike master blades are out of pitch from touching the ice.

TimHyvonen wrote:

I would bring the hand auger every time for a back up with that jiffy

Thats hilarious. The only auger I’ve ever owned that I needed a hand auger with for was a Strikemaster. Went back to the Jiffy and haven’t had a problem since and I drill 5 holes to my friends Strikemasters 1

Gotta love auger wars! 5 to 1. Wow impressive. Ok maybe not. Give us some comparisons on model, years, lazer vs chipper. This is like a vexilar vs. Marcum debate with no winners.

Or Gonehuntin, just throw in Ion. Auger wars are getting older every post.

I hope everyone caught my sarcasm. I have a Strikemaster Lazer Pro that I would argue is one of the fastest out there. Then again I haven’t owned a jiffy. It fits my needs. I love how everyone compares to their buddies augers. I know many people who do not maintain their augers or sharpen blades and blame it on the brand. Your right these posts get old. A lot of good augers out there and most brands wil have issues being they are mechanical in nature.

Would be fun at the IDO GTG everyone brought their auger and start laying down some bets.

Keep them both. Hand for early ice and gas for when it gets thicker.

You will love that Jiffy, I got that same one last year and am really happy. Got a later hand drill for long walks to a pond.

nhamm wrote:

Being a complete newb to ice, is there any benefit to having both? Will be hoofing it until I can drive out.

I would certainly keep both. For early ice, I use a Strikemaster 6″ Lazer Synthetic Ultra-Lite. I have it on a Dewalt 985 cordless drill with an Ice Master adapter.

This setup keeps me super light when walking out. Once the ice is thick enough and I’m driving the ATV, I still use this setup until the ice begins to push 16″-18″. I still keep the In-Line Handle in the sled for when I leave the batteries at home on the charger. Never happened before…

Once I’m driving and I either run out of battery power or the ice gets over 18″, I switch to my Strikemaster 8″ Lazer Mag.

Having both gives you lots of flexibility. I’ll never be with out two-augers again.

All I can say is that I have both the jiffy sd60i and a SM hand auger and I thought I’d use my hand auger earlier in the season but it’s early now and I’ve been out a dozen or so times and never touched my hand auger… I guess it’s worth the extra weight for me to pull out, it’s so nice to be able to buzz through the ice in a mere 1/2 second and be walking to the next place for a hole versus trying to drill with a hand auger and getting sweaty… Just my 2 cents