Best Hand Operated Ice Auger

[Ranger Ray]

Need new one, any make that puts a whoopin on the others?

[WALLEYE MIKE]

Strikemaster Lazer, best around.

[bipolaroutdoorsman]

I have used the lazers for the last few years and love em' Wouldnt go another way for a hand operated....although I have considered buying the drill adapter for it.

[William H Bonney]

Don't waste your time "shoppin around", just buy a Lazer.

[magnumhntr]

I am partial to the old spoon styles myself. Lighter than the 'screws', cut easier, and stay sharp longer. And cheaper. Check Ebay. Always a bunch of em on there for sale.

[double trouble]

i have a brand new one if your interested.

[Burksee]

Ray, If you do a "search" you'll find this topic has been beat to death here many times before. From what I've gathered if your gonna be icefishing for some time to come your best bet is to spend the money and buy a Strikemaster "Lazer". Especially if you like move'in around a lot. I've got the Strikemaster "Mora", its about half the money and for the part time fisherman it does a decent enough job. Mine was a gift or I'da gotten a Lazer. Now your next delema, what size should you get? :confused: :lol: :yikes: FYI - The larger the hole your try'in to drill the harder its gonna be to turn. I think most will advise to try and stick with a 6" hole, it will cover most species....... ;)

If and when your go'in for a gas/power auger then step up and get a 8 or a 10 incher....

[fishingrookie]

I have had a 6" StrikeMaster Mora for two years. It worked fine for me. In ice-fishing I like to drill a lot of holes (two or three dozens) for fishing and for either keeping warm or serving exercise purpose. Last year I had a 9 lb walleye. The 6" hole was barely big enough to pull it out.

A friend of mine has a StrikeMater Lazer. Last year I used his to drill some holes. I could tell that it took less effort to dril a hole with the Lazer. You need less force to press the Lazer when you are drilling.

[Ranger Ray]

Thanks for the replies men. Lazer it is. Have to go with a 8" Burksee because we catch hog walleye and steelhead thru the ice up here on Muskegon and White lake. ;)

[Burksee]

Thanks for the replies men. Lazer it is. Have to go with a 8" Burksee because we catch hog walleye and steelhead thru the ice up here on Muskegon and White lake. ;)If you gotta go to an 8" then spend the money and get the Lazer. Those Lazers turn easier and cut faster than any other hand auger I've seen. Note: Eskimo makes a hand auger that mimicks the Lazer and is a little cheaper. There was a post about this last year but I couldnt find it. If you can find one and compare it to a Lazer you'd be all set! Happy Drill'in! :eek:

[tommy-n]

I have three lazers, but a nilsmaster smokes all hand augers, period. Just remember every inch larger you go in diamater is harder to turn, A 5'' is almost twice as fast as a 6" ect.

[CHUCK n BUCK]

how much is the lazer to be exact?

[stinger63]

You can buy a 6-8 inch Lazer for about $70-$80 maybe a little more.I seen one last spring or at the end of winter for $54.Kick myself in the **** for not buying it.
Moras will cut holes which is what have now but you will work much harder than you with a lazer.

[Pikehunter]

The Nils Master is the best hands down!!



I have a lazer myself but would purchase the Nils if I bought a new hand auger. Cabelas sells it under their own name, the Cabelas High Speed Drill. They had an 8" for 100 last week. Pick up the lazer if you don't want to bother with the drive.


http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0010850115630a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnString=Ntk=Products&QueryText=auger&_D%3AhasJS=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&No=20&%2Fcabelas%2Fcommerce%2FCabelasCatalogNumberFinder .giftCertificateURL=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Ftemplates%2F giftcertificate%2Fgiftcertificate.jsp%3Fid%3D00055 86990011a%26podId%3D0005586%26catalogCode%3DIB%26n avAction%3Djump%26indexId%3D&Ntt=auger&noImage=0&Ntx=matchall&_D%3A%2Fcabelas%2Fcommerce%2FCabelasCatalogNumberF inder.giftCertificateURL=+&N=4887&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form9&returnPage=search-results1.jsp

[slowpoke]

Strikemaster Lazer, best around.

:yeahthat:

[RichP]

Has anyone mentioned Lazer yet? :lol:

[NEMichsportsman]

I have found all brands of hand augers work equally as well!

I used to make my buddy drill for me...... now I have a gas. He did comment that he thought my Lazer was better than than the mora that I used to have.

[tommytubular]

I bought a 6" Mora when I was 18.......end of season for $9.00. Have used it for 20+ years and had to change the blades about 3 years ago.

I guess until it breaks.........I'll stay with it

[FishDaddy09]

I started out with a 6" mora i thought it was great, till i got my lazer i could not belive how much better it was then, I tried a friends Nils Master It made the lazer look like you were tring to punch a hole in the ice with a blunt 2x4! I now have a Nils and the lazer hangs in the garage.

[DonP]

.... Nils Master. I just started doing a bit more ice fishing over the last two years... and at the end of last season a friend of mine that I fish with alot got one of the Nils Master from Cabela's. I believe he got the 6" one. We would hit a lake and I would drill holes in a grid pattern... and he would go behind me with his Vexilar FL18 to see if there was anything there!! I tell ya... that thing was like a hot sharp knife thru butter!!!

[MSUICEMAN]

i like my lazer a lot, way better than a mora IMHO, but i gotta try a nils master.... i hear too many good things about em.

[MiketheElder]

OK, you guys got me. I knew I worked that overtime last week for a reason. Maybe I'll have to go get a Nils Master to go with my Mora and Lazer.

Unless I go electric!!!!!!!!

Big Mike

[brianroy6]

Well, I also need to buy a hand auger. I think I will go with a Lazer. Dont get me wrong I love my 15 year old jiffy gas auger, I just feel kinda dumb drilling through 3 inches of ice with it during first ice. But that will have to go on next years list. I've already spent to much this year on ice fishing stuff:help:

[Ranger Ray]

Bought the Lazer at Dicks today, but after reading all the posts over tonight I got soooooooo confused which doesn't take much.:lol: So I decided to get the Nils Master and will return my Lazer, ah I mean exchange it for a Jet Sled and some miscellaneous goodies. ;) Thanks for all the replies.

[trout108]

I Have 6 In Lazer That Is The Best I Have Ever Used

[Bunky211]

New lazer for $59

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=933976&cp=&kw=lazer&parentPage=search&searchId=5449630542

Hope this helps.

[The Whale]

Keep the Lazer. You'll be quite happy with it. A bit cheaper than the over prized "Nils" too and you won't know the difference in the performance of it. ;) :fish2:

[jbird68]

Nobody has mentioned the HT Brand Augers. Any thoughts on those. I bought a one man HT Escape shelter and it kicks Frabill's Ultralites behind!!

[icefishermanmark]

What's a nils master? I always thought it was mora and lazer. Is cabelas the only place that sells it? I personally love my 7" lazer. Cuts great

[kbkrause]

This Nils looks like a pretty cool set up...

http://www.nilsmaster.com/images/tanaka.gif
http://www.nilsmaster.com/PowerAuger.htm

Nice to be able to turn it into a hand auger when you really dont want to bring out a power auger out on to early/late ice.