SUPER HANDY 8" AUGER
Ultra duty lithium powered
At half the cost of most other lithium augers on the market it seemed to good to be true.
As the ice season progresses the ice often gets very thick. I was tired of hand drilling ice holes. Hand drills are pretty quick and easy when the ice is only 6 inches or so, but as it gets thicker drilling holes by hand can be very tiring.
I found the "Super Handy" lithium powered 8' ice auger on Amazon for considerably less than most other brands that are selling for around $1000. I was a little unsure about it, as they claim that the auger can drill approximately 30 holes on a full charge. My skepticism arose because the manufacturer didn't specify how thick- or rather, how thin- the the ice would have to be to be able to achieve 30 holes on a single charge.
The auger comes equipped with an efficient 2.0 horse power brushless electric motor and a 2 amp hour 48 volt lithium ion battery and charger. The shaft is 39" long and the bore is 8". At 22 pounds it is much lighter than a gas powered auger. You can also purchase an earth auger attachment for drilling holes in dirt.
The Pros
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light weight
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easy to use
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portable
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quick charging
The Cons
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2.0 amp hour battery may not be big enough if you need to drill more than 30 holes between charges
The auger showed up quickly and became a beautiful decoration on my living room sofa for a week before I got the chance to use it. (I should note that my wife does not share my definition of a "beautiful decoration".) My first impression was that the auger looked very heavy duty, and well built. Nothing looked or felt cheap on the unit.
Finally I was able to take the auger out to Pillar Lake where the ice was all of 20" thick. This would be a good test for the new auger. I have to say I was impressed! In under two minutes I had drilled through the ice three times in my ice hut with next to no effort. The reverse function sent the slush and ice chips right back down the hole and below the ice leaving very little slush to skim off the hole.
After fishing for a couple of hours while the auger was left out in the cold, I went out to punch some more holes through the ice, just for fun. I drilled eight more holes through the ice for a total of eleven holes through 20" of ice. When I was done, the battery indicator still showed half a charge. This was already way more holes than I typically drill in a day of ice fishing and through much thicker ice than I am usually on.
When I got home, I stuck the battery on the charger and was surprised to see it fully charged again when I checked on it a couple hours later.
I think this auger is fantastic and I highly recommend it if you are looking for one.
For more reviews on fishing gear and accessories check out Chrome Catchers product reviews.