Best Ice Augers for a Cordless Drill 2020
When winter arrives it’s time to hit the ice to go fishing. One of the most important pieces of equipment is your ice auger. Hand augers do okay but once the ice starts to thicken or if you’re drilling multiple holes you’re going to want some power and who wants to drag around a heavy gasoline auger and gas can?
An ice auger powered by an electric drill is a great solution. Drill power and battery technology has improved a lot. Electric ice fishing augers can compete with the best gasoline augers.
Below you will find reviews of several awesome ice augers for use with cordless drills. After that I’ve included a collection of useful information and things to consider when buying an ice auger.
K-Drill
The K-Drill is specifically engineered to be used with an electric drill. This design helps you get your holes drilled quickly and efficiently so you can get down to fishing!
This ice auger has the following features
- Available in 2 sizes 6 inch IDRL06 and 8 inch IDRL08
- Light weight design utilizing an aluminum shaft.
- Has durable plastic flighting
- The unit weighs 5 lbs
- Built in foam float incase the auger slips out of the drill chuck by mistake.
- Ice auger extensions specifically designed for the K drill are available, the standard auger will drill up to 36” of ice.
- Blades can be returned to the manufacturer for sharpening.
- Works with any ½ inch drill chuck
The manufacturers minimum suggested drill specifications :
18 volt/ 4AH lithium ion battery ( more amp hours is better for more holes)
500-750 RPM with 725 inch pounds of torque. Two top drills on the market that meet these specifications are the milwaukee hammer drill 2804-22 or Dewalt DCD996P2
They also have a side hand grip for better control. You can see the current pricing of the K-drill here.
Eskimo 35600 Pistol Bit
The Eskimo pistol bit ice auger also comes in a 6-inch and 8-inch size
- This auger features a nylon polymer flite
- A centering point to reduce slippage when starting your hole
- This model also features an aluminum shaft.
- Compatible for ½ inch chucks standard to cordless drills.
- There is a top plate wider than the flighting to prevent losing the auger should it come lose during drilling.
The Eskimo Pistol Bit doesn’t have as many reviews as the K-drill but is included here as another all in one ice auger for electric drills. Again as with the K drill a high pounds per foot drill is recommended for best performance. Anyhow check out the reviews here .
Converting a Hand Ice Auger into an Electric Auger
Your Next option is to take an existing hand auger add an adapter and then connect that to a drill. The advantage with this is there are a lot of hand augers that are easily changed over to an electric drill drive. So it is possible to adapt your current auger over to electric.
So for example my own personal favorite hand auger is the Swede-bore. I’ve drilled tons of holes with mine and never needed to sharpen the blades. I’ve had times on the ice I’ve got 4 to 5 holes drilled before the gas-powered guys next to me can even get their auger started.
So there are tons of adapters available on Amazon. What most of them are lacking is some kind of plate to prevent you from losing your auger. The one that’s readily available that I would recommend has a set of hand grips . So this gives you much better control of the auger additionally it prevents you from losing it into the water should the Chuck come loose.
Pictured above is the Clam drill auger conversion kit. This unit has some pretty good reviews on amazon. The side handles are a great feature and of course the width to prevent you losing your ice auger in the hole if the chuck lets loose. You can get moire information and pricing here.
As I mentioned above there are a ton of much less elaborate adapters available. The most common complaints are not having a way to prevent losing your auger. Additionally several drill adapters have complaints of the top of the hex fitting being wider. Therefore they dont fit really well inside the drill chuck and produce wobble.
Hand Ice Augers Aren’t all Equal
Swede-Bore
As mentioned above I love this thing. The Swede bore is a very well priced, well-engineered effective product. When I bought this a couple years ago I checked the ratings on Amazon, Canadian Tire and a couple other E-tailers .Not to mention on the various ice fishing forums. The consensus was this was one of the best ice augers there was.
- Replaceable/sharpenable blades.
- Dependable design
- Excellent reviews
- Very competitive price
- 3.6 kg weight
Check out the excellent pricing and reviews on the swede-bore ice auger.
Eskimo Hand Ice Auger HD08
This ice auger also has very good reviews and is available in six seven or eight in diameters.
- Available in 6”, 7” and 8 inch
- Also has good reviews.
- Very good ice cutting speed for a manual ice auger.
- Weight 3.4 kg ( around 7 lbs)
A few people have complained of the blade guard breaking. So they had to jury rig something. Check this auger out.
Ice Auger Tips and Info
Longer Battery Life go for More Amp Hours
Lithium ion batteries have come a long way recently but, you still want to go for a decent amount of amp hours. Amp hours is a standard term to gauge how much stored energy a battery has. Your minimum amount of amp hours you want on the battery for a cordless drill is four or five. You can even use something as powerful as a 9 amp hour battery. Obviously these bigger batteries are a lot more expensive but you get what you pay for.
One last note on lithium ion batteries make sure they stay warm. Try to keep them in your tent or your truck until they are needed. The colder they get the slower the reaction is and the less power you will get out of them.
Consider Getting an Inverter
An inverter for your vehicle simply changes DC power into AC power so you can plug in the battery charger to your vehicle directly. These are relatively inexpensive and are an absolute necessity for long fishing trips.
Keep your Blades Sharp
Many manufacturers have blade sharpening programs or offer replacement blades. Alternatively I’m sure you can find services in your local city that will sharpen your ice auger blades.
Don’t Bash the Auger into the Ice
One thing I’ve seen a few times is people trying to bash the ice auger into the ice to “start “ a hole . This is absolutely wrong and will bend your blades out of alignment and they will not drill straight. As long as your blades are in good shape it only takes minimal effort to start drilling a hole in the ice.
Blade Safety use the Guard
All ice fishing auger blades are extremely sharp. They go down to a razor sharp edge. You should always make sure to carry your auger with the guards on. This prevents injury that also protects your blade unless you bash it against something.
Best Brands of Drill
I fortunately have a fair bit of experience in this area. I’ve been working in the construction industry for over 20 years and I can tell you that drills and battery technology has become so much more reliable. 10 years ago you choose a corded tool over a cordless any day because the batteries would run out in 15 minutes. They had no guts, they were pretty much a waste of money.
In the past several years cordless technology has advanced so much that battery operated drills are a fantastic alternative to hauling around chords. Where this comes in for the ice fishing is you can now drill tons of holes off of one lithium-ion battery. Your choice of drill depends on how fast you want to hit water.
Use a Hammer Drill for Drilling Faster Easier Holes in the Ice
Three common brands that are pretty powerful are the Milwaukee fuel, DeWalt and Rigid octane. Hammer drills usually have more torque and a hand grip for better control. These drills are such high torque that the handle also prevents you from twisting your wrist.
Use setting 1 on the drill (lowest level) also make sure the hammer drill is set to drill and NOT hammer. Remember you want a hammer drill for the extra torque and not hammer drill setting.
New to Ice Fishing?
If you are new to ice fishing you may find my article for beginners helpful.