Clam cordless drill conversion kit

[JSG]

Anyone pick one of these up this season? Just wondering if they're worth the money. I've heard good things about them.
[signature]

[Jordanporritt]

I was looking at them earlier in the season but it didn't seem worth it to me. They say you are supposed to use them with a 6" auger, which is a little small for my liking. And also after you buy the conversion kit, a hand auger, and a good cordless drill, you are in it almost as much as a cheap gas auger.
[signature]

[RockyRaab]

The recommendation for a 6" auger is simple: An 8" auger cuts almost double the volume of ice.

If I dig back through 50 years of mental detritus to math class, I find the formula for area of a circle. That's pi times radius squared. Then multiply by depth to get volume of a cylinder.

A six-inch auger therefore moves 3.14 x 9 or 28.26 cubic ice inches per inch of hole depth.

An eight-inch moves 50.24 ice cubes.

It probably would take more oomph than most electric drills can provide to power an 8" auger.
[signature]

[utahgolf]

my buddy has a drill setup with an 8 inch auger and its saaaaweeeeeeeeeet! I'm doing one next year, they're super fast, easy, and a smaller/lighter setup than a heavy bulky gas one. Ya gotta have a good drill, 18 volt with a low torque setting. Milwaukee makes a good one for the money. you get about 20-30 holes on a battery and you get 2 batteries when ya buy a drill. So 40 plus holes you can drill. So you'll have an awesome drill to use around the house when not ice fishing,, a lot of bang for your buck and no starting or maintainence worries like a gas auger.
[signature]

[Bluesteel]

I picked on up a few weeks ago, I put in on my 8" auger, 18v dewalt drill, I could not be happier, with the handles it does not torque like the standard drill adapter, it is very lightweight, I drill 32 holes with it last saturday, I take 2 batteries with me, and and after I use the drill I store them in a insulated bag in my tent so the cold does not drain the batteries, I keep my blades sharp, I will not go back to my gas auger, Last season I broke the rope twice while fishing, ruined both trips because I had not even drilled a hole yet. With 2 batteries I have a backup, the 32 holes I drilled was on one battery, Ice was 14" thick.
[signature]

[MisterCompletely]

I've been using one of those for about 3 years, but it's one called the Ice Kicker. I already had a couple of big heavy duty drills, so that was not a factor. I couldn't be happier with it. I use a Lazer 7" auger and it bores a hole in no time. Since it's geared down a lot, it has tons of torque and never bogs down. Of course the great thing about it is that it's not much bigger than just the hand auger itself. I always bring the auger handle in case of trouble, but I've never had to use it. I haven't seen the Clam model, but it probably is similar. Bottom line is they work great, and like someone said, you've also got a great drill to use anytime. Go for it!

Check out the videos for the Ice Kicker on their website, YouTube etc. Why would you even consider packing around a big heavy nasty expensive gas auger that might start or might not?
[signature]