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Can anyone tell me what is the best/easiest manual auger to drill thru ice and what diameter should I get.

6 inch Finn-Bore.

6'' nils !

RJ is that the "Micro Fin-Bore" or the "Fin-Bore lll ".

I have to dissagree with RJ on this one.

The "Fin-Bore" has off-set handles. Neither of them is lined up with the center so your always using both arms against each other.

With the Swede-Bore, the top handle lines up with the shaft and so you can lean on that end and use the other hand to drill. You can rest one arm while digging with the other.
I can easily dig 5 holes in a row without taking a break with the Swede-Bore.(and i'm kind of scrawny) I borrowed a Fin-Bore last year and found it tiring to dig the second and third holes.

I use the 8 inch and have had no problems drilling. I think you'd be fine with the 6 inch hole, but it gets tight if there is current and lots of ice.

Trust me, if you could buy them both, try them both and return One.... You'd keep the Swede-Bore everytime.

Good luck

From the North...

I have an inkling that something had happened to that Finn-bore you used....if someone bangs the ice with it thinking that gets the auger started you can easily change the angle of the blades....which makes it useless....Swede-Bores are the same when this happens....

Normark redesigned their Augers to improve on the Swede-Bore....The Finnbore was first..the two offset handles are designed to work together...not against each other....with sharp blades and under a foot of ice.....you can cut 6 or 7 holes without breaking a sweat....

They now have the Finn-Bore III...I've seen it in action and it looks great too...

If you can cut 5 holes with a Swede-Bore with ice over 12 inches thick....you aren't scrawny.... ...after 12 inches....go gas...

RJ

That might explain it. The guy I borrowed it from has a son who had recently started using it. I wouldn't exactly call him responsible.
I was killing myself trying to get two holes drilled... that hole was so crooked, there were little ice burrs all over.

Thanks RJ, I was wondering why they were still selling that product.

-Complaint retracted-

FromTheNorth

( I am pretty scrawny though )

I just picked up a 6" Fin bore after demoing Erie Eyes at the Kpin tourney. The difference is amazing. The offset handles work like a dream and it makes me laugh at all the holes I've drilled without them. So much time!

I have an 8'' finn-bore III and it's great. The only time I have a bit of trouble with it is when it's just about to break through the ice...a bit of back and forth, and through it goes.

I use a 8" Swede-Bore and have no complaints.

I use a 8" swede-bore (not with offset handles), with the price mix-up and the price guarantee at Walmart, I was able to grab it for $30 with tax, felt like I was stealing it.

It find it best to keep it connected at its shortest length, that way you can put some body weight into it when drilling (easier given I am 6'4". I can have 10 holes punched/cleaned for my girl and I with lines in and minnows attached in about 30 minutes. And we all know she won't touch a minnow or the auger, or the ice spoon for that matter

I have had some buddies out with me who "needed help" drilling a hole, who found my 8" too difficult. Honestly, the 8" is very nice to fish through, especially with over 2 feet of ice, but if you are not one for physical labour, get the 6". It also helps alot to keep an oiled rag inside the blade cover to keep the blade from rusting. After every outing, I also bring ALL my equipment inside to dry off properly, especially auger.

This may be public knowledge, but one thing nobody mentioned to me when drilling holes, is when you break through the bottom, push the auger down as far as you can to break off the ice shards around the bottom of the hole. I lost a fish on one of those, and learnt my lesson fast.

I have the big debate for my next year purchase....portable hut of some sort or gas auger. Although my el-manualo is great, I am leaning towards the gas machine, as I prefer to be more mobile than stuck in a hut, and it really sucks to build up a sweat at -30C drilling a dozen holes, I would love to relax and walk around swiss-cheesing a lake looking for fish

Scum Frog wrote:I use a 8" Swede-Bore and have no complaints.

Ditto, Scum Frog. Just make sure you've got good blades on there. I had to leave Mississippi last weekend for Perth Crappy Tire for a new set. What a pain in the butt. I knew it was risky going out - first holes this yr with it.


Jay

8 inch swede bore, keep it sharp, follow the directions that comes with it and you can bore holes all say long. I do one at a time, fish the first hole for a few minutes till I bore the next one.
Nothing like boreing holes to keep you warm when its minus twenty.
Happy Boreing

I use a 6'' Swede-Bore and sometimes cut up to 15+ holes an outing with ice thicker that 12''. Left arm is a little tense by the end of the day but I can just blame that on catching too many fish My blades are almosts 2 years old as well

The Fin-Bore III looks like it would chomp through the ice pretty quick..Tried the 8'' last year (Purple auger) and did not really like it all that much..

If we get ice next season I will be going gas