This is the kind of stuff I watch for hours on end at this time of year, hoping to glean some pearls of wisdom I can apply out on the ice. Most are a just a time sink, but every now and then I find a gooder.
I knew when Jiffy came out with its
Torch flites last season that they would be slow and eat batteries with their chipper blades. Sure enough, by the end of the last season you couldn't give one away.
So the gold standard remained the Eskimo Pistol Bit...the lightest and fastest flite if you had the power to turn it. Just like its Ardisam cousin the Ion G2 flite, it was always just a bit lighter and faster than it's StrikeMaster competition.
And I assumed being shaver blades, both were relatively similar in efficiency. But then I watched this fellow's video linked at the top and realized the Lite-Flite appears to actually be quite a bit more efficient than the Pistol Bit. I base this on the fact that he can drive it with a lower powered drill than the Pistol Bit. I've never run out of power with my G2s, and Ion has always listed being able to cut more inches of ice than StrikeMaster. But it makes me think the best auger is actually a Ion lithium powerhead with a SM Lite-Flite. Go figure.
I've been planning on a 6" Pistol Bit set up for some time...last year I couldn't find one. That looks to be a blessing as I'm now going to get a 6" Lite-Flite. I may even forgo the cordless drill for a 24V StrikeMaster...or figure out how to rig a Lite-Flite to my new Ion Alpha.
Good job StrikeMaster. I bet some people around here never thought I'd say that.
I've seen the light with StrikeMaster
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