i use my hand auger until the ice is 6 inches then it's gas all the way. both shoulders are bad so it's hard for me to drill many holes with my hand auger. am getting surgery on my right shoulder in early dec,. hopefully it will be good enough to use ice fishing. with my gas auger, i drill at least 8 2 hole setups at a time whereas with my hand auger, i can only drill 3 & my shoulders hurt too bad to drill anymore for at least an hour.