They work fine on early ice that is less than 10 inches thick, but once the ice gets thicker they become a drag to use. If you only plan to drill one or two holes no problem, but most of us with power augers like to cut more than that during a day.

Are hand ice augers hard to use?

A manual ice auger with sharp blades easily cuts through 6-8 inches of ice like butter in under 10 seconds. Drilling a hole in ice 10-18 inches thick using a hand auger is significantly harder and will take at least 30 seconds of hard work for each hole. Avoid manual ice augers for ice thicker than 18 inches.

Do hand augers work for ice fishing?

I've cut ice holes with a spud, hand auger, gas auger, and chainsaw. ... Most ice anglers, and certainly avid ones, use an auger, either manual or powered, the latter being favored in northernmost lakes where ice can get very thick. Gas-driven augers are a mainstay, but battery-powered augers are also an option.