1 man flip over

Looking to buy a 1 man flip over. I have an Otter XT Pro Lodge (hoping that my daughters would join me), but find myself fishing solo and the Lodge is heavy for me to load in my truck by myself; so looking to get a 1 man flip over. I am somewhat partial to Otter (not sure why) but it seems like the Clam Kenai is the way to go? Any thought or suggestions? I do not currently have a live scope…if I do at some point, is there enough room to fish 2 holes comfortably with a live scope and heater in a 1 man? Thanks.

I just bought an Eskimo Wide 1 XR this year and love it. The extension on the front gives you extra fishing space. Can easily fish 2 holes with room for your electronics. And, at 65# I can easily throw it in the back of my truck.

me personally…….i wouldnt go with a 1 man…..i have an old uninsulated dave genz flip over and i fish alone in it and still struggle for room. i’d deal with the extra weight!!!

but thats just me!!!!!

I would look into the Legend instead. It is 7″ wider and 1″ longer and 13 pounds heavier at 65 pounds. Trying to get a heater and livescope in will eat a lot of room so bigger is better. Another one might be the Nanook XL. Pull out one seat and your weight would be close to the Legend and your width would be 61″.

I have a VERY small one man Frabil that I really like. Space is very tight, but for me it is fine. NOT insulated, but because it is so small it is easy to heat with my lil buddy. I had to get rid of my bigger one man flip overs just because it was getting too hard for me to load on my own without taking everything out of it before lifting it. Now I just take out my auger and can lift it in by myself. Very easy to pull. Just beware that it is VERY small.

They are all getting so heavy with the quilted insulated fabric. A shack that small can stay plenty warm with a buddy heater. I’d rather have a lighter weight shack that I can lift easily and pull easily. I’m using a 2 man clam from 1997 that I got a new cover for. It’s uninsulated but very lightweight. I’m not sure what I will buy when this one wears out.

Love my legend as a 1 man shelter.

I bought a Kenai Clam when they first came out. Used it for years but having a heater, electronics, and holes got to be too much. I went a little bit heavier, but light enough for me to throw in and out of the pickup bed, and bought an Otter Cottage with bench seat. It says 2 man, it’s a little tight for 2, but is an excellent size for 1 man. 3 holes, a Livescope, and a Mr Buddy Heater fits easily. I’ve got a friend that lightened his up even more and took out the bench seat and uses a folding chair instead.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Love my legend as a 1 man shelter.

Same. Just oiled it up, dried it out, and put mine away for the year.

Have thought about selling lately.

The clam nanook xt works great as a big 1 man and is pretty light weight also.

Eskimo wide 1 on sale at Marine general for $299 if you pick up. They weigh 65 pounds.

I have 2 Eskimo Wide Ones. 1 newer and 1 older. They have lots of space inside. It takes proper placement, but enough for two holes, buddy heater, and flasher. Usually I bring a kid or two with and one can have they’re own house. But if I was planning on being solo more often I would look at the 2 man houses. You can’t beat that extra space. You could always get a receiver hitch cargo rack and you then wouldn’t have to get the house lifted very far.

I have a Otter insulated cottage. I previously had a non-insulated Otter cabin but when I wanted to upgrade to insulated the cottage size was a better fit for my usage. The cottage is slightly wider than a typical one man which I desire and I personally would not go smaller than this. You could squeeze in another person but unless it would be a child I would not plan on this.

You can shave a few pounds with another brand generally due to the tub being less robust and lighter in weight. Generally the Otter’s tub is beefy but if you are not planning on dragging your portable behind a atv or snowmobile then almost any brand/model tub is sufficient. If I have too much gear in the tub of the cottage then it still gets pretty heavy to move it in or out of the bed of my truck by myself. It is much more manageable if I have minimal to no gear in it while loading or unloading. If it was not as cumbersome to pick up by oneself then the weight would not be as much of a issue.

I typically only fish one hole. I would say that would not want anything smaller than the cottage for 2 holes, with livescope in one of the 2 holes and a heater. I suppose you could drill a 3rd hole close together for the livescope but it gets cluttered pretty fast. Along with width I would also pay attention to the interior depth inside (fishable area) if looking at other brands/models. I do not consider the Otter Cabin to be very deep.

I have a one man Eskimo flip over I got at the end of season at a local Theisens, for half off, came to $75.00. It’s non insulated, but as others have said, it stays warm with a little buddy heater pretty easy.

PmB wrote:

The clam nanook xt works great as a big 1 man and is pretty light weight also.

+1. I went from a 1 man to the Nanook XL for not much in weight difference when I leave out the second chair. It is a major upgrade in fishable space. I also bought an extra chair bracket and placed it in the center so I can be centered up when I’m fishing solo.

glenn57 wrote:

me personally…….i wouldnt go with a 1 man…..i have an old uninsulated dave genz flip over and i fish alone in it and still struggle for room. i’d deal with the extra weight!!!

but thats just me!!!!!

X2

If you are fishing solo, get a two-man, fishing with a friend, get a three-man and so on. Whatever capacity they claim a portable fish house is(whether hub or flip), always assume it’s at least one person smaller than that. That’s the rule I go by at least.

My Eskimo 949 hub is rated for up to four or five but only really fishes two truly comfortably.

I had the Otter Cottage and now have the Otter Cabin. I loved the Cottage when fishing alone. I got the Cabin so I could fit two people easier. The One thing I like better about the Cabin fishing alone is the sled is a little longer, which acutally makes it a little easier to lift into my truck bed solo, because I can angle it up from the groud a little easier. Both are great shelters.

I have 3 HECO shacks. Light weight and you can have 3 holes. With enough room for your stuff and a heater if you would need the heater.

Anyone interested in one let me know. I’d probably sell 1?

The new Eskimo wide is awesome and plenty of room. low profile packs easy .

LabDaddy1 wrote:

If you are fishing solo, get a two-man, fishing with a friend, get a three-man and so on. Whatever capacity they claim a portable fish house is(whether hub or flip), always assume it’s at least one person smaller than that. That’s the rule I go by at least.

My Eskimo 949 hub is rated for up to four or five but only really fishes two truly comfortably.

Yeah the only way your fishing what it is rated for is if your all just using one hole and someone is sitting in someone else’s lap.

Otter Cottage would be a good fit for your.

No mention of the Otter Hideout? Just got one this year and love it. Had the XT legend, with minimal snow fall and glare ice conditions I found it caught too much wind and the house would constantly blow away due to so much surface area of canvas. My only option was to anchor it down to keep it from blowing off. Which meant I had to move all my gear to safety when I got up to go outside. I sold it within 2 weeks of owning for that reason. The Sierra or Nanook are great options for a large one man/two man house, i’ve had both. They are a bit heavier, i got tired of Ice fishing being so much work. I bought the hideout this year. I love the fact the poles don’t telescope, it is truly flip and fish design. It is so light weight! easy to pick up and toss in the truck. The seat is elevated off the floor of the sled which provides more space than you would think. They are built like tanks. I added a hammock over head, two otter rod holders and put some short skis on the bottom. The skis eliminate the need to add hyfax and give me the right length to prop them on the tailgate and slide it in the truck. I was concerned the ceiling was too low, but found it does not get pushed nearly as much by the wind on glare ice. It has limited space but I kept reminding myself I got this house to be streamlined, to lighten my load. I already have several bigger houses I could take but have left them all in storage since i got the hideout. Cant go wring with this house, I saw Joes did have a couple on clearance last week.

I love my Otter XT Hideout. Used it for 5+ years and it’s great. Love that it’s a true flip and fish shack. Very, very warm. Durable tub. I can easily fit a buddy heater, 2 holes to fish, and a flasher out in front of me. Around 60 pounds, so easy to lift up into my truck. Fits under my truck cover once you pull the seat off. Depends how big you are though, I’m only 5’7″ and it works great for me. If you’re a bigger guy, I would probably recommend a 2-man like other people have mentioned.

Speaking of a persons height, the height of the Otter Cottage is not that tall. Being 6′ tall plus add some height while wearing boots and I surely can not stand up straight inside the Cottage.

My Legend xl has plenty of room. The Wide 1 has room up front and is around the same weight. Either of these will be a good choice.

I use a Otter Cabin solo all the time, love the space. Now if they made something just 6″ shorter would probably be perfect 1 man.

Joes has 2 hideouts, $399.

PmB wrote:

The clam nanook xt works great as a big 1 man and is pretty light weight also.

x2. Just loaded mine from the truck to the rafters solo, great one man house.

WhyME wrote:

I do not currently have a live scope…if I do at some point, is there enough room to fish 2 holes comfortably with a live scope and heater in a 1 man?

It depends on your definition of “comfortably”. I have the Kenai XT Thermal Ice Team. The XT version makes the front wall almost straight which significantly increases the fishability because you can have the holes close to the from wall and set the hook without hitting the front wall.
I started using it this year. I learned the second time I set it up to put the Buddy heater on an inverted 5 gallon bucket which allowed me to put anything anywhere I wanted on the ice. I can have 3 holes but there’s not much floor space with the 5 gallon bucket, 3 holes, LiveScope or flasher. With the seat mounted in the middle it’s difficult to put a playmate, rod bag in the tub. I plan on moving the seat to one side for next year which would make the tub more accessible.
I do plan on getting a bigger house next year so my dog can come along.
To get this in the truck by myself pretty easily, I attach a game hoist to an anchor point on the front of my truck box or attach a cable from one side to the other mid box and pull it up some simple 2 X 3 X 6 ramps. This would work for a bigger house as well.