Cabin or Cottage

I am hoping to pull the trigger on a new portable. I have been looking between the Cabin and the Cottage. No wheeler so I will have pull by hand until ice is driveable. Probably fish 75% of the time myself but as an empty nester I have a feeling my wife will want to join me more now. Is the Cabin just going to be a too much of a tank for her to drag with all the other equipment? Seriously though, I hope to build a Smitty sled to ease the drag but wondering if guys who have the Cottage wish they would have gone with a Cabin or vice versa.

I have the cottage with the bench seat. It is nearly perfect for one person. Plenty of room. Right now, my kids are getting older and want to join me more, so the cabin is looking more tempting. But that said, I love my cottage. I’ll also add, that I have fished two grown men in it. It’s a bit tight, but very doable. You should be just fine with your wife the times she wishes to join you.

I have also fished two adults out of my Cottage in the past but it is a little tight in there. I have now switched to the Cabin because my daughter is a little older now and always wants to go so it’s nice to have that second seat and some more ice room. Either way you can’t go wrong they will both do exactly what you want them to do.

I fish a cottage pro with two people. As others have mentioned it’s a tight fit but doable. Wish I had the cabin but the cottage was too good of a deal to pass up at the time. Either way you will be happy. If you are concerned about the weight difference I wouldn’t be. Both are heavy lol and with a smutty sled you will be fine pulling it by hand

The Cottage is a great one man and an almost great 2 man. I would worry more about the sled size than the ability to sit two people. How much crap do you bring with? Do you use a big buddy heater + 20lb propane? If you have an auger with an extension I don’t think it will fit in the sled(it fits fine on top of it, partially inside).

The sled on the Cottage can be a tight fit if you have a ton of gear, and you won’t have as much elbow room.

I’d try to take her to fleet farm or wherever and sit in it together and see what you think.

philtickelson wrote:

The Cottage is a great one man and an almost great 2 man. I would worry more about the sled size than the ability to sit two people. How much crap do you bring with? Do you use a big buddy heater + 20lb propane? If you have an auger with an extension I don’t think it will fit in the sled(it fits fine on top of it, partially inside).

The sled on the Cottage can be a tight fit if you have a ton of gear, and you won’t have as much elbow room.

I’d try to take her to fleet farm or wherever and sit in it together and see what you think.

That is a good point. I haven’t had much trouble with my gear in the Cottage sled, but when I’ve been out with another dude, the double gear can be a challenge. I can’t lay my Strikemaster flat in my sled, it rides on the top when folded up.

philtickelson wrote:

The Cottage is a great one man and an almost great 2 man. I would worry more about the sled size than the ability to sit two people. How much crap do you bring with? Do you use a big buddy heater + 20lb propane? If you have an auger with an extension I don’t think it will fit in the sled(it fits fine on top of it, partially inside).

The sled on the Cottage can be a tight fit if you have a ton of gear, and you won’t have as much elbow room.

I’d try to take her to fleet farm or wherever and sit in it together and see what you think.

This is an excellent point. I have the cottage and I don’t like pulling it anywhere without a smitty sled. With a smitty sled it works great. In my opinion though I think the cottage fishes 2 guys very comfortably. I am 6′ 3″ and my brother is 6′ 1″ and we easily fit in it. I bring what i think is a lot of gear and I do just fine getting it all out there: Gas auger, 2 rod buckets, rod case, small buddy heater, 2 vexilars, marcum vs485 camera, and tackle. If I could do it again I would get the exact same tent. Another thing to think about is loading the tent into your vehicle. Loading my cottage into my rav4 is doable but heavy and I wouldn’t want to load any heavier of a tent for sure.

I have a cottage that my wife and I use to fish and it works great for her and I . It is very easy to heat and she can help lift it in and out of the pickup without taking out gear. The bench seat works ok for us.

I also have a Cabin at my son’s house in Sconi and he is a big guy and I like the extra room, bucket seats and added the console to store lunch, bait etc. I personally prefer the cabin, but it is probably too much to load when full of gear for my wife and I. We also made a smitty sled to use with the cabin. Ideal world, by both if your wife will let you:)

If the wife is going to be pulling anything out on the ice then the Cottage would be the max. Anything over and above that, consider yourself a very lucky guy!

I love the size of the cabins for fishing two adults and multiple lines but in 4″+ snow its not an easy pull. The otters are built great but there are cheaper lighter houses for pulling by hand. Myself I pull it with a snowmobile and wouldnt own anything but an otter, they’re built to last. Good luck.

Thanks for all the feedback. I am thinking the Cottage based on weight/size and the fact it will fit better in my mid sized truck or her Pathfinder. Actually, I don’t mind dragging a sled. It is a great winter workout other than getting a little sweaty it is a great way to burn off some of those Leine’s Vanilla Snowdrift Porters!

jld wrote:

Thanks for all the feedback. I am thinking the Cottage based on weight/size and the fact it will fit better in my mid sized truck or her Pathfinder. Actually, I don’t mind dragging a sled. It is a great winter workout other than getting a little sweaty it is a great way to burn off some of those Leine’s Vanilla Snowdrift Porters!

You won’t be disappointed with the cottage. I have a cottage xt900 and it is perfect for myself and another adult if need be. Like you will be, I fish out of it myself 75+% of the time. Best of all it fits perfectly in my Subaru Forester and I can load and unload myself with ease – couldn’t with the cabin. If/when you need to upgrade to a larger house you can sell the cottage easily for good money as they don’t lose their value as much as other portables do. Enjoy!

I like my cottage it’s nice but it is a bit tight for two people I think. Fits in my outback just fine and I tow it with fourwheeler.

factor in the weight and vehicle you’ll be putting it in. I have the one smaller than a resort I think its a lodge and it sucks to lift it into a vehicle by yourself.

Cottage owner as well. I picked up the older grey seats with the aluminum frame under them and can use one or both. It does get crowded with two especially if you’re over 6ft. I too can fit the cottage in my SUV and can load it by myself. I will use a smitty sled as well when I have to pull it by hand. Smitty sleds are awesome.

We have a cottage that’s the 900 denier and I bought another seat for it and the wife and I can fish in it with no problem. Also can get the brother inlaw in there with me with enough room. I have a Smitty sled for it and it’s unbelievable the difference it makes pulling it in snow. So if you get the Cottage go to the second hand store and pick up a set of cheap ski’s and build a smitty you’ll be glad you did. Glenn

Not sure what type of rod case you use, but the Otter rod case will NOT fit flat in a Cottage tub, I also like the extra height and hook set room the Cabin offers

Just got my otter pro cabin set up, have it set up inside, it seems to tip the whole sled when I lean forward on the seat anyone else notice this?

Cottage or cabin, build a smitty sled. A lodge will pull easier on a smitty than a cabin on any snow.

Found if I use the front wind pole it takes care of the problem, dang narrower sleds get tippy i guess.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Not sure what type of rod case you use, but the Otter rod case will NOT fit flat in a Cottage tub, I also like the extra height and hook set room the Cabin offers

I can fit my otter rod case in my cottage sled

Yes you have use the wind poles to keep tipping effect at a minimum. I’ve even just used the front one and it helps an awful lot.

The lodge is too damn heavy! Come on snow ! Think about weight when buying

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
Not sure what type of rod case you use, but the Otter rod case will NOT fit flat in a Cottage tub, I also like the extra height and hook set room the Cabin offers

I can fit my otter rod case in my cottage sled

sorry, I meant fit flat on the tub floor…

billy03z71 wrote:

Just got my otter pro cabin set up, have it set up inside, it seems to tip the whole sled when I lean forward on the seat anyone else notice this?

Slide your seat back.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>crappie55369 wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
Not sure what type of rod case you use, but the Otter rod case will NOT fit flat in a Cottage tub, I also like the extra height and hook set room the Cabin offers

I can fit my otter rod case in my cottage sled

sorry, I meant fit flat on the tub floor…

oh gotcha. the tub size on the cottage is the one challenging part of the house. you could also look at it a different way by saying I just bring too much crap out with me on the ice. That’s what my fishing buddy would say at least

Buy a cabin, build a smitty sled

billy03z71 wrote:

Just got my otter pro cabin set up, have it set up inside, it seems to tip the whole sled when I lean forward on the seat anyone else notice this?

My cottage does the same thing. Pushing the slush up against the tub seems to fix the problem

thaddeus wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>billy03z71 wrote:</div>
Just got my otter pro cabin set up, have it set up inside, it seems to tip the whole sled when I lean forward on the seat anyone else notice this?

Slide your seat back.

still will tip when you really lean forward like to grab something off the ice, like I said the wind pole took care of it.

PmB wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>billy03z71 wrote:</div>
Just got my otter pro cabin set up, have it set up inside, it seems to tip the whole sled when I lean forward on the seat anyone else notice this?

My cottage does the same thing. Pushing the slush up against the tub seems to fix the problem

thanks for the tip, haven’t gotten to take it in the ice yet so I’ll defiantly try that too