Flip over or Hub for one guy?

Looking at making a small change. I’ve currently got a one man flip over Shapplle Fx100. I’ve used it once and there are things I liked and some I didn’t.

Pros – I love the light weight, everything goes in the sled, seat built in (nice long bench seat that adjusts fwd or back), the sled holds my gear off the ice when I’m in it. Small enough that it keeps warm enough easy enough with my mini me heater.

Cons – obviously pretty cramped. I wasn’t physically cramped but to have room to fish 2 holes, the Vexilar and the heater doesn’t work. Mainly because that heater needs room so I was only able to effectively fish one hole most of the time. I did fish the second but as predicted I burned my line and sent my Rippin Rap to the bottom. Hooksets weee a problem too. Rod poking into the front of the shack, tangling on Velcro and zippers during the set etc.

My options I’m considering, keeping it around $400, is going with a 2 man flip over or a hub.

The flip over gives me the convenience of being self contained. I really like this but you pay the price with room. Getting bigger is possible but I don’t want to get so big that I lose the easy portability loading in the truck ur dragging through snow, up hills etc. not to mention $$$. With the 2 man I should have room for the heater and be able to fish both holes.

The hub will give me tremendous room for theater and gear, plenty of clearance for hook sets, in itself pretty light weight, setup fairly easy but still not as fast as a flip over. Seems like it will need anchoring in the wid though, that’s not convenient at $300-$400 I’ll still need to buy a quality sled, add a chair or 2 if it’s for two both driving the cost up.

Might be a rare occasion that I have a second person with me.

What is the preference for you one man gang fishermen?

I had a two man Eskimo flip over and switched to a hub and a med otter sled,Eskimo was heavy and didn’t pull very nice. Most of the time I pack everything on the front and back of my atv with no sled though.

I personally prefer a sled house over a hib. I’ve had both and hate moving around with a hub house. The bite moves and I want to stay mobile. I dont want it to be 30 minutes every year down and clean up

I have used a Cabela’s two man that has a zippered front for years. I like having the room but at 67 years old I’m finding that when snow is on the ice it pulls hard and occasionally difficult to load in the back of my 2500 Silverado if icy.
I get by tho, like I said, I di like the extra room.

I have both and each has it’s place. If you are a stationary type who doesn’t chase the bite or tip up fishes, then a hub is fine. If you are someone who likes to move a lot then the flip is a better option. When I am doing Ifish pros in an area that I know produces I’ll bring the hub. If I’m on body of water where mobility is the key then the flip comes out. I can leave it hooked to my sled or truck depending on conditions and be gone to the next spot.

You need to assess what type of fishing you’ll be doing. That will tell you more then we can. For the money you can go two man in a lot of different ways.

One-man flipover.

I hated how I had to dry my hub out after every trip. Also, they don’t fit nicely back in their carrying case when they’re all frozen up and crispy. They get that way when you’re breaking them down and trying to roll them back up so they can go back into the carrying bag. Having to get out and drill anchors into the ice while trying to keep it from blowing away was a pain. If you have a couple guys and a giant hub like an Otter Resort, hunkered down on a hot spot and hole-hopping around it, that would be cool. Otherwise, fishing solo out of a hub doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me unless you’re hole-hopping and using it as a warming house.

I am happy also I no longer have the hub. BT hit all the issues. Went with the clam scout 2 winters ago. Love the sliding fabric seat! For the heater I put it behind me so its not in the way. Buddy Heater. It would always lean towards the fabric so I screwed on 2 pieces of wood so it rides above the groves. I dont fish 2 holes so thats not an issue for me. My back doesnt want me to lift much so I have the non insulated flip and the buddy heater is perfect when cold out. Cold and windy, I watch tv at home.

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You almost need to have 3 fish houses these days to suit the different ways you fish.

Flip house all the way if you plan on being mobile. I have the Otter Cottage XT 650 with the bench seat. If you wanted to lighten the load up a little more you could take the bench out and bring a lawn chair or sit on a bucket. I can fish 2 holes in it nice with vex and buddy heater. Very light setup, easy to drag around and WARM! I couldn’t imagine how toasty a person would get in a fully insulated house. I made the mistake of running a Big Buddy in it and wayyyyy to warm. I’m going to be using just the Portable Buddy, not the small one but the one in the middle.

Eskimo Evo’s are a 1 or 2 man house that’s half and half. Seen them setup at BP Fleet Farm. Way bigger on the fishing side than normal 1-2 man flipovers with a fairly small sled/tub. 2 holes in the one man or 4 in the two would be easy. Usually when it comes to any sort of tent, I divide capacity by 2..

Not sure if they have drawbacks on the water, but I was impressed.

IMO a good flip over is best when utilizing it with an ATV or snowmobile.

HUB are very roomy, light weight and great for on foot. I usually fish outside and use the HUB as a warning house until dark or until I’m on a good bite. No issues with my HUB needing to dry off OR bag being to small but I’m sure some HUB manufactures skimp out on the bag so it could be an issue…or buy a larger bag.

You pretty much have it pegged from my experience. Portables are all about trade offs.

The set up and take down production (and wind) for a hub over a flip over is a real thing. As is the ease of moving once you’re on the ice. Multiple people in a flip over is good for postage stamp fishing. The smaller two man flips are reasonably good for one person in terms of space and weight but aren’t ideal when trying to add a 2nd person (i.e. even smaller crowded postage stamp).

I would lean to your style of fishing over cost. Ease and mobility will favor the flip. Stay put or warming house approach may favor the hub.

BoatsHateMe wrote:

The flip over gives me the convenience of being self contained. I really like this but you pay the price with room. Getting bigger is possible but I don’t want to get so big that I lose the easy portability loading in the truck ur dragging through snow, up hills etc. not to mention $$$. With the 2 man I should have room for the heater and be able to fish both holes.

The hub will give me tremendous room for theater and gear, plenty of clearance for hook sets, in itself pretty light weight, setup fairly easy but still not as fast as a flip over. Seems like it will need anchoring in the wid though, that’s not convenient at $300-$400 I’ll still need to buy a quality sled, add a chair or 2 if it’s for two both driving the cost up.

You can shave weight by going non insulated. I run a clam portage which is a large 2 man flip that I can still load into the bed of a pickup. The thing with it being light is the sled is thinner. I haven’t had an issue with it being lighter or with condensation due to lack of insulation and love the room and saved weight.

Have you tried moving the bench seat of your fx100 back so your feet are inside the tub while fishing? that might fix your problems. You can get a little extra shoulder room by widening the shack with spacers placed between the poles and mounting bracket – use 1-2″ stainless steel .25″ wall pipe with longer bolts.

You’ll have to sacrifice added weight to get height and width you want. Either go with a larger one man or small two man

I agree with Aaron and Mat.
Go with the Flip if you mostly fish alone.
I am smaller and can get away with the Clam Legend.

If you fish alone, go with the biggest 1-man flipover you can find. Ice fishing solo is all about portability and taking advantage of being able to truly move with fish.

If you fish alone sometimes and with another person once in a while, I’d go with a medium sized 2 man flip. They’re still mobile enough to be moved alone, just a bit heavier.

If you rarely fish alone or regularly bring kids, the hub is the way to go. Use it as a permanent warming house/gathering spot with opportunities to fish around it.

Each is a different tool for a different job. They can overlap in duty, but the pros and cons everyone has listed are spot on.

Thank you for all the replies. Lots of excellent information. It looks like the flip over is the way to go, as I suspected, the hub units do not come without their drawbacks.

At first I was excited to see that EVO unit from Eskimo. Once they had it set up though, it looked like the vegetable area was even less clearance for Hook setting etc.

Regarding sliding my seat back all the way in the Shapple, i’m pretty sure it doesn’t go far enough back for me to comfortably get my feet inside the tub I’m a pretty big guy with big feet and I could just see myself tripping over that.

I’m on my way to pick up a two man clam flip over. It’s an older fish trap yukon Used one season, as the runners, LED light strips, batteries, upgraded seats. I’m anxious to take that out, hopefully tomorrow.

“You almost need to have 3 fish houses these days to suit the different ways you fish.”
Oh, oh. Looks like I’ll have to sell 3 of mine, then.

Congratulations on your purchase!!

Making this short, I will take the Otter Cabin if moving around, the Eskimo QuickfishI if staying put.DK.