Hub or Flip Over

I currently have a 2 man flip over that weighs in right at 90 lbs or so. I am seriously considering switching to a 2 man hub shelter to shed the weight. I like the ease of setup of my flip over and the room I have in it as I mostly fish alone, but loading it by myself sucks as well as pulling it long distances. (I don’t have an ATV). I am looking for some pros and cons and input from guys for both sides of the coin before I spend the money on a hub. Experiences? Pros/Cons?

For pulling, build yourself a smitty sled. There is a massive thread with pictures over at iceshanty.com with examples. For loading, get ramps. You can even put roller wheels on it. And/or winch it up or use a come-a-long.

I get my options as I’ve read the other thread about flip overs, the fact of the matter is, I don’t want to deal with the weight or have to add rollers, smitty sleds, ramps or a winch. Just looking for pros and cons of the hub shelters from owners.

I have both
Set up and break down takes only a few more minutes in a hub vs flip over
For comfort, floor space, and head room the hub is hands down much better IMHO.
If your not a constant hole hopper and are OK with moving less per day, I like the hub option best. You still have your gear to haul with you no matter what choice you make so it comes down to mobility vs comfort in my opinion
I strap a hub down along with my auger side by side on top of my tub which has the rest of my gear and at the end of the day when I load up I take my auger and hub, put it aside, load my tub up in the back of my truck and then load the auger and hub in after that.
Not a big deal to me anyway doing it that way

Alex Welter wrote:

I currently have a 2 man flip over that weighs in right at 90 lbs or so. I am seriously considering switching to a 2 man hub shelter to shed the weight. I like the ease of setup of my flip over and the room I have in it as I mostly fish alone, but loading it by myself sucks as well as pulling it long distances. (I don’t have an ATV). I am looking for some pros and cons and input from guys for both sides of the coin before I spend the money on a hub. Experiences? Pros/Cons?

I’m on foot like you. I dumped the flip and switched to a hub. Awesome decision. I bought a Viking Medium sled (12#) and my Frabill Outpost (23#). That’s about 75# lighter than my flip house. Then going with a lighter auger shaved that much more weight. I still haven’t switched over to the 11# propane tank however. I’m still dragging a 20#er.

Do the smitty sleds really help that much? I have a flip over clam and my brother has a hub style he liked his hub but this year he bought a flip over and he says he likes it much better not having to worry about remembering everything cuz with a flip over everything is in the sled and stays in it. Everything stays right in my flip over. Auger, rod case, bucket of tip ups, (if I am planning on using them), bucket of shiners, vexilar, heater, and a tackle box. I just lift one end up lean it on the tail gate and then lift the other end and slide it in. The weight of pulling it by hand is kinda shity but I like the comfort more.

shawn s wrote:

Do the smitty sleds really help that much? I have a flip over clam and my brother has a hub style he liked his hub but this year he bought a flip over and he says he likes it much better not having to worry about remembering everything cuz with a flip over everything is in the sled and stays in it. Everything stays right in my flip over. Auger, rod case, bucket of tip ups, (if I am planning on using them), bucket of shiners, vexilar, heater, and a tackle box. I just lift one end up lean it on the tail gate and then lift the other end and slide it in. The weight of pulling it by hand is kinda shity but I like the comfort more.

I personally take everything out and dry it all out in the heated garage after very outing. So regardless of flip or hub, the next day my gear is packed and ready to roll.

I think I am going to make the switch, I already have a sled, and dropping all of the weight is huge plus for me. Some of the areas I fish require a long walk in and on the river, there is a lot of area inaccessible by any form of motorized transportation. Pulling the flip over by hand through snow to these areas was brutal so a lot of times I just fished without it, or didn’t go. The reduction in weight alone for me is great, not too mention they are much cheaper!

On some trips, hubs couldn’t even be set up the wind was so bad. If you opened it, whoosh! That thing would have sailed to China. A flip can keep you fishing in those conditions which aren’t that uncommon. Just don’t ditch the flip.

E Ashwell wrote:

On some trips, hubs couldn’t even be set up the wind was so bad. If you opened it, whoosh! That thing would have sailed to China. A flip can keep you fishing in those conditions which aren’t that uncommon. Just don’t ditch the flip.

I agree… Don’t ditch the flip, however by drilling an anchor in to the upwind side of the hub, it sets up even faster
I’ve had a flip set up and when the wind picked up as soon as I left my seat it slid over my holes and knocked over my vex and heater. What a mess!
Flip covers are just as much accessible to the wind as hubs
At least the hubs come with anchors as the flip covers don’t.
After my experience with the flip over getting pushed around in the wind I put eyebolts in the back of the tub and screwed an ice anchor in to to ice with a rope run through it to hold it down

bullcans wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>E Ashwell wrote:</div>
On some trips, hubs couldn’t even be set up the wind was so bad. If you opened it, whoosh! That thing would have sailed to China. A flip can keep you fishing in those conditions which aren’t that uncommon. Just don’t ditch the flip.

I agree… Don’t ditch the flip, however by drilling an anchor in to the upwind side of the hub, it sets up even faster
I’ve had a flip set up and when the wind picked up as soon as I left my seat it slid over my holes and knocked over my vex and heater. What a mess!
Flip covers are just as much accessible to the wind as hubs
At least the hubs come with anchors as the flip covers don’t.
After my experience with the flip over getting pushed around in the wind I put eyebolts in the back of the tub and screwed an ice anchor in to to ice with a rope run through it to hold it down

I honestly had the same thing happen the other day with my flip. Wind gusted right when I sat up and it went… stuff everywhere