hub shelters

Specs on the Otter hub and eskimo hub are the same. size, weight, height, etc. That being said has anyone used the hubs with the walk in style door? Set up ease? Zipper issues? Other problems?

TIA everyone

I had the two smallest Otter hubs and sold them once I got my 450XD Eskimo.
The walk in door is sweet. Otter is now putting that option on theirs so I would say it would be a brand preference to you at this point. Both quality shelters.

I like my Eskimo 650XD. Having kids, and often fishing with friends who have kids, the no step door is a no brainer. Only issue I have is that the factory ice anchors are made of a soft metal and bend easily.

Thanks guys for the info. Thinking on the 450xd

That walk through door looks nice. But having the zipper always towards the ice and what not seems like it may be problematic? Especially if you fish multiple days in a row or move around and everything gets wet no matter what.
This is just my thoughts as I have no experience with it, just regular hub doors that can cause trouble as well

I just picked up the new Otter hub with the walk through door. Sets up just fine, lots of space inside, and there is also a “standard” door on the other corner. I’ll be interested to see how it does come ice season.

I have the 650XD also and love the no step door compared to my old hubs. Setup is easier than previous hubs without the door. Haven’t seen the otter in person but as mentioned I’d bet they are both similar in setup. Down to brand or price. I bought mine from Marine General Cyber Monday for $250 off so if you can wait deals are to be had, as long as stock is there.

The side door sounds like a game changer. It can be a bit of a pain to step into a hub with big baffin boots on. My cousin went you know what deep down a hole one year trying to step over the door when he’d had a few too many.

The side access door that opens up makes it way easier to move stuff around. Would be even easier if the door was just a bit wider still. Set up is a bit more tricky especially with just one person. I will say that the newer ball and socket hub design on the Eskimo is a lot more smoother than prior models. Setting the seal on the door isn’t always smooth as there is just one single zipper. If they made it dual zipper or better triple zipper it would be easy to open the zipper, stick your hand outside and fix the skirt on the door and zip shut. However I don’t really need to access the door that often so, I just set up right and forget about it.