I left an Otter for a pair of Eskimo’s……

I use to be an Otter guy when I had my Lodge. Honestly the Pro X-Over lodge (30 SQ FT) is a FANTISTIC shelter! I just had one issue with it, it wouldn’t fit under a tonneau cover with the tailgate closed. I then went with the Cabin and realized it’s too small at 22 SQ FT, plus the fact I couldn’t even stand up in the center of it.

Basically I was looking for the perfect shelter, a 2-man that can be small enough to haul around like a 1-man.

I decided to go with 2 new Eskimo’s
The Escape 2600 – this fishes like the Otter Lodge, it’s 27 SQ FT and fits in a Quad Cab (tailgate closed) and under a tonneau cover and a 6’2″ guy can stand up in it.

And the Eskimo Wide 1 XR Thermal 1-man which has 17.5 SQ Ft of room. It weights 65 pounds. The Otter Cottage has 16.8 SQ FT and weights 80 pounds (or 82 pounds for the Pro). If you go with the Otter Cabin your at 22 SQ FT with a whopping 103 pounds. I have to say if your solo, It’s really nice to have a big one man shelter that’s only 65 pounds, and has room like a 2-man.

After seeing the 2600 at the St Paul show I was shocked at how big this shelter feels! As I said earlier, the Otter Lodge is a dream to fish out of, but it doesn’t play nice in a short bed. I contacted Otter several weeks back and said they need a shelter in-between the Lodge and Cabin. Something like the 27 SQ FT market that fits under a tonneau cover AND you can stand up straight to stretch. Companies need to realize, there will be times when you have to pull your shacks out (early and late in the season no trailer) and if I’m traveling, the last thing I want is an open tailgate!

Again, this is not about bashing OTTER! I’ve never had a problem with any of my Otter shacks, and I’ve had 5 of them. They are heavy duty. I was just looking for the perfect shack for my needs and it happened to come in the Eskimo line.

RANT for ALL Companies – PLEASE ADD HYFAX to your sleds, so I DON’T HAVE TO!!!!! I’ll PAY MORE!

Mark

I bought an Eskimo 2600 for the same reason. The biggest shack that I can fit in my truck and close everything up. I guess the more logical plan would be to just buy the biggest house, buy a bigger truck, build a bigger garage to fit my bigger truck. You see where this is going.

I think one of the problems is that when Otter came out, it was focusing on one thing — making a sturdier, beefier sled than Clam that wouldn’t get destroyed bouncing over the lake behind a sled or ATV. And they met that promise big time. However, that big, beefy sled is a PITA to deal with for those running solo, walking out, needing to lift in the back of a pickup, etc. Your complaint focuses on size, but along with that is sheer weight. That weight coming from the sturdier construction means it’s not very portable for so many situations.

Kind of like our RTIC is making lightweight coolers as an option to those who can’t deal with the heavy standard rotomold coolers. It creates options for all of their customers.

I figured out I don’t care for the lodge style shanty’s, too much of a hassle to set-up and take down. I found a used Eskimo Sierra thermal that I used last year and now the Otter will set in the shed until somebody wants to buy it.

RANT for ALL Companies – PLEASE ADD HYFAX to your sleds, so I DON’T HAVE TO!!!!! I’ll PAY MORE!

No Doubt, and the hardware they give you is not the best. A lotta swearing went on when I installed mine.

Sounds like you made a good choice for you. I run a cottage, am 5’8″ and no body builder and I can load it in the bed of my pickup quite easily. I’m also someone who has no problem driving with the tailgate down and having my bigger sled strapped in. It would only become a problem if I had 4 guys riding with me taking up cab space I would otherwise be using for gear.

I just bought a brand new eskimo 650 XD. Haven’t even taken it out of the box yet. First time owning an eskimo and I’m excited to get it on the ice

Crappie,

I’m ok with driving down the road with the tailgate open. My issue comes when my drive stops and I sleep at a hotel/motel. I’m not a big fan of advertising 1K in gear hanging out the back of my pickup. Out of sight, out of mind!

Also, my issue wasn’t lifting a shelter into the back of my truck, I did that with my Lodge. I’m talking more about getting rid of excess weight while I pull the shelter across the lake.

I just bought a new otter lodge pro and yea it definetly sits too high for my bed cover. And it’s a lot heavier than I was anticipating. Gonna make a new smitty sled for this monster. My old fish trap fit under the cover which I really liked

Eelpoutguy wrote:

RANT for ALL Companies – PLEASE ADD HYFAX to your sleds, so I DON’T HAVE TO!!!!! I’ll PAY MORE!

No Doubt, and the hardware they give you is not the best. A lotta swearing went on when I installed mine.

Yea they suck to put on. They are alot easier to put on before the rest of the shack is put together. Once assembled and the canvas is put on it basically takes 2 people then

I agree I woulda qualified for the olympic gymnastic team putting those hyfax on the resort zero fun

Mark J. wrote:

RANT for ALL Companies – PLEASE ADD HYFAX to your sleds, so I DON’T HAVE TO!!!!! I’ll PAY MORE!

Mark

The reason the companies don’t put them on is because they’re really not needed. I’ve never had hyfax on one of my sleds. Nor have they ever shown any wear. I pull them down gravel roads, across fields and I’ve had the same sled for over 10 years. Probably quite a bit longer than that. IMO, Save yourself some hassle and don’t put them on.

Joe Scegura wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mark J. wrote:</div>
RANT for ALL Companies – PLEASE ADD HYFAX to your sleds, so I DON’T HAVE TO!!!!! I’ll PAY MORE!

Mark

The reason the companies don’t put them on is because they’re really not needed. I’ve never had hyfax on one of my sleds. Nor have they ever shown any wear. I pull them down gravel roads, across fields and I’ve had the same sled for over 10 years. Probably quite a bit longer than that. IMO, Save yourself some hassle and don’t put them on.

I agree. My lodge would get pulled half mile down asphalt and about the same down gravel just to get t9 the lake. That was 9 winters before I sold it and it wasn’t ever warn out. But the old clam sleds and what not were way thinner and would require hyfax

Just put them on at the factory and charge accordingly.
If there not needed don’t sell them then.

Kinda like buying a PU, you don’t need running boards but if you want them they’ll put them on for you.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Just put them on at the factory and charge accordingly.
If there not needed don’t sell them then.

Kinda like buying a PU, you don’t need running boards but if you want them they’ll put them on for you.

I guess if your buying direct for otter or eskimo it should be a option. I doubt fleet farm or cabelas has room for 50 with hyfax and 50 with out.
I don’t want to pay a premium cost for some one else to do something that I can easily do in a hours time. Especially for something I don’t want. What my dealer wanted for running boards was absurd. I bought after market and took less then 2 hours to install by my self. I saved a bunch of money

I do wish the Otter fit under a tonneau cover, but I guess that’s really my only complaint. I only pull mine by hand once or twice a year first ice when there is usually no snow, other than that its always ATV. One tip is to just keep the seats out early ice when you are pulling by hand. Seems to cut the weight in half, especially taking the big bench out of the XT.

I have a Eskimo escape, 2600 model, plenty of room, well insulated and fits under my bed cover on my ford with a 6.5 bed.

Mark J. wrote:

Crappie,

I’m ok with driving down the road with the tailgate open. My issue comes when my drive stops and I sleep at a hotel/motel. I’m not a big fan of advertising 1K in gear hanging out the back of my pickup. Out of sight, out of mind!

Also, my issue wasn’t lifting a shelter into the back of my truck, I did that with my Lodge. I’m talking more about getting rid of excess weight while I pull the shelter across the lake.

Both points make perfect sense

bfishn wrote:

I do wish the Otter fit under a tonneau cover, but I guess that’s really my only complaint. I only pull mine by hand once or twice a year first ice when there is usually no snow, other than that its always ATV. One tip is to just keep the seats out early ice when you are pulling by hand. Seems to cut the weight in half, especially taking the big bench out of the XT.

I had the Lodge with the bench and only after I got rid of it because of the weight did I get the grand idea to take the bench out and replace with lighweight chairs. I may have kept it if I had gotten rid of that heavy bench. Still a big sled, though.