This fat and out of shape guy is tired of dragging around the Clam Yukon walking out on thin ice so iam seeking advice on buying a lightweight Pop up for day trips.
Looking for something that would handle 3 anglers.
who has the best product for the best price?
I figured since we are later in to the season there may be some good deals out there.
Everyone I know that did the same thing you are doing is back to their old flip over house.
Auger
bucket for fish and bait
rods
pop up house
heater + tank
all = still needing a sled 
you may be better off selling the yukon and getting an Otter wild cabin with the bench seat, they have a better sled so they pull better than the clam 
Any of the Eskimos are great, built very well! Been through Frabills, Clams and others, and Eskimos by far has the best quality. I’ve got the Fatfish 949 and is very spacious. Look into Eskimos for Pop-Ups!
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Any of the Eskimos are great, built very well! Been through Frabills, Clams and others, and Eskimos by far has the best quality. I’ve got the Fatfish 949 and is very spacious. Look into Eskimos for Pop-Ups!
x2
I bought the black ice insulated one and ended up returning it to get an eskimo 949 fatfish. The black ice one did not last me more than a week. One of the zippers broke, One of the poles broke, and one of the hubs that hold everything together popped out and fell apart. VARY disappointed in it but vary happy with my eskimo.
OK, here is what I did.
Bought this http://www.glensoutdoors.com/Glen-s-Elite-Outdoor-Series-3-Man-Thermal-p/geo3t.htm
I plan to cut a 4X6 pice of leftover plywood for the floor so that I will have a 1 foot strip of ice on each side of the plywood. I have a 3500 Watt Portable Generator, Ice drill, 1500 watt room heater, fish locator, camera, and a kitchen chair. It all gets put in the back of my Suburban and off I go! I put this alltogether this year and I am still waiting 
for ice to drive on here in MPLS.
I like my Eskimo popups. I have a quickfish 3 and 6. I use the 3 if I’m alone, and the 6 if I have 2+ people – but that is because I really like to have space to spread out and have at least a couple holes per person. The only thing I find slightly inconvienent about using the 6 is that you have to stake it down to keep it from flexing out of shape and shifting around, wheras in a low/no wind situation I can use the 3 with no stakes.
We got the Fat Fish 949 I at the Ice Fishing show in St Paul Dec 2011. It is big for 2 and ok for 3. Found out that it is tough to deal with in wind over 25 MPH – popped out a wall pole and ripped out 2 grommets.
Joe’s is out of replacements right now but said to check back in a few weeks.
I like it but it is the first year out – they need stronger poles next year.
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Everyone I know that did the same thing you are doing is back to their old flip over house.
Auger
bucket for fish and bait
rods
pop up house
heater + tank
all = still needing a sled
you may be better off selling the yukon and getting an Otter wild cabin with the bench seat, they have a better sled so they pull better than the clam
Not totally true. You can shave an easy 30# if not 50# by ditching the flip style for a sled and a pop-up.
Eskimo Fat Fish 767 weighs 23#
http://www.geteskimo.com/foundations/store/shopdetail.asp?params=FF767*102&tab=desc2
Otter Medium Sled weighs in at 32#
http://www.otteroutdoors.com/ottermediumsled.html
Otter Lodge (roughly same fishing floor space) weighs in at 80#
http://www.otteroutdoors.com/portablefishhouses.html
That’s a savings of 26# right there. His Clam Yukon weighs in at 105#. He can shave 51# by going the Fat Fish/Otter Sled combo.
Bull Cans. Sounds like you went through what I did.
I would look at size:weight ratio instead of price. Then look at quality then price. This formula will probably make you the happiest.
I upgraded ice augers (shaved 12#) and ditched the flip house for a sled/pop-up (ditched almost 90#). Boy did that make a difference.
Until the boss gives me permission to buy a snomobile or 4wheeler, I’m stuck pulling my Otter Cabin by hand. Once we had a little snow on the ice it became very hard to pull. I had to stop every few minutes, and I’m in reasonable shape. I opted to build a sled with some cheap downhill skis (15 dollars) and some scrap lumber after seeing the idea online. Put a little wax on the skis I can pull this easily with all my gear in it without stopping. Just another option to consider that costs very little.
Wade
your math of saving 51#’s by going with an Otter sled/Fat Fish is exactly what i was thinking of converting to but didn’t do the math and didn’t realize the weight diiference until you figured this out.
Thanks for the response
Forget the fish house all together and stand out on the ice. This way you dont have to worry about hauling around a heater to. No lighter way to go. If you need spend the money you where going to spend on a new house on up grading you cold weather gear. You are far more portable with out a portable fish house to. All those things do is slow a person down from hole hoping and catching more fish.
Dont forget, it is not nearly as easy to be mobile and stay on active fish with a hub stye as you are with a flip. It can be done but its way more of a hassle than making a smitty sled(pictured above in jimmyL post) would be for your heavy flip style.
Pop up shelters need to be staked down on 4 corners to buck the wind, even in the lightest breezes, and it needs to be completely broken down to move which also takes a bit of time. A flip over does not need anchors until the winds start to get up around 30-40 mph. Therefore when your holes go cold you can throw your stuff in your flip over sled open it up and be on your way to new holes and be fishing long before you could even get your hub style unstaked and broke down.
Just something else to think about…
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Pop up shelters need to be staked down on 4 corners to buck the wind, even in the lightest breezes,
I’d say this is untrue. I rarely stake mine down and when I do it’s even more rare for me to have to stake down all 4 corners.
It’s true a pop-up needs some more attention but it’s not as bad as you are making it sound.
just my opinion, but if your fishing big water you’re asking for trouble not staking it down all the way around.
If your just fishing small lake or ponds where its rare for the winds to pick up quickly you’ll probably be fine. But Ive owned one and I used to think as long as i shoveled some snow onto the flaps and anchored the windward corners id be fine. But, Ive been in it when it comes unglued and its not fun. I have too much invested in rods and reels and equipment to not take the precautions of staking it down properly. Not to mention if it happens when you’ve got a big heater burning….
I agree with Wade. Even in 25-30 mph winds last week I only staked two corners and he hub facing into the wind on my fatfish 949. I also have one of the original green quick fish 60″ hubs that is on season #5 that I use or 1 or 2 people.
The hubs and sled combos are also easier to load and unload in and out of the truck and can be hauled in almost any vehicle – no need for a full size truck or SUV wih all he sets folded down to make it fit.
Good luck by Eskimo gets my vote
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