Two Man Portable…Which One?

Went to Gander yesterday…If the saleskid would have known where to find the weight of a couple portables…I would have one by now…

Now that my impulse buying urge has gone…Which brand and which model works the best for what I’m looking for.
I’m using a one man Rover pullover from Fleet Farm now…I like the weight, but it’s just a little too small, it has a bench seat and the canvas edges are a little too short to stay down with a wind.

Here’s what I think my priorities are:

1. Weight and comfort.
I’m not getting any younger and thinking 80 pounds is about all I want to drag around. Some type of cushioned seat would help the ol’ back…I think.

2. Two man or Large one man…My wife goes along a couple times per year. This is kind of a toss up. But I want enough room to stand up in once in a while. The sled needs to carry all the goodies…including the #$$%$ 3 hp Jiffy auger, marcum camera…vexilar ect.

3. Price…I’m willing to pay more to have lighter weight and comfort while sitting out there for 8 hours (working).

Please include the website with your suggestion…if your sponsored by someone.

Thanks!

Brian…I have a Frabill XL twin. It’s light enough I can handle it easily by myself. I’m kind of like you I go by myself most of the time but sometimes my son goes. I went with the twin because I can just leave on of the seats home when I go alone.

Hi Brian,I would recommend Eskimo Quickflip 11 deluxe.That sounds like what your looking for.They have a ton of room in side to stand up and will set 2 guys and a kid on the bench set.Here’s a link to a site with the info on it Eskimo Tent

What? You mean a Gander employee didnt know something? No way!

Check out Polar
POLAR SPORT PORTABLES

Gander Empoyees….

I read your “frustrated” post right after I got back…

I thought about asking for a manager…but figured I’d look at Raps first..then I came to my senses.

In fact it was the Frabill XL twin that they couldn’t/didn’t want to raise a finger to find out the weight on.

At the checkout I wanted to get an exchange on my LP tank…the mid 40’s lady had no clue as to what I was talking about….I politly said I’ll just get it at Fleet Farm…she said “OK!” (saved $3 by doing that anyway)

Derek, that 2 man polar has a great weight! 77 pounds! Does that come with the seats? I couldn’t really tell…

My last question is…what kind of portable to you use?

http://www.clamcorp.com/guide.html I think is really nice a bit heavy, but the quality seems to be way up now, seats are way nicer now, more comfortable, and less prone to dumpingyou inside the tub, unlike the model I used…
and http://www.thornebros.com/winter/shelters/otter/shelter_lodge.html

I suspect the otter would probably be my first choice, I’ll have to compare these 2 side by side before I buy one, my Gander doesn’t have the otters in yet…
I could care less where you bought it, it’s just an example…

The seats are extra. The two man is only 55 pounds. I used the two man Polar last year and will be using a three man or the Nordic set up this year. The Nordic is just a bit smaller than the three man but a bit bigger than the two man and comes with seats and an auger holder.

Thanks Nick and Derek,

The Fish Trap Yukon and the Fabril Twin were at Gander…

The seats on the Yukon LOOKED more comfortable. I’m a little concerned about beach seats in that Polar…anyone have experiance with swivel buckets and bench with backrest? Seems I read the beanch has 2 inches of padding….ta…I have six inches on my butt!

The seats seemed nice in the store, I doubt the actually add much for cushining, but the swivel buckets seats are kind of nice granted you only need them to move a little, like when you’re reaching into the tub. Not needed at all. Bucket IMHO are better.

With a bucket…there’s no place to put the remote!

I tried these Polar seats last year and they are nice.

Brian,

First off, I’m saddened every time I hear about a bad experience at Gander. Why should I care, not sure? I guess old habits die hard. I strongly suggest you email the corporate office about these experiences, hopefully they will correct the problem. I miss my old job, it was fun talking product with customers just like you! Honestly, I think it was the first job I’ve ever had that passion for. I wish I felt the same way about these stupid computers.

OK, sorry for going off like that. As to your question about ice shacks, I had experience with Frabill, Otter and Clam. I setup quite a few at the store. Ease of assembly/durability there wasn’t a one that impressed me. I’m used to fishing in 40 mph in SD, I wasn’t sure any one of those houses would stand up to the beating the wind can give out on a day to day basis. You’re not in SD though are you? I had the least experience with the Frabill product. At the time it was the heaviest shack on the market, so we sold far less of these. I would say we sold an equal amount of Clam and Otter shacks. We had way more Clam product returned. I’m not saying it was all manufacture defaults, but most was. I personally bought the Otter Lodge. This is a big two man shack and probably is bigger than you are looking for. It was (%^$##$% to get loaded in the pickup by myself. I could do it, but I felt it after wards. I’m sure if I wouldn’t have been so lazy it would have been much easier without all the worldly items you need for an ice fishing trip.

Keep in mind this info is now two years old and likely outdated quite a bit. The portable ice shanty industry is rather competitive due to the short selling season. I would check all the manufactures websites for weights, then go to the store and set one up, tear it down. Throw an auger and a 20lb tank in the tub, put in your 5 gal pail.

Good luck!!

John

Brian, Fowler,
I too had a bad experienice last year with Gander stores, I was given a gift certificate for Christmas to get an Otter Small Den shelter. I needed it with some speed, not the 3.5 weeks they claimed they could get it for me in, if I was willing to pay shipping form a store in Ill. Well a quick call to the corporate office in Bloomington, and a very nice lady had the exact shelter in Cedar Rapids from a store in Burnsville within two days. No extra charge as it should have been. Yes, by the way, I love the shelter.

Brian, the Frabill XLTwin weighs up to 87lbs according to their web page.

I have one and enjoy it very much. I have been thinking of selling it, so if you want to make me an offer, feel free to do so. It’s in excellent condition with some nice ‘improvements’ made to it.

Fleet Farm in Rochester has a great display outside the store of Eskimo, Otter, Frabil and Clams. Especially love those new Green Bay Packer units.!!

Quote:

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waterfowler

First off, I’m saddened every time I hear about a bad experience at Gander. Why should I care, not sure? I guess old habits die hard. I strongly suggest you email the corporate office about these experiences, hopefully they will correct the problem. I miss my old job, it was fun talking product with customers just like you! Honestly, I think it was the first job I’ve ever had that passion for. I wish I felt the same way about these stupid computers.

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Honestly it’s tough for these stores to employ good quality people and keep them, it’s also tough at the begining of the season too, when you’re the first person to ask these guys these questions. It will get better. Personally I buy probably 90% of my stuff at Gander, and like any place you’ll find some people are better with some things that others. YMMV I know personally I’d love to work at Gander, but I don’t think I could pay me bills if I did…

Oh and I really do think the fish traps are much better quality now.

Mr W Fowler, don’t take it personally. I work in restaurants…does that tell you anything!

It happened to be Gander…it could have been Cabela’s or anyplace. I just seems (as been posted on other posts) that knowledgable service in ANYTHING is getting harder to find…But there’s the other side of the coin. I think (I’m going to speak for myself here) that I’m getting more “fussy”(?) with my service than I have in the past. So it takes more to keep me happy.

Either way…thanks for all the thoughts and views on this.

IDA What a resource!!!

PS IDA is just a bunch of code (forgive me James) …YOU guys are IDA

I made a couple word docs with some specs on them, I don’t have excel on my computers so I can’t make it really nice, but it’s stuff from otter, clam and fish trap and frabill, with size spec and weights, if anyone is interested, I’d gladly email you a copy, although it is all stuff I found online, so it’s nothing special, just easy to find and read. One is on flip over styles the other is on the “suitcase” types.

I have a Shappell 2 hole one and really like it. Really nice for two people. For quick trips or just going ice fishing by myself I have a Fish Trap Scoutt which is very light weight and great for moving around in different areas. Fish Trap does make a very nice 2 man and so does Otter. Thanks, Bill

Brian, at this point you may want to consider waiting for the ice fishing show at the River Centre in St. Paul. It will give you a chance to look at them all in one place. My only advice would be to understand exactly what you are getting when you look at prices because sometimes they will have upgraded seats in the models on the floor and they charge extra. Also, last year I had two friends buy the Quick Flip III and they actually saved about 50 bucks by getting it at Sportsman’s Warehouse (Anoka as I recall). We actually made calls from inside the ice shack at the show to Sportsman’s Warehouse to check pricing. They moved a lot of shacks that weekend by undercutting the show. The one thing about the ice show is that the manufacturers will not let the retailers make deals on the shacks, everyone has the same bottom line price that they can not go under. Here’s the details about the show.

December 3-5
St. Paul Ice Fishing & Winter Sports Show, Touchstone Energy Place, St.
Paul RiverCentre, St. Paul, MN. American Recreation Unlimited, Inc.
(952) 943-2002, Fax (952) 943-2001, http://www.arushows.com.

Well, I am in the market for a new portable. I have a wife and two youg children ages 4 and 6. So with that said I am sure you understand that cost is part of the equasion. I have looking at the Eskimo Quick Flip II and III. For either $300 for the II or $380 for the III at Fleet Farm these seem to have the best value and beats the competitions prices. Nice features especially the seat. Although they are the same or little heavier than the competition it does not matter to me since I own an ATV.

My two cents.

Brian,
If your serious about buying. Check with smaller retailers for last years carry overs. Got a great deal on mine that way last year.

I have a polar two man and have fished out of my buddys large otter and three man polar.
Polars.
I love the black shell of the polar. It really warms up on sunny days. Only knock is the design of the sled. You can’t sit very close to the front of the sled. The factory seats sit low for a taller person. I built my own to save half the cost and make more comfortable. The construction is good and durable also.

Large Otter. Lots of room and height. Built well. Is a little heavier because of a thicker sled.

One thing to note with the three man’s or big two’s.
On cold and/or windy days you will need a two burner mr. heater to keep them comfortable. Had a cool experience with my two on LOW. -10 and 20mph wind. Single burner and a lantern barely kept the holes from freezing.

Frabill’s ok, Fish trap’s are light, but seem flimsy.

Hey Brian,

I just got back from Gander over my lunch. While buying buckshot some kalin’s I noticed all the ice stuff is out. You should check out the Clam Yukon. It’s darn nice. It fills the gap from the Guide to the Voyager. Nice roomy tent for one or two guys. I didn’t take the time to find out the weight difference, but I’m sure you can do that online.

A really cool feature I like is the ability to zip two together. Finally someone figured out a way to make a poker shack!!

WF, I checked out the Yukon’s last week…They do look nice!

It looks like weight isn’t going to be an issue…I’m expecting a new addition to our family Sunday morning… My wife bought me an ATV for our anniversary…

What a woman!

Guess she got tired of lugging my auger and stuff out thar for me…

Ps WF…the connection for the Yukon wouldn’t do me much good since I stopped bathing for catfish’en…I’m preparing for next year.

Jetro…That’s a great idea…don’t ‘spose you know of any..do you.

Now you are becoming a true catfisherman!!! Since your going to start stinkin’ your wife may want to try to trade you in. Tell her I’ll take her, but only if she brings the four wheeler!! At least have her give my wife lessons!!

Even though you’ll be dragging it with an ATV, you’ll still probably be lifting it in and out of the truck or off the trailer the old fashioned way. I would still recommend considering weight as one of your criteria.

I got my two-man fish trap down today and I’d forgotten how light it is. It’s at least 4 or 5 years old, and has built in bench seats. Ecnook could tell you more about it than I can, other than I love that thing and I’m glad he parted with it. I’ve looked at other two-man shelters and I’m stickin’ with what I’ve got.

Good point John…I don’t think I’ll be able to get my wife out there to load and unload it!

Actually I though Mr E would have been in here by now…he’s spent alot of time on the ice and in a house.

Brian…..

One Word………… Otter medium sled