One Man House

I am retiring a Clam Legend after 7 years of hard use and looking for new one man, and think I have it narrowed down to Otter Hideout or Clam X100 Pro Thermal XT. I have read numerous reviews but appreciate any additional feedback.

A flip and go pole system is a must as I like to be mobile and done messing with poles. Space is a bit of a concern as always fish with my lab. In my Legend (with the factory seat removed), there was plenty of room for pup to lay down in the tub. I think would be plenty of room for pup behind me in either of the units above.

I like the wight of the Otter but Clam provides more room and do like the built in light bar. The seat in the Clam is also much nicer but with either house will likely not use factory seat and just use a bucket (with the new Otter bucket top seat they came out with)- I rigged something like this myself for the Legend and worked great.

So….any real life input from those that have used or are familiar with either of these units is appreciated.

David Shanvunhueisn wrote:

Space is a bit of a concern as always fish with my lab.

I would be looking at a 2-man shelter if I would be bring my dog with. You can easily fit the small 2-man shelters inside a SUV.

In a shack that size is there even room for you and a lab and be comfortable? Seems pretty small with gear/electronics

Dog or no dog I’m still opting out for a smaller 2 man. Weight difference is nominal, more room for gear, those one person shacks gets very tight when it all folded in w a minnow bucket, heater, rod case, etc

Grabbed an Eskimo Sierra last year, kick @ss. Will never go back to a one man and gives option to bring friends or family w. Sits in back of my Yukon all winter

For reference: I have an older Clam Nanook that allows a nominal 2 rod spacing of 30″ with 12″+ to the walls. Seems decent when fishing one person. It has space in front for a flasher unit and a buddy heater. Current Nanooks are showing 61″ wide. Not sure how it would fish with a 60+ lb dog.

Id check out the otter cottage. Wider one man

I still prefer the legend over all the true one man shelters. Otter single man is way to narrow for my liking. No way would I fish in there with a dog either. Way to small for that.

A flip and go shelter probably will not accommodate you and the dog,unless you just about have the dog on your lap.Otter cottage would be a better choice,but then you have the telescoping poles to deal with.
I don’t think there are many/any 2-man shelters with a true flip and go pole system?

Thanks for comments so far — I did add some contact to my original post regarding where had pooch in the Legend (worked great) and where I was thinking in the units I am looking at.

Had not thought about the cottage but probably worth a look.

I appreciate any additional thoughts / comments

I have an Otter Hideout that I use all the time. Love the weight, the insulation, everything about it. Don’t think it would be big enough to have a dog with- the sides are narrow and all the “extra” space is out in front.

Red Eye wrote:

Id check out the otter cottage. Wider one man

I have this and enjoy it so much more than my Clam Kenai.

Been using an otter cottage for about 6 years. Love it. Can fish 2 but is ideal as a one man. Doesn’t match your needs for a flip and go system though

I have narrowed down my choices to purchasing another Legend and deal with the poles or purchasing the Clam X 100 and have a local canvas shop install a zippered back door which they estimated will cost $150 to $200.

I welcome any additional feedback on the X 100 or thoughts on adding a zipper to it.

The more I look at houses, the more I am sure a second door is needed for my situation – it was great having the rear door on my previous Legend so that the pooch could get in and out without creating chaos exiting the front of the house and stepping over everything.

Did look pretty hard at Otter Cottage but just do not like its dimensions – not a lot of room out in front and not very tall.

$929 for a one man flip over is crazy.

bigcrappie wrote:

$929 for a one man flip over is crazy.

Dumb.

I’ve owned several different size flip-overs, the biggest issue I had with the 1 man size is hitting the front & top fabric when setting the hook with longer than 32″ rods…something to watch for…

To each his own and not looking to start an argument but Fish 30-40 times per year and would hope would last 10 years so that’s 90 bucks a year / 3 bucks per use. I spend more dumb money than that each year and would rather have a setup that meets my needs than buy one that does not and replace it two years later with the next best idea.

Plenty of folks spend a grand plus on bigger house or 10 grand on a wheel house and go out 5 times a year.

Deuces wrote:

Dog or no dog I’m still opting out for a smaller 2 man. Weight difference is nominal, more room for gear, those one person shacks gets very tight when it all folded in w a minnow bucket, heater, rod case, etc

Grabbed an Eskimo Sierra last year, kick @ss. Will never go back to a one man and gives option to bring friends or family w. Sits in back of my Yukon all winter

^This.

I’d be looking for the lightest, smallest 2 man flip on the market. I run an Otter Hub, but will likely add a smaller flip over shack for when it is just me. The hub is quick and easy also if it is calm, but it’s more of a pain in the wind.

I have an older Nanook that is a great one man house. Two works but is a little crowded. Only complaint is I can’t stand straight up in it.

I was at BPS yesterday and all of the flip-overs on display were insulated. I have an old Clam Trap Guide that is not insulated. Sun keeps things warm enough and if really cold I turn on my Mr Heater. Are these insulated huts worth the added weight?

Sylvanboat wrote:

I was at BPS yesterday and all of the flip-overs on display were insulated. I have an old Clam Trap Guide that is not insulated. Sun keeps things warm enough and if really cold I turn on my Mr Heater. Are these insulated huts worth the added weight?

I’ve got both. I don’t like the condensation build up of my uninsulated portable. But, I do like the weight difference.

A house just popped up in the IDO classifieds that might work for you Shavinhueisn.

Shappel flip over fish house

AK Guy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Sylvanboat wrote:</div>
I was at BPS yesterday and all of the flip-overs on display were insulated. I have an old Clam Trap Guide that is not insulated. Sun keeps things warm enough and if really cold I turn on my Mr Heater. Are these insulated huts worth the added weight?

I’ve got both. I don’t like the condensation build up of my uninsulated portable. But, I do like the weight difference.

I had an old POS Frabil 1-man that was uninsulated and could not have weighed more than about 30#. It was great for early/late ice and long drags where vehicles and atvs couldn’t get between islands on the river…but I’d swear quite often getting dripped on with the condensation.

Weight for today’s shacks is so much more a function of the sh** everyone drags along versus the shack itself. Large propane tanks, 10 rods to target 1 or 2 species, a few tip-ups “just in case”, the biggest buddy heater that can cook the entire little shack, a comfy chair, the 3 gallons of water per scoop of minnows, a livescope bundle, food, etc, etc.

buckybadger wrote:

Weight for today’s shacks is so much more a function of the sh** everyone drags along versus the shack itself. Large propane tanks, 10 rods to target 1 or 2 species, a few tip-ups “just in case”, the biggest buddy heater that can cook the entire little shack, a comfy chair, the 3 gallons of water per scoop of minnows, a livescope bundle, food, etc, etc.

you forgot the auger, my backup flasher just in case my main goes out, and most importantly the beer

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
Weight for today’s shacks is so much more a function of the sh** everyone drags along versus the shack itself. Large propane tanks, 10 rods to target 1 or 2 species, a few tip-ups “just in case”, the biggest buddy heater that can cook the entire little shack, a comfy chair, the 3 gallons of water per scoop of minnows, a livescope bundle, food, etc, etc.

you forgot the auger, my backup flasher just in case my main goes out, and most importantly the beer

…and the 10#, $80 Engel bait cooler for $4 worth of fathead minnows that 90% of will end up thrown away after using 7 of them

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
Weight for today’s shacks is so much more a function of the sh** everyone drags along versus the shack itself. Large propane tanks, 10 rods to target 1 or 2 species, a few tip-ups “just in case”, the biggest buddy heater that can cook the entire little shack, a comfy chair, the 3 gallons of water per scoop of minnows, a livescope bundle, food, etc, etc.

you forgot the auger, my backup flasher just in case my main goes out, and most importantly the beer

LOL!!! :rotflol:

…and the 10#, $80 Engel bait cooler for $4 worth of fathead minnows that 90% of will end up thrown away after using 7 of them
[/quote]

Truest thing I’ve read today lol

Not to suggest anyone cares about what I did or didn’t do, but I ended up picking up the Clam X100 Pro Thermal at the Thorne ice show and have some initial thoughts for anyone considering this house.

Of course have not fished out of it but first impressions are great — was easy to put together and have been ‘playing fishing’ in the garage and am very satisfied.

Probably not a true flip and go as think will have to collapse the one u-frame pole that is extendable so that do not risk damaging the tent material dragging in the snow. With the beefed up conduit, I do not see this being an issue and will add about 15 seconds to my moves.

I did pull the trigger and am having Canvas Craft add a rear door so dog will not have to step over everything so is admittedly a lot of money wrapped up in a one man house but am confident will get a lot of use out of house and is one more extra expense in the long list of expenses.