Otter Vortex Pro Lodge thermal hub

Thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these, anybody have one? What do you think of it? Thing is I want to use it for summer camping. I have a portable air conditioner that I will use. I usually have to find a campsite with electricity anyway to recharge the batteries. I put the AC in my regular tent and it works OK, thought a thermal would be better. Now they have regular door instead of the triangle. Alos anybody see a killer deal on these. I know retailers are starting to dump their inventory already. The cheapest I’ve found is $375 plus tax= $401. Anybody see or know of anything better?

The only issue with these for summer camping is if it rains they seem to absorb water like no other and once the material soaks through then all your stuff is wet. I camp in my otter resort at times in the summer but I prefer my other tents with real rainflys. I use a terp as a rain fly for the Otter but that’s not ideal, nor is a tarp floor but on rainy days both are needed. Other then that, they work great.

Otter makes the best hub in my opinion, the no trip door is a game changer. Cant speak to using it in the summer, but it did fine in the December rain I had it out in.

mnfisherman18 wrote:

Otter makes the best hub in my opinion, the no trip door is a game changer. Cant speak to using it in the summer, but it did fine in the December rain I had it out in.

Yeah they do good until they don’t. Once they are actually soaked they start to drip through. That’s the point of a rain fly in the summer days. Seems when I camp it’s usually between 4 and 7 days at a time and 1 day will always be rainy. A tarp made as a rain fly will be key.

I have a older Otter Lodge hub. Stepping over going out the door has not been enough of a problem for me to warrant buying new one. Otter makes quality product.

Only used mine for ice fishing. Contemplated using during other season but have not. Surely sets up quicker than most tents.

What are you using for a portable air conditioning unit? I have looked a little but nothing jumped out at me. My body does not adjust well to heat and I have a hard time sleeping if it is too warm. 80 degrees is too warm…..

I have the Pro Lodge hub. I friggin love it. It stuffs easily into the bag. Set up and tear down is a breeze. Gets super warm pretty quick. I did take it out the first time we hit 4inches of ice in the metro a couple of months ago. It drizzled that day. It did get soaked pretty bad and took a while to dry out. The thing is rock solid tho. Pro-tip: make sure the door is closed when you’re setting up and and anchor the 2 skirt grommets on either side of the door. Then you know you’re not too tight or too loose.

The windows are attached with velcro. I have seen guys make screen windows that velcro on instead for warm days/nights. Seems like a pretty easy deal to make

I have the kind of portable air conditioner that looks more like a dehumidifier. It’s probably 10 years old or so but still works great. Has a vent tube that looks like your dryer vent tube.

I have the Otter with the full door.
Love the full door because at my age and wearing a float suit the old knees don’t bend like they did 30 years ago.
I have an issue with mine where the roof support rods seem too long. You cannot keep them in the velcro straps. Emailed Otter twice about the issue but got no response.

MX1825 wrote:

I have the Otter with the full door.
Love the full door because at my age and wearing a float suit the old knees don’t bend like they did 30 years ago.
I have an issue with mine where the roof support rods seem too long. You cannot keep them in the velcro straps. Emailed Otter twice about the issue but got no response.

I have a similar issue but only with the rod across the top. A little hard to get into place