Otter X over Opinions?

Thinking about buying an otter X over and wondering about doing the pro with the seats vs the bench.
I remember sitting in a wild with the bench and wasn’t a big fan but not sure i want to spend the couple hundred extra dollars for the seats.

What say you?

If you don’t want the bench, I would probably get seats then.

Thanks for the deep thoughts.

I prefer my seats over my brothers bench

Fishwater83 wrote:

Thanks for the deep thoughts.

you said you didn’t like the bench. Why would that change?

Wondering people if people who have the bench like it and if they’ve made the bench more comfortable. I gues i could’ve been more specific

Don’t like the bench, don’t like the price of seats

Home depot bucket?

Not sure Otter has a 3rd option?

Otter’s seats aren’t great, but they allow for better storage while running. I think the bench takes up too much room.

I love the ability to take a seat out if I fish by myself, obviously saves weight and gives extra room to access stuff in the tub. The Pro’s 1200 denier fabric is so nice that I couldn’t keep my little buddy heater on for more than 5 minutes before i’m sweating.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I love the ability to take a seat out if I fish by myself, obviously saves weight and gives extra room to access stuff in the tub. The Pro’s 1200 denier fabric is so nice that I couldn’t keep my little buddy heater on for more than 5 minutes before i’m sweating.

I agree. I run the 1200 and usually take out the 2 other seats in my resort and so much room it’s great

I like the bench. I sit in the middle and fish two outside holes. I also put tackle box or lunch beside me. Bench may be a little hard.

Just my thoughts. I like the seats because they swivel and slide front to back. Also can be placed anywhere along the rail, so if you only have one seat you can place it on the left, right or somewhere in between. The backrest is more comfortable to me than the bench

Anyone else feel like the shell on the the X over series has gotten lighter than the previous XT 1200 model?

jetro wrote:

Anyone else feel like the shell on the the X over series has gotten lighter than the previous XT 1200 model?

The only thing I’ve noticed from the fabric shell is that the sewing attention to detail around the windows has gone out the door…also I definitely feel that the frame poles wiggle more when fully extended, my x-over side poles even bow a little …

jetro wrote:

Anyone else feel like the shell on the the X over series has gotten lighter than the previous XT 1200 model?

Otter ThermalTec 1200 denier fabric hasn’t changed a stitch from this year to last. It is EXACTLY the same.

shady5 wrote:

Otter’s seats aren’t great, but they allow for better storage while running. I think the bench takes up too much room.

I have the bench in my lodge. It isn’t the most comfortable, but I like that you can slide it all the way back or anywhere in between to work your gear in how you need it. Plus I think that it sits up a bit higher than the seats. The other thing about an otter with the bench vs the seats, its the swivel seats are on the Pro model vs the xt for bench. Pro has the 1200 denier while the xt does not. So the models aren’t just differentiated by the bench vs swivel seats.

I really wish otter would figure out a better solution for seating in the resort like the smaller Pro models. Those 3 swivel seats on the aluminum brackets that stretch the width of the sled is not real great. Would be nice to have that I Beam like the smaller ones. 2 of my buddies bought the new resort x over and that was the only thing they griped about.

CaptainMusky wrote:

I really wish otter would figure out a better solution for seating in the resort like the smaller Pro models.

Me too. I really like the swivel seats in the smaller houses and the ability to add a Sportsman’s Caddy to the cross bar for storing often-used items. I would think the issue in the Resort is the distance the supporting cross bar needs to span from front of the house to the back to support the seating. I would think you’d be able to reinforce that bar from below near the mid-point. Of course anglers would sound off about how that support got in the way of items stored in the sled…

James Holst wrote:

Of course anglers would sound off about how that support got in the way of items stored in the sled…

Yeah, we aren’t easy to please are we? LOL

I like the seats much more than the bench, anytime you need to access something in the sled with the bench everyone needs to stand up. Those benches are sooo heavy too.

I do wish the otter seats had better padding though. Can’t we get some massaging memory foam seats or something?

Ended up buying the pro. They were sold out everywhere I checked but L&M in ashland had them for a smokin deal at $799.

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Very nice. Good choice. Happy with my Lodge Pro and the heavier fabric. The seats allow for much better storage options and the addition of a center console. I like to mount a Buddy heater behind the center console. It would be hard to reach that area of the sled with the bench model.

Well I solved the problem by getting no seats at all. I bought the Otter that attaches to the box of my Ranger. I should get it this week. Kind of took a risk and am flying blind on it as there was nothing as far as reviews or You Tube stuff to watch. I was able to look at one in the showroom and liked enough of what I saw to make a decision.

I have one of those tripod chairs with a back I usually take on the ice and it’s quite comfy. Plus there’s a plethora of camp chairs to choose from out there.

Anyway I have fished with both kinds of seats and much prefer the individual seats over the bench for comfort. And I would say that would be the most important feature of any seat. I have a buddy who will only by bench seats because he will lay down and take a snooze when he’s by himself and will spend the night on the ice.

I would say spend the extra money on the seats you find comfortable. You will only regret it if you don’t.

A solution if guys aren’t big fans of the otter seats is to attach your boat seats to the bracket and use them in the winter. I did this one winter and then used cabelas points to get ones I can permanently leave in there. Best move I’ve done.

Because I hate weight I didn’t use the two swivel seats and didn’t install the cross bar, instead I used the seat that attaches to the sliding bar which rests on the side gunnels of the sled, works great for me and all my stuff is easily accessible.
I can even fit in more stuff if I need to, and I usually don’t need to because I travel light, and the seat packs away nicely into the sled…

I like the bench in my lodge. Can lay down and nap when the bite is off. I don’t like the seat in my pro cottage. I took the cross bar off and seat out and just use a big tripod seat or bucket depending on how long I will be out.
Lightens the whole setup and have all storage in shanty