Suggestions on otter pro x-over shelters

I’m in the market for a new shelter. Going to buy an otter. Need help deciding between the lodge and the resort. So I have a snowmobile but don’t use it due to I only fish at the most a couple hundred yards off shore at every lake I go. Not a lot of huge lakes around montana so usually dont have to go far to get on fish. I am 6’5 and need a shelter I can stand in. I’m using a clam nanook now and I hurt by the end of a long day. Most days have my buddy or my wife and all of us are over 6′ tall. What would you all recommend going with? Personal experiences with any of the x-over shelters? Goods,bads and anything in between you can think of. Thanks for reading and giving advice.

I have the resort and love it. Never do I wish I bought smaller. I’m only 6ft tall but my brother is 6’3 and stands straight in it. I would go with the 600 deniar insulation to save weight. Mine is 1200 and is so warm but its heavy. I had the lodge before this one, prefer the resort. But it is heavy. I pull with atv and I also build wooden ramps to get it in my truck

I have the resort and the lodge and most of the time I bring the resort. I’m 6’3” and have no problem standing in it. Since you have a snowmobile I would go full insulation and get the resort. I welded a pulley at the front of the truck bed. I can load it myself that way. Get the nose of the sled on the tailgate, hook up the rope, lift the back end of the sled and pull with one arm and push with the other. The resort is the way to go with two bigger guys.

So is there any real big differences between the pro and the standard xt? Other then insulation. And how much different is the weight. According to web site the xt and the xt pro are same weight, is this true?

Lsranger406 wrote:

So is there any real big differences between the pro and the standard xt? Other then insulation. And how much different is the weight. According to web site the xt and the xt pro are same weight, is this true?

1 is bench seat and 1 is solo seats I believe. And not sure on weight.

I have the 1200 deniar and my brother has the 600. I dont think either of us have ever had the heater above medium. My 1200 is much stiffer to set up then his 600. But I prefer my own seat over a bench seat

I agree with Bearcat89, I had a 1200 denier Otter Pro Lodge last year (now a X-Over Lodge) and I was out in -20 degrees, I never had the Big Buddy above medium. I was only wearing bibs and a hooded sweatshirt. To me I wouldn’t trade the 1200 in for anything! I can always crack a vent/door if it gets too warm inside but I would not want to run the heater at full output or have my parka on to stay warm. To me if your’re looking to reduce weight, shave it somewhere else besides the insulating material (lighter auger, reduce battery weight, etc). I also found the bench seat to have a little less padding for my A$$. But I could see the advantage of fishing 2 adults and a child on the bench seat. I like the fact that the solo seats can slide forward or backwards in order to position yourself better for fishing with a short or long rod.

Think I might go with a pro lodge. Dont know of the extra 20p bucks is with the 5 square feet. Is it to you guys?

Lsranger406 wrote:

Think I might go with a pro lodge. Dont know of the extra 20p bucks is with the 5 square feet. Is it to you guys?

Oh yes the extra room is the best part of it. I can have my heater 4 holes and still have room for small portable camp stove. And be able to walk in and out. I had the lodge as well and that is also a very nice shack. But the extra room I have has never been regretted

Same as mark. I like to fish in a hoody and bibs. I hate sitting with a jacket on. And medium is usually to much after a few minutes.

So the resort pro sounds like it would be plenty of room. I do not want a bench seat. With the resort you get three swivel seats. That’s kind of a nice feature. If its me and the wife or buddy take a seat out. If me and the kids put the third seat back in. I don’t know. You guys gotta help. Is the lodge tall enough for a 6.5 guy to stand up in or am I wasting my time. I like that the pro lodge is only 1000 bucks compared to 1200. That extra 200 could go into lights and the caddy. Maybe even another seat. Will the lodge work with 3 seats? Sorry for all the questions but have no expeirence with otter. My local cabelas has the hubs but no flip over shelters. I’m worried I’m going to spend money on somethong that is over kill. Is it over kill to get the resort? Is everyone gonna think I’m just some punk with to much money. Cause that is not the case. I’m putting a twin turbo 6.2 800hp engine build on hold to by this house so don’t want to waste my hard earned cash.

The 3rd seat is nice. If it’s the kid and I I take one out. If it’s the wife kid and I, then we all have a seat and no ones on a bucket. It’s a real nice shack. Is it over kill? I dont think I’ve ever complained about having to much room or it’s nice I can stretch out. It’s a nice shack. The lodge is nice to. No the lodge wont take 3 swivel seats. Maybe you can horse it. But then your spending a extra 100 on a 3rd seat. But I had to put my kid on a bucket in the corner for 3 to work. 1200 is steep, but well worth it. Or save your self a bunch and buy the resort hub.

Bearcat89 wrote:

The 3rd seat is nice. If it’s the kid and I I take one out. If it’s the wife kid and I, then we all have a seat and no ones on a bucket. It’s a real nice shack. Is it over kill? I dont think I’ve ever complained about having to much room or it’s nice I can stretch out. It’s a nice shack. The lodge is nice to. No the lodge wont take 3 swivel seats. Maybe you can horse it. But then your spending a extra 100 on a 3rd seat. But I had to put my kid on a bucket in the corner for 3 to work. 1200 is steep, but well worth it. Or save your self a bunch and buy the resort hub.

I’m not a hub fan. I’ve had multiple over the last couple years and for some reason someone in the group will have to many adult beverages and sure enough one of the pole ends up broken. Ya we could lay off the beverages but that’s no fun when your out for a weekend. The shack/sled combo is way more my style. Can you use the resort as a big wind break? My nanook is awesome for that.

I’m not a hub fan. I’ve had multiple over the last couple years and for some reason someone in the group will have to many adult beverages and sure enough one of the pole ends up broken. Ya we could lay off the beverages but that’s no fun when your out for a weekend. The shack/sled combo is way more my style. Can you use the resort as a big wind break? My nanook is awesome for that.
[/quote]

I dont like hub shacks either. To much of a pain for moving through out the day.
But yes you can use it as a wind block. Comes with 6 wind poles.
I dont have the x over, mine was new last year. But I love my shack. It’s the business. I put 2 rows of light in. 1 on the bar above your head and 1 behind. And I put them on 2 separate toggle switches.
I was on lake of the woods last year and it was -27 and besides trying to get warm fast my heater never went on high and I fished most of the day in a hoody.

I had last years Pro Lodge and sold it for the Pro Lodge X-over. There was absolutely nothing wrong with last years model, I just wanted the side doors. I always have the Big Buddy located in the front center of my shelter, I would always worry about burning the front exit door with the heater going and the door unzipped and flapping in the wind. I like the fact that either myself or my buddy can exit the shelter and not have to worry about messing with the heater. I love the idea of the side exit doors BUT it also puts you at risk for a zipper failure. To me the side zippers seem a bit tighter then the front exit zipper. Also I’m not sure how the new “U” clip will hold up on the side bars that need to get moved for the side exit to function. I guess we’ll have to see.
I’m 6’1″ and if I have my boots and Elmer Fudd hat on I still don’t hit the roof. I went from a Frabill Predator, Clam Hub and now I’m on my second Otter Pro Lodge. What sold me was the Otter fabric, if you look at an Otter from the outside you wont’ see any stitching on the top of it, nor do you see any light from the inside of it. I was out in -25 degrees with the heater on low (and sometimes medium) and I never had the water dripping down from my ceiling like in my other shelters. I dig the fact that when my Otter is collapsed it’s only 20″ tall. To me that was huge because I can fit it inside my Chevy Avalanche with the panels on and drive down the road with the tail gate up, like I’m not even carrying anything. It’s nice if I’m on a long road trip and don’t have to worry about my shack being taken from the local hotel (out of sight).
If I can provide ANY feedback to ALL of the companies that make flip over shelters, it would be this…….PLEASE install the Hyfax runners at the factory! It’s a PITA to install these runners, I would gladly pay more for the factory to do this!!!!!

Mark, other than the side doors and the sliding poles in front of the side doors, is there any difference between the 2017 and 2018 Pro Lodge models?

Bass Thumb wrote:

Mark, other than the side doors and the sliding poles in front of the side doors, is there any difference between the 2017 and 2018 Pro Lodge models?

No just the x over side doors.

Mark,
X2 on installing the hyfax at the factory.

For the most part Bearcat89 is correct, there are a few other minor items.

1) The poles are easier to put together. EZ lock assembly, reduces frame assembly time by 75% by eliminating framing screws. Nice, but very minor.

2) I’m pretty sure the rear zipper (backdoor) is a shorter opening for the current model. I’m pretty sure I could exit out of the the rear of the shelter (for 2017) if I needed to, however the current model (2018) appears to be much smaller. Almost like an opening for passing gear through instead of an exit. In fact the pictures appear to show a smaller opening on the X-Over model (2018). The bottom picture is the 2017 model year. Again not a big deal because I don’t think I ever exited the rear of the shelter.

As Bearcast stated the X-over is the only reason I changed to the current model year. If the side doors aren’t that big of a deal to you, stick with the current sled because putting these things together is about as much fun as watching paint dry.

Attachments:

1. 

   Otter-Pro-X-Over-Lodge-Inside.png
   

2. 

   Otter-Pro-X-Over-Lodge.png
   

3. 

   Otter-Pro-Lodge.png
   

Good to hear.

I picked up a new Pro Lodge XT X-over at L&M Fleet for $799.99 Best price around on any brand of fish houses I have seen. Hopefully will get to try it out on Thursday, but looks like a nice winter storm headed this way.

I’m so torn between the pro resort and the pro lodge. The 200 dollar savings is huge. I could get lights and adapters to run everything off dewalt. I could get the caddy and some storage stuff. But then again I’m taking up room, then I would just want the resort anyways. Has anyone had issues with zippers on the side doors? I’ve read a couple reviews where the doors feel excessively tight. Is this a setup issue? Would like to see how people have there’s set up? Maybe see a tall guy or gal standing in one.

So far, I have only set my lodge up in my shop. I am 6′ tall and I can stand right next to the tub where the ceiling is at it’s highest point and not touch. That is after I installed the hyfax (probably another 1″ in height added) and with the bars in the lowest of the two settings (probably about another 1″ to gain). I did not notice that the side doors are too tight, they seemed to open and close just fine.

Just for your info, I know the new L&M Fleet in Thief River Falls, has the resort for $200 more than the lodge I just purchased for the price in my previous post. Not sure where your located, but their other stores should be the same price as well.

ib_jigged wrote:

.

Just for your info, I know the new L&M Fleet in Thief River Falls, has the resort for $200 more than the lodge I just purchased for the price in my previous post. Not sure where your located, but their other stores should be the same price as well.

I’m in montana. Looked around the l&m website and can’t even find the resort on the site. I did find the lodge xt pro for 1000 bucks.

Lsranger406 wrote:

Has anyone had issues with zippers on the side doors? I’ve read a couple reviews where the doors feel excessively tight. Is this a setup issue?

From what I’ve seen with the couple guys I know that have them. It’s like any new shack, everything needs time to stretch out a bit. The first time out it was really stiff, but so was my new (last years model) Resort. You get them out a few times with the heater going and it set up it relaxes.