Which 2 man flip over to get without spending an arm and a leg!

I know otter is the standard in flip over ice shelters….but I am looking for a 2 person flip over that won’t cost me an arm and a leg…..the best bang for your buck if you will. It needs to fit in my pick up’s 5.5′ box, be of good quality, can be pulled by hand on a smitty sled until I find a deal on an atv. Would like thermal top at least or full thermal if available in my price range, but not necessary as I can add reflectix to the roof just like I did to my quick flip 1. And would like to stay around or under $500. I have an Eskimo quick fish 3 hub style shelter that I am selling, because I cannot be mobile enough with it and I have an Eskimo quick flip 1 that I use when I go by myself. Now I am in need of one to take my fiance’ with and still be mobile. Let me know what’s out there!!! Thanks

I had a C!am Nanook that worked for what your looking for.
I bought a non insulated and then installed reflectix
I think I had less than $350 into it

Clam Nanook fits the bill perfectly.

I bought an otter cottage for $500 includING shipping last year on black friday. Myself and my 230 lb buddy fit in there together alright. It’s a bit tight with him but it’s plenty big for me and the wife when I take her out. I know you are looking to save, I get that, but from what I have seen the quality is so far above other brands you will save money in the long run by spending a little extra up front.

As far as quality/craftsmanship goes I would say:

Otter
Frabill
Eskimo
Clam

I hate to say it, but IMO, Otter offers the best bang for the buck. Even at their high end price, I think they are the best bargain. But then again, i put a lot of miles on mine in rough country behind the sled, so the durability and reliability were of the utmost importance. Buy once, cry once was my philosophy.

I have fished in and around a lot of ice houses in my days and there is a reason that Otter in in my shed…
Even if your looking to curve a few dollars off the price.. there are used ones for sale here and there ….

Otter Cottage is a glorified one man that with a bench seat you could easily put two people in… and if your using swivel seats then pick up an extra seat..

Otter Cabin is a true roomy two man where you can put sportsman’s caddy between you and your buddy and if your fishing alone take the second seat out and you have a Ice-mans Man Cave on the ice !!!

You will find that Frabill fits in between the shotty craftsmanship of Clam and the durability of Otter. You will also find the price to be in the middle of each. Otter is the best, but Frabill is a good budget option that will not fall apart nearly as fast as a Clam. There are many people who swear by Clam and state that theirs have withstood a volcano…but reviews don’t lie…they are sub par.

I have houses from all three manufacturers I stated and I found I bring my Frabill most places. They are a good balance between durability and weight. Otters are amazing, but they’re heavy. Clams are super light, because they’re cheaper made. If I need to walk 1+ miles with my gear, i’ll use my Clam. If I need to walk a short distance, Frabill. If I can bring my truck or ATV, Otter hands down. They all have their ups and downs.

I would have to agree with @ecnook Koonce. While you may save a few dollars on the front end, there is a reason for that. After making the change to Otter last winter, I couldn’t be more pleased with the product lineup. I am fishing out of an Otter XT Pro Lodge, and this year I am going to pick up a Hub House. I live a couple blocks away from the lake (Tonka) and my winter routine consists of pulling my shelter two blocks over asphalt to get to the access. I have put so many holes in Clam sleds with Hyfax it isn’t even funny, and they don’t offer sled replacements. After a season with the Otter, and no Hyfax installed the bottom of my sled barely shows any signs of wear. You just can’t beat a Roto-Molded sled. I would have a difficult time using another brand, but that is just my own opinion. I don’t have any experience with Frabill, or Eskimo to provide an opinion.

Maybe this will help. This is a great shack. And if you go to the ice event at Thorne bros the last Saturday in September you can get really good deals on all the accessories. http://www.thornebros.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=48323&idcategory=99

Check the specs on any house you are looking at, because a lot may not fit your 5.5″ box. Also, if you are looking to save $$$, some very nice houses can be had on the used market.

I have a thermal Clam Nanook and it fits in the back of my Supercrew 5 foot bed. I have been very happy so far with it.

I have a thermal nanook, fits in my bed with auger. Works great as a one man. Works good as two depending on their size. There isn’t much floor space for heater, minnows, flasher, ect. Also, there is not much head space if your trying to use the door instead of flipping the top up to get out. Ducking your head, stepping over the heater, reaching down to open the zipper far enough to get out with the space to do it all in two steps… on ice… Not super impressed with the Clam craftsmanship either, but it gets the job done and doesn’t break the bank. The small interior with the thermal cover sure keeps warm too.

I do not spend very much time in shacks when I fish so the luxuries of some of the higher end shacks does not appeal to me as much as someone that sits in one all the time, but my Clam Nanook Thermal has been great when I needed it. Pros: Super light weight, simple but effective, Great quality thermal fabric, easy to heat and holds it well, and no issues with zippers. Cons: shallow sled (not a lot of storage space), no wind skirt, functioning components could be better quality.
Overall seems like the best bang for your buck to me without breaking the bank.

Lots of great shacks out there just need to get around and sit in some to decide what is most important to you? Weight, how warm, space, height, tow-ability, accessories, thermal or non thermal, set up time? All things to consider.

Well I went ahead and bit the bullet and spent a little bit more than I was planning, but now I feel as if I will have a very high quality product. I ordered a Otter XT 1200 Pro Cabin!!! excited to get it and add lighting and a center counsel to it!! Thanks for the helpful info guys! Will post pics when I get it and assemble/mod it!
Ordered it from these guys: http://www.littlejimssports.com/otter-pro-xt-1200-cabin-portable-fish-house/

Dave Koonce wrote:

I have fished in and around a lot of ice houses in my days and there is a reason that Otter in in my shed…
Even if your looking to curve a few dollars off the price.. there are used ones for sale here and there ….

Otter Cottage is a glorified one man that with a bench seat you could easily put two people in… and if your using swivel seats then pick up an extra seat..

Otter Cabin is a true roomy two man where you can put sportsman’s caddy between you and your buddy and if your fishing alone take the second seat out and you have a Ice-mans Man Cave on the ice !!!

What about the resort? You could call it a Sasquatch cave!

great choice! you wont regret it. i think the cabin is the perfect shack. If my cottage wasnt such a good price i would have gotten the cabin. You got a good deal on that too btw! heres some advice i picked up along the way. When assembling put the hyflax on first. Also use a drill just a tad smaller than they recommend for the hole size. this way your screws will hold better. I used electrical tape to wrap around the portions of the metal framework that required a plastic bolt piece. Picked that tip up from Will Rosenberg. Also, during off season, remove the canvas and store in a tote to keep the mice from eating it. I use a high powered LED light strip to light up the shack. If you like i can send you the name of the product just PM me. I would also highly recommend the sportsman caddy. I didnt purchase that right away cause i thought it would be a waste of money but it fits so perfectly with the otter that it works awesome for storing things and having a place to rest your elbow. The otter cover is great too for travel. Enjoy!

crappie55369 wrote:

great choice! you wont regret it. i think the cabin is the perfect shack. If my cottage wasnt such a good price i would have gotten the cabin. You got a good deal on that too btw! heres some advice i picked up along the way. When assembling put the hyflax on first. Also use a drill just a tad smaller than they recommend for the hole size. this way your screws will hold better. I used electrical tape to wrap around the portions of the metal framework that required a plastic bolt piece. Picked that tip up from Will Rosenberg. Also, during off season, remove the canvas and store in a tote to keep the mice from eating it. I use a high powered LED light strip to light up the shack. If you like i can send you the name of the product just PM me. I would also highly recommend the sportsman caddy. I didnt purchase that right away cause i thought it would be a waste of money but it fits so perfectly with the otter that it works awesome for storing things and having a place to rest your elbow. The otter cover is great too for travel. Enjoy!

Yes please send me the name of the manufacturer for the light!! I was literally just looking at the sportsman caddy! Hahaha. And I watched the video about it….looks like the cats meow, can keep all my tackle boxes in it etc. I would like to put hole lights on the sled and was debating about getting the clam battery bracket and powering those and an led strip just like I did in my quickflip 1. I am soooo excited for this full thermal…I have fished in my buddys xt650 cabin and that only has the thermal top, but a nice house nonetheless….but I figured the boat seats would be better than the bench and for the little extra money over the 650 I feel was worth it and I hope to get many many years of use out of this one!!! Now I’m just looking for a good deal on a new Polaris sportsman to drag this pig around with!

I also found/bought a travel cover for it off eBay and ordered the hyfax kit from Joe’s sporting goods tonight.

Two man otter off Craig’s list , if you want to save some$$.

I personally found that my Eskimo Flipmo2 is great. Insulated top, back and front does a great job of keeping the heater on low and my jacket off. I found one new from a guy that bought and couldn’t use for about 325. I have some qualms about the durability of the poles in the house, but I also didn’t go out and drop 600-1000 on a portable. It does the job for my girlfriend and myself, with a reasonable amount of remaining room when fully set-up. Fishing by myself is a whole different story with the amount of room I have. For being a small house, it has a ton room and is very light. I can lift out of the back of my pickup by myself. I built a smitty sled so that it pulls nice when I walk out, otherwise eskimo sleds pull like garbage through the snow.

Well it finally came in yesterday afternoon!!! Got her all put together and now I’m just trying to figure out what I want to do for lighting in it!

What size rod can you easily use in your cottage without worrying about the rod tip hitting front or top of shanty during hookset (walleye fishing)
I use mostly 32in rods.
I currently have a thermal top lodge that I fish alone in and am looking at getting the full thermal cottage or cabin…
I am wanting something smaller that is easier to heat and easier to transport.

Looks good bud, I’m jealous

mazak500 wrote:

What size rod can you easily use in your cottage without worrying about the rod tip hitting front or top of shanty during hookset (walleye fishing)
I use mostly 32in rods.
I currently have a thermal top lodge that I fish alone in and am looking at getting the full thermal cottage or cabin…
I am wanting something smaller that is easier to heat and easier to transport.

This is the Pro Xt1200 cabin. I use 30″ rods for walleye around here. I have fished out of my buddies xt650 cabin with plenty of room for my 30″ rods. I would say there will be plenty of room for 32″ rods aswell.

mazak500 wrote:

What size rod can you easily use in your cottage without worrying about the rod tip hitting front or top of shanty during hookset (walleye fishing)
I use mostly 32in rods.
I currently have a thermal top lodge that I fish alone in and am looking at getting the full thermal cottage or cabin…
I am wanting something smaller that is easier to heat and easier to transport.

I use my 34″ customs in a cottage with no issues.

You’ll never here about an Eskimo on this site but I’m going 10 yrs with mine with no problems but I did put on the hyfax runners, not fancy but does the job for me, and it’s been used and abused, but its your $

enough space in a cottage for larger rods. not a problem.

Outdraft wrote:

You’ll never here about an Eskimo on this site but I’m going 10 yrs with mine with no problems but I did put on the hyfax runners, not fancy but does the job for me, and it’s been used and abused, but its your $

I’ve talked about Eskimo before. A couple of my buddies each have an Eskimo and they are on their third canvas… They work great if you go a couple times a year or really baby your equipment. Otters are built to last.

Really I have and older pro fish 3 and have only had to put a couple of patches on it, and believe me it gets used hard every season

Outdraft wrote:

You’ll never here about an Eskimo on this site but I’m going 10 yrs with mine with no problems but I did put on the hyfax runners, not fancy but does the job for me, and it’s been used and abused, but its your $

Just out of fairness, all the brands are pretty well represented here.

I have an Otter Lodge, Eskimo 949I hub and an Eskimo auger. I think Eskimo makes very nice products at very fair prices.