Hello,
I am looking for advice on a new flip over shack. If anyone has experience fishing in both and could share their thoughts that would be greatly appreciated. Unfortunately I do not have the opportunity to sit in both before a purchase will be made. From what I have seen online these seem like the two most popular options for 2-man extreme weather flip overs.
Any input that would help make my decision easier would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
If pulling with a wheeler or sled look at the angle of the front of the sled. I know Frabill’s sleds plowed snow when pulling. The otter travels very well when being pulled. I have not looked closely at clam.
I have an otter lodge pro and I love it. I’m not sure about the clam but, I’m completely happy with my otter. This is a tank but is tough as nails too.
I’m trying to decide between the Clam X200 (previous model, 1,200 denier, with front door access) and an Otter XT Pro Lodge. I’ve read quite a few reviews on both but still have a couple questions on both. If anyone can chime in on these that would be greatly appreciated.
Clam X200
Are there front wind support poles? I believe there is 1 for the front door. My concern is how baggy the front canvas of the shelter gets including the corners… anyone have any issues with this on Clams specifically the X200? The baggy front where it hangs down into fishing area really bugs me.
Are the seats easily removable for transportation purposes on the Clam? Thought I read it is just a cotter pin. The Otters look very simple to remove.
OTTER Questions
Can you fit a 5 gallon bucket in tub behind the seat cross frame? Thought maybe I heard you cannot.
What is so great about the side doors with x frame on Otters? Clam and others have the side doors with without XFrame and seem to be fine. Only thing I can think of is they act as wind supports for the door areas.
Thank you for any feedback here, much appreciated.
The clam comes with four support poles. One for the rear, one for the front and two for the top.
Otter will be more heavy duty in most categories. It will also weigh more
The clam comes with four support poles. One for the rear, one for the front and two for the top.
Good to know thank you!!
Otter will be more heavy duty in most categories. It will also weigh more
Websites show the Otter Pro XT Lodge is lighter and weighs 120 lbs and the Clam X200 weighs 133 Lbs, pro version over 140 lbs.
Looks like the otter resort is more comparable besides price. I didn’t know clam started making HD shacks. I think either one would work out great.
That X200 is a sweet shack. Couple things to look at is that the Clam comes with a 3 year warranty and has more fishable area. That side door system is a game changer in these houses.
I used to run Clams, but their tubs are made in the same factory as Happy Meal toys. They would be destroyed in no time behind the snowmobile. I’ve run Otters for well over 20 years. I have over 15,000 miles on an Otter Lodge behind the snowmobile. There no comparison when it comes to the sleighs. If you drive to a lake in your Yukon Denali and pull your house out of the back, then you’ll be OK with a Clam, but if you go remote, Otter is the only way to go. I currently have two Lodge X-Over Pros.
I have always ran otter sled houses and have never had a single issue. Put lots of miles on the sleds behind the wheeler down asphalt and dirt roads.
That said I found a sweet deal on the voyager ice team edition and I’m sitting in it at the moment. The sled seems way more solid them the old clams and the canvas seems strong. The chairs are comfortable and I’m happy so far
The reason for the cross pole on the Otter X overs is if you want to just flip it like the old school flip overs its more supportive. I wouldnt use that feature at all if I had one because the side doors are just so dang convenient.
Dont rule out Eskimo. I dont own one, but I have sat in many and to me they have the most comfortable seats plus they have a sled built along the same lines as Otter.
Very good to know. I looked at one at the ice show and it seemed like the tub was still flimsy. I love all of the Clam hubs and other Clam stuff that I have, just thought they could do way better on the tub. Hopefully they have. Please keep us posted on how it works out for you. I’ll probably never shy away from the Otter flip shacks though. They’ve been way too good to me.
Thank you all for the feedback and comments! All helpful! I ended up ordering the Otter Pro Lodge XT. It was free shipping on Amazon, shipped by Up North Sports. Going direct to Up North Sports would have been $175 shipping surcharge yet they shipped for free through Amazon… cheapest for Clam I could find was $75 through Dicks sporting goods which was not terrible. Ordering direct from Otter was close to $1,000.
Went with the Otter because there are so many good reviews about them and I wanted to see for myself. It did arrive on time and I’ve assembled it. The canvas is nice and tight which I like and dark inside with minimal light seepage. Setup was fairly straight forward. Took a little longer since I had no help. The sled is definitely quality and so are the other components. Looking forward to using it next week. The seats don’t swivel unless in forward position which is annoying and you definitely have to grease the seat bar for them to move side to side. They are light weight and solid though and seat is comfortable. YES you can fit a 5 gallon bucket behind seat area and a crate. Plenty of room. The front skirt does not stay up very well so had to tuck under cover after cover was on. Still does not stay in super well. Putting under front of seat helped a little. The Velcro to hold the front door open is just a small strip. Will see how that holds up. The Hyfax runners are way better than clams.
The few things I like about the Clam X200 is the positioning of the front door, the tub sled is higher and a little more room. Also there are 6 windows vs 4 on the Otter. The Clam X200 also has a higher center height. I’m 6’1” and can stand straight up in the Otter. Head hits canvas with one step towards the front. My other Clam had a baggy canvas and would sag in corners which was very annoying. The Otter has no baggy corners after setting up. In fact it was so tight I hardly had enough canvas slack in back to tuck under the trim molding.
As another note, the Otter mini sidekick will not fit on the sled rail with skirt molding trim. Or at least I could not get it to go on there securely without pushing down on the molding trim pretty hard. The regular ones fits great from middle bar to front lip.
Interesting on the McDonalds thing!!!
Looks like the otter resort is more comparable besides price. I didn’t know clam started making HD shacks. I think either one would work out great.
Definitely agree with that! The sled will be much longer on Resort than the Clam. If I was fishing 2 people more normally then I would have maybe considered the resort. Went with Lodge since it’s myself a lot of the time.
That X200 is a sweet shack. Couple things to look at is that the Clam comes with a 3 year warranty and has more fishable area. That side door system is a game changer in these houses.
Is the Tub on the X200 any different than the rest of their lineup in respect to thickness and durability? I see it has the front curve and not a box like a lot of their others which was good. And as mentioned I liked that the Clam has a higher tub size.
I used to run Clams, but their tubs are made in the same factory as Happy Meal toys. They would be destroyed in no time behind the snowmobile. I’ve run Otters for well over 20 years. I have over 15,000 miles on an Otter Lodge behind the snowmobile. There no comparison when it comes to the sleighs. If you drive to a lake in your Yukon Denali and pull your house out of the back, then you’ll be OK with a Clam, but if you go remote, Otter is the only way to go. I currently have two Lodge X-Over Pros.
Thanks for sharing, good information! I hope to get the same distance out of mine:)
The reason for the cross pole on the Otter X overs is if you want to just flip it like the old school flip overs its more supportive. I wouldnt use that feature at all if I had one because the side doors are just so dang convenient.
Dont rule out Eskimo. I dont own one, but I have sat in many and to me they have the most comfortable seats plus they have a sled built along the same lines as Otter.
I can see it will help to support the sides more if it’s windy. Still another moving part.
I did look at Eskimo and like their products too but was not confident in putting my eggs into that basket without seeing one in person. The seats I have heard are comfortable like you said. They are hunting blind seats.
One of these shops should come out with a reclining seat option! Clam has the armrest option which looks like it could be nice.
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