I literally just bought a hub shelter. I’ll either use it with the kids or if I’m with my friends we use it as our gathering area. We set the hub up and leave our Buddy heater inside (off). We take off with our sleds hole hopping. If anyone is cold or whatever they can go back – one of us are usually within a 100 yards. We also cook outside of it and eat inside on our buckets.
The shelter I bought is by Polar Bird. It comes with an insulated removable floor which is great when I’m with the kids. The hubs are all metal and solid fiberglass poles. They have a lifetime warranty. I was posting under hub shelter question.
I’m not saying it’s better or worse than a flip over it’s just another option.

dingerboy8292 as soon as I get it out for a test run I’ll post back here. If I can I’ll try and take some pictures for you.

I know this is an older thread but I was researching the same thing for a few months – 12 or 20 gauge. I asked a very good friend of mine who has many years experience in both deer and duck hunting. He highly suggested the 20 gauge for many of the reasons given above.
I did end up getting the Mossberg 500 Deer and Field in 20 gauge. It came with the smooth bore barrel (and 3 chokes), the rifled cantilevered barrel and a scope. I’m very happy with my decision. Good luck !

After I get it out a few times I’ll let you know the pros and cons or at least what I think are the good and bad points.
I went on youtube and found many videos showing the shelters before ordering. I think this video showed it in pretty good detail.

I had it all set up and the inside height was probably at just over 6′ in the center. I’m 6′ and I could stand in the center. Closer to the walls it’s less. But honestly I’m sitting most of the time fishing anyway.
I’m just guessing but the taller, wider, etc. would probably just add weight anyway. I do like the lighter color because it lets a bit more light in so it’s easier to see. I know I hear everyone likes dark hubs for sight fishing. I hardly ever sight fish. I use my electronics almost exclusively so it doesn’t affect me. As I said so far I’m impressed but I’ll have to actually use it a few times to find out the pros and cons.

I just received my Polar Bird hub shelter. Boy that was fast. I opened it up and so far I’m really impressed. Everything looks to be very well made – even the stitching. The hubs and poles have strong tension. So far I’m glad I chose this hub shelter. I guess time will tell. Thanks guys !

I think I’m going to go with the Polar Bird. I see they have the 3 man on sale for $259 with free shipping and the free floor. I’ve seen good write ups on another site and my uncle said he saw one in person and he said they appear to be very sturdy and quality built. I called them and they said they also have a 30 day return policy so if I don’t like it I can send it back unused and in original box.
I’ll let you know how it goes.

Ben thank you for insight into hub shelters and in particular the Otters. They sound like a very good option. I’m also trying to get the best bang for the buck and as Andrew said the Polar Bird seems well made and at a reasonable cost.
I guess I have it narrowed down to Polar Bird and Otter.

Have you had the chance to use it yet ? Could you supply some feedback on the shelter ? TIA

bigdaddyg you sound very pleased with the FL-28. I haven’t actually used one but I am thinking about getting one. I was told the definition is like that of the FL-22 and it’s in 10 ft increments. Is that true ?

I actually saw the Polar Bird hub at an open house yesterday. I wasn’t expecting too much but I really liked what I saw and the price wasn’t bad either. The shelter actually had an insulated removable floor.

I’ve been thinking about getting a hub too. I like the looks of a new one I saw on another site called Polar Bird. I wonder how it is compared to the Otter ?

I personally would get a dual beam or tri beam depending on the manufacturer. This way you have the options available to you for deep or shallow water . JMO

I’m new here but not new to ice fishing. I wanted a camera and I decided on the Marcum WiFi camera system. I liked that I could use my tablet that I already had. I like the idea that I can be in my hut or jigging a hole a good distance away and just turn on the tablet and see whats going on. Also that all the controls such as panning the camera or adjusting the lighting are all done from the tablet as well.
Unfortunately there’s no ice yet so I cannot give you any feedback on the unit except it works great in the living room.

I’m new here but not new to ice fishing. I have both the Vex FL-18 and the Marcum LX-5. Both work well for all around fishing including shallow in my opinion. I don’t know if you’re using a shelter but if you are then in 4 ft of water I would just sight fish.