Cabelas and Beaver Dam both make cases/bags that you can put either classic style tip ups or round tip ups in. They prevent tip ups from becoming tangled and also help protect tip ups when they fall out of the bucket. At the end of the day just bring them inside and thaw them out.

I think that the metered tip up line is really thin for tip up fishing imo. If a big northern made a hard run your hands would be toast. I have had great experiences using the Sufix Performance Tip Up line in 30lb. Test and is uncoated. I think vinyl and PVC coated tip up lines tend to coil up and cold weather but do a great job and staying freeze-proof.

Lacrosse Game Country 1600g boots are extremely warm, waterproof, and the Game Country Outsole provides great traction.

For a lighter boot option I would recommend a Wolverine Ridgeline with 1000g of Thinsulate Ultra

My brother and I shared a Marcum LX-5 last year and it worked great. The new Marcum LX-5I is very similar to the original LX-5 but features some upgrades. It runs right at $500 dollars at Cabelas.

Supposedly there is around 4″ inches of ice in the Black Hills area of SD, in the Southeastern area some lakes are beginning to freeze. As mentioned above the snow forecasted early in the upcoming week will not help.