Frabill vs. Otter

[bopper4]

I was sold on purchasing a new fish trap this year until yesterday. I was able to get down to duluth to take and peak at the new houses. I was upsest by their seating and I am now leaning towards an Otter Pro Medium, or the Frabill Predator. I know Otter makes a wonderful house and amazing sled. Looking at the Predator it seemed to rival the quality of an Otter. ANy suggestions or comments from you Frabill owners out there? How has the house and sled held up? I know the dimensions and weights of each, just looking at quality and durability. I will be primarily pulling it behind the sled on Lake of the Woods.

[Big A]

Well.. I will throw a vote out for ya on the FRABILL.

I love it. Excellent quality and has held up very well.

Neighbor_guy did a LOT of researching on several options last year and went with the FRABILL. Im sure he will see this and throw in some quality info on his decision.

I know he has made several trips with it.. lakers and all.

[DTro]

I think you would be happy with either one.

Buy what feels comfortable to you. Don’t get too caught up in what other people think. You will find happy owners of every brand out there. Try out all the seating, mess with the poles a bunch and make sure you are comfortable with how they retract. Check out what accessories you can buy that you might want to add down the road. Base your decision on those things, and not what Guy X said about the name brand Y on HSOforum Z.

Yes, of course opinions are important, but everyone has a little different flavor they like. This is YOUR house, not theirs.

Having said that, when it comes to durability, Otter has been tough to beat and has been making a quality tub for a LONG time. I can’t speak for other brands, but I have been nothing but happy with my Otter Lodge. It’s rock solid.

[Ed Carlson]

I was sold on purchasing a new fish trap this year until yesterday. I was able to get down to duluth to take and peak at the new houses. I was upsest by their seating and I am now leaning towards an Otter Pro Medium, or the Frabill Predator. I know Otter makes a wonderful house and amazing sled. Looking at the Predator it seemed to rival the quality of an Otter. ANy suggestions or comments from you Frabill owners out there? How has the house and sled held up? I know the dimensions and weights of each, just looking at quality and durability. I will be primarily pulling it behind the sled on Lake of the Woods.

The Frabill Predator is very well built. Look closely at the frame engineering, see how the support structure will not ever get tweaked out of square, and the added double corner gusseting to reduce draft and increase longevity of the 900 denier cover...and the self lube high stress aluminum 1.25 supports. An efficient snow prof MaxVent Air Exchange System. The new Roto-Molded sled tubs are built for the extremes, very tough. Seating is versatile, in fact I use the DLX seats in my boat too.

Lots of smart engineering built into that unit. #1 selling ice shack in 2009, and I'm guessing again this season.

[muc33]

I agree with what Dtro said as far as opinions. I spend lots of hours on the ice and used to have a frabill portable. It was fine all except for my opinion on sled quality. layout fine, seats incredible, durability of sled just couldn't keep up with me. It broke and that dissapointed me. Otter sleds are in a league of their own, as far as everything else, it is up to millions of opinions and we all own one! hehehehe Pick what you feel comfortable with and take it out and fish hard!

[ChuckN]

bopper4-

I can't comment on the Frabill Predator, other than I've peeked at it and it certainly looks like a nice combo.

But, Otter's proven for me the past several years, especially on rough Lake of the Woods. My Otters have never let me down in all the rough travels. I did a write up last year.. Otter on Lake of the Woods

[Chode2235]

Another happy Otter customer here.

[Bob Horn]

Frabill all the way!!! Great shelters and many more fishing accessories than Otter.

[Goosepride]

I have the Predator. Very impressed with it. I've fished out of Otters too. Both are very, very good. I fished out of a Fish Trap Pro for a long time too. All good. All have their positives and negatives. But they are really good either way.

[FISHINGURU]

DTRO pretty much summed it up for every product out there...i find it funny how many people will run out and buy something because someone from the sites told them it rules and can't be beat...then later they regret it and wish they would of bought something else that fit their style.

i own a clam it has been a great portable on long trips to LOTW and Rainy....used it for years and i'm gonna sell it to a buddy and he'll get many more years out of it.

i'm gonna go with a canvas craft insulated with the otter II sled this year....we like to sit in our own portables to cover more ground so i'm thinking about the bench seat to sneak in naps lol.

do some research on all the sites of the products and make a good purchase on what will work best for ya....honestly i don't think you can make the wrong choice..they will all do their job.

[mozy]

We sold a ton of Predators last at work. The bushings on the poles makes it the easiest system to use and the seats are incredibly comfortable. I have never used an Otter, but everyone that has one seems to love it. Can't go wrong either way. I would probably buy whatever you can get cheaper and put the money saved towards other gear.

[BartmanMN]

I fished out of a Predator and they are very nice and appear to be well built.

[Northlander]

I agree with DTRO its more about you and what your needs and likes are. With that said my Otters have been bulletproof over the years. The 900 denier canvas stops the wind great and of course we all know how well built their tubs are. The new pole design is very smooth and wont stick and bind. The windows stay fexible and dont crack even in the coldest weather.For pulling behind a sled/wheeler there is no better tub out there in my opinion. Shop around and compare apples to apples and get what you can afford. No matter what house you buy get the hyfax it will put years and years on the life of your house.

[PerchJerker]

I've got an Otter Lodge and love it, it's big and sturdy and well-built and I've had for about 5 seasons. It's heavy to pull by hand but I haul it all over the place with my atv. I think it'd hold up great behind your sled on LOTW.

I don't have a Frabill but may be getting one this year, I'm looking for a smaller lighter 2-man house to pull out by hand and some Frabill models have caught my eye. My general impression is that Otter's are "tougher" houses but I like the weight/size combination of the Frabill for the purpose I'm looking for.

[deadeye]

They are both really good fish houses. Frabill has come a long way with their sleds since I owned one.

The hyfax is a must for either brand. It really makes it last so much longer and is replaceable. Even if it does wear out, its cheap to slap some new stuff on there.

What sold ME on the otter is that if I decided I didn't like the house anymore, I can upgrade to whatever new stuff they put out. So if someone does a drunken sumo flop onto my house and ruins it, I can get a new one.

The secondary thing that sold me on the otter is the plethora of accessories that are available for it. Hitches, trailer wheel kits, custom hyfax, seats, ect. Plus, places like canvas craft also make stuff for it so your able to get non oem products as well.

All that being said, the best thing to do is go to the store and try both out. Its hard to get the feel for something online. Either way you will be happy.

[Neighbor_guy]

As Big A said, I did a LOT of research last season. I sat in every potry on the market to see how they felt inside, I looked at all the tubs and how they would travel behind the snowmobile for fishing lakers. I chose the Frabil .

Clams were nice, but the tub plows snow bad, and if you hit a slush pit, toss out the anchor, you are getting stuck. But if you drive out to most spots and do very little towing, these are an excelent choice.

Otters are nice and pull very well, but I got myself kicked out of the big C-store last year for tipping one over. Did it again at Fleet farm in an otter "wild" house. The tub design is just not compatable with the way I like to sit and fish in the house.

The Eskimo houses are comming along, a couple of design changes and they will be a very good house.

But for me it was Frabil . The design of the tub, the strengh of the tub, the poles, the canvas, it all lead to the hands down best decision on a house I have made. (I've had a few)

IMO if you are going to be a truly mobile fisherman, and be efficient at it, otter and frabil are your only real choices, after that it is up to you.In the end its your call. A porty is a big investment to not be pleased with. Go and look at them, over and over.

[bopper4]

Thanks for all the input! The main reason for posting this thread was to get opinions and experiences. I had a fish trap guide for 10 or 11 years and it has been wonderful and is still in good shape. I will be passing it on to my brother so I can get something bigger. I have fished out of most portables with the exception of Frabills so I was hoping for info more specifically on them. I understand opinions are opinions which is why I posted. My only gripe on the predator was the wieght. Otherwise it seems like a wonderful set-up. No matter what I buy Otter, Frabill or other, I will be finding what is right for me. Thanks again!

[SkunkedAgain]

I say go with the Ford. It's never let me down. Good tires. Tough engine...

Oh wait, wrong debate. I've got an Otter, but I literally flipped a coin between that and the Frabill. Both are great systems.

If it helps any, Otter is Minnesota and Frabil is Wisconsin. Sometimes people make choices based upon where their money ends up with most other things being even.

[FISHINGURU]

definitely get the otter then!!

[henresox]

i got a frabill fredator it is very good shack i love it!

[Bassinbob84]

I used an otter cabin for the last 7 or 8 years. The tent was starting to wear a little thin so this year I went looking for a new shack. When I looked at the new ones they seemed to be thinner material than mine and I wasn't a big fan of the aluminum 2 x 4 down the center. I now am the owner of a predator. So far so good besides breaking my back trying to load the beast into my truck alone. It barely fits in the 6' box of my truck if that makes a difference. My cabin had about 1 foot of room to store more stuff behind it.

[coombia21]

my vote is for otter

because of the toughness of the sled and the quality of the house and canvas along with good customer service (which frabill also has)

[hamms-scooter]

I have sat in both and i really like the predator! It will be my next house as of now for sure! I use an 07 fish trap guide and like that alot but you add another guy on an all dayer somewhere and your ready to freak with no room and everything the other person does moves your stuff around. Wish i could stand in there also. I choose frabill

[Ed Carlson]

With the new discounts in play at Gander, and if your still considering a Frabill Predator,...you might think on upgrading to the R2-Tec...with $100 off on both models now, they are in low supply and selling out very fast.

[AndRo]

I went to GM and sat in just about every model they had. I fell in love with the R2-TEC 7080 for everything but the price. The canvas is amazing, the tub looks and feels indestructible, the seats were best hands down and there was a ton of room.

I decided to make the investment. I grabbed all the accessories too. I have the accessory hangars, the tow bar, the cover and the hyfax.

All in all, I love it! I have a big buddy heater and I can turn it off often. Staying comfortable in my bibs and t-shirt.

Happy Fishing!