hub style houses?

[picksbigwagon]

Shhhhh, my wife doesn't know I am asking this question: who here is running one of the insulated clam hub houses? If so, how do you like them? do you shovel the snow off the ice first?

I have a voyager and two young sons (7 and almost 9) and fishing in that voyager is a strain on my back. I like the idea of a 30 pound house for fishing instead of 180+ pounds of stuff and ice house. I am thinking that at the end of this season I might try and pick one of those up and then sell my voyager next fall. (not now so don't even ask!) I would probably go with an insulated hub instead of uninsulate....I am hoping for a 6x8 so when I head out with bigger kids (i.e. my friends) we can all fit in it.....

thanks for the opinions and help

[miller27]

I bought the Clam Base Camp Thermal last time they were on sale at Cabelas. I have set it up and taken it down about 10 times so far with no problems. I really like it and would recommend getting the thermal house over the non-thermal even if it means sacrificing some extra space. I had it out lastnight in below zero temps and stayed really warm with a buddy heater and lantern in there. In fact, my roomate did not even have a jacket on.

To answer your question about the removing the snow from the ice I would say that you could remove the top layer of snow but don't go all the way down to the ice. If you shovel down to the ice it will get very wet in you house as the water starts to come up out out of the hole.

I am not sure of the ice conditions where you are located but up in the St. Cloud area there is a lot of slush on the lakes which which makes it difficult to put the anchors in the ice without getting your gloves wet. I would recommend bringing an extra pair of gloves so you fingers don't freeze off.

Also if there is even the slightest breeze make sure you put the anchors in the ice before setting it up. Any more questions just let me know! Hope this helps.

[picksbigwagon]

how many guys could you get in that house? could I get myself (I am 6'7") and two or three kids? My buddies aren't "normal" sized like myself, their little fella's. Could you get 3 guys sitting across the middle with 4 holes on one side and two holes on the other side?

I like the idea of getting rid of the Voyager since I use it maybe 3 times a year due to it's size and my desire not to monkey with a big house like that on my own......

[buddah7]

I'm 6'7" as well and last year I had a Eskimo Quickfish 3 that was 6x6 but the ceiling was a little low for me.. This year I picked up a Clam summit that is 6x8 and I can stand up in it fine, I hear ya on the sore back which is why I got rid of the Eskimo. I have had the Clam out about 5 times and I think there would be plenty of room with your layout. Your best bet is to go to a sporting goods store and check the inside out for yourself!

[picksbigwagon]

buddah, is it hard to keep it warm with out the insulation? What about condensation?>

[sigosaur]

FWIW, I got the Quickfish 6 (6x12) this year ... only had it out twice ... low teens both days.

I got three kids under 7yr ... had them plus two adults one nite ... wouldn't wanna do much more of that ... a bit crowded. Usually, it was just me and one or two kids ... plenty of room ... very nice ... couldn't imagine getting anything smaller for meager weight/dollar savings.

It ain't insulated ... and we do get lots of condensation ... as of yet, it hasn't caused any problems ... a few drips here 'n there.

Heating it with one burner on the Big Buddy is a bit chilly ... with both burners and the built-in fan, it's plenty warm.

[sigosaur]

Oh ya ... we never shoveled ... just kicked it around a bit to remove high spots ... then laid down a few pieces of 2ft sq foam rubber flooring ... keeps a nice dry area in the middle ... maybe keeps the shak a bit warmer?

[Laska]

quickfish 3 hands down, used mine over 60 times with no problems, out yesterday in below freezing windy weather and the shack had to be about 70degrees with a portable buddy heater... I made a floor for mine and wouldnt go with anything else as far as hubs go... best of all its cheaper then the clams, not doggin any of u guys by ne means just sayin its cheaper and I love it...

[Ed Carlson]

The Clam Thermal Base Camp is getting very high marks from guides up North using them daily on the hard water. Stu McKay of "Cats on the Red" and his guides have several now in use on the Red River and on Lake Winnipeg and has nothing but good to say for there ease of use, performance in the field, and comfort.

I was at first skeptical on how the Clam Thermal material would perform in high humidity situations, due to frosting, but on the ice use has shown it to no be a major concern and take down has proven as easy as set-up.

I'm very impressed with the New Frabill Hub line as well. Frabill carried over a lot of it's key engineering innovations from the tow-able ice shacks to the Hub Line. Such as the Max Venting and Velcro windows and heavy duty self repairing zippers and the inner polyurethane coated 300 denier tarp. In a non-insulated hub I feel the black tarp is very helpful to draw in the suns heat. Very well made products.

There are many excellent option now available in Hub design, overall quality has risen and should continue to do so. It has become a very competitive part of the ice fishing shelter market and the trend will likely continue.

[dan z]

I like the look of the new frabill's also. If money is plentyful after ice season I may look at buying one of these also. and getting rid of ole heavy