Eskimo Qwickfish type shelter

[cold one sd]

I'm looking for a popup type shelter for this winter. I'm thinking about the Eskimo Qwickfish 3 or 4. What do ya think about Eskimo hub shelters in general and did anyone wish their Qwickfish 3 would have been bigger. I think the Qwickfish 4 is about the same size an the Clam summit. I am also interested in the Clam Base Camp Thermal and would like some opinions about the Clam hub type shelters. Things are kind of up in the air for me until I hear from people that have used them. Eskimo seems to be a bit cheaper than Clam also. I don't have a bunch of dealers in this area so I kind of depend on you guys. I will probably be fishing by myself or with one or two others. This is why I was wondering if something like an Eskimo Qwickfish 3 would be large enough.

[LightningBG]

I have a 3. It's pretty easy to set up. Its very comfortable with 2 people. Gets a little tight with 3 or more. biggest issue with 3 is where to put the holes, avoiding the door in the corner.

I would fish 2 people in the QF3, 3 people in the QF4, or 4 people in the QF6.

[Shadow]

I have the Quickfish 3 and fish two people in it. It works great for my brother and I, both big guys, and I love the room when I fish alone. Great shelter, but frosts plenty when its below 10 degrees with a wind. I usually set mine up in a heated garage to dry out after fishing. I am also looking at the Clam Command Post Thermal and Summit Thermal. Does anyone know if these shelters only have thermal tops. I can't find any on display and the walls appear to be made out of thermal material in the online pictures, but the descriptions only talk about full thermal tops.

[Vallejo]

I have the QF3 also and love it! I have fished with two people and it is very comfortable and roomy. I have also fished with three people and while it is doable, it was very close quarters. We had to have all the gear outside or in the truck. I agree that I would fish 2 people in the QF3 and 3 people in the QF4. I still use my clam pro when fishing solo.

[grousehunter]

I have the Quickfish 3 and fish two people in it. It works great for my brother and I, both big guys, and I love the room when I fish alone. Great shelter, but frosts plenty when its below 10 degrees with a wind. I usually set mine up in a heated garage to dry out after fishing. I am also looking at the Clam Command Post Thermal and Summit Thermal. Does anyone know if these shelters only have thermal tops. I can't find any on display and the walls appear to be made out of thermal material in the online pictures, but the descriptions only talk about full thermal tops.

I'm pretty sure they have thermal sides and top. I'm looking into getting a summit thermal as well. The only down side I've heard about them is a lot of light gets through so it wouldn't work well for sight fishing or spearing.

I know someone had posted before about using the command post solo by only setting up one side (6x6 instead of 6x12). Does anyone else also do this and how well does it work? Would be nice to have the option of having a lot more room, but also being able to use it with one or two people and only heating half of it.

[Huey]

I have the Quickfish 3 and fish two people in it. It works great for my brother and I, both big guys, and I love the room when I fish alone. Great shelter, but frosts plenty when its below 10 degrees with a wind. I usually set mine up in a heated garage to dry out after fishing. I am also looking at the Clam Command Post Thermal and Summit Thermal. Does anyone know if these shelters only have thermal tops. I can't find any on display and the walls appear to be made out of thermal material in the online pictures, but the descriptions only talk about full thermal tops.

I bought a Summit Thermal at Thorne Bros this year and it is insulated on sisdes and top. I have a 4 or 5 yr Quikfish 3. It's great shelter and I agree with what's posted above. I got the Sumit Thermal to have more space when bro-in-law and nephew fish with me.

[skee0025]

I have a quickfish 3 but need to upgrade. I had one of the poles shatter on me last winter. I will be sticking with the hub style and most definately one of the thermal models that Thorne Bros is selling. There is plenty of room in a 3 for 2 large people to set up comfortably.

[cold one sd]

Thanks everyone for the information. The Qwickfish 4 has a thermal barrier that goes up at the top and can be left out if you don't want to use it on warmer days. This should keep the condensation to a mminimum I hope. Anyway I guess I'll find out as I ordered one today. I don't know if a regular buddy heater will heat it good enough, but I do have a sunflower heater for my tank. I would think I will have plenty of room for it.

[Ed Carlson]

A fully thermal hub style pop-up, like the Summit Thermal, is the way to go.

Last ice season the Summit Thermal tested out well in very difficult conditions by guides using them daily. Feedback was very positive on durability as well as the thermal performance in deep cold. The fully insulated Summit Thermal showed no concerns with freeze up of dripping due to condensation.

I'm not personally sold on adding a inner layer of sheet insulation just to the roof, for a few reasons. No matter what, condensation will find its way between and cause freeze ups and drips. The second reason is wind chill will still siphon off heat from the remaining 4 sides that are uninsulated, you only insulating 1/5th of the total surface area of the shack. For these reasons I suggest going fully insulated, or no insulation at all.

[rusty rapala]

My base camp thermal out performed my expectations last year. I primarly fished in the Brainerd area and just used my big buddy on low the entire year and did not experience any condensation issues. I love my clam.

[deadeye]

I have been very happy with my QF3. It was my go to shelter last year and it got used probably 3-4 times a week with no problems. I am pretty careful with my stuff but I do use it a lot and have not had a durability problem.

Most of the time I fished by myself but I would say that 25% of the time I had someone with me and with 2 people it was good. Plenty of room for all the stuff and not cramped at all. I did fish a couple times with 3 people and it was still good. We just had to put the extra stuff outside. 4 people would be a stretch but if I was in a pinch I would do it.

I would definitely entertain the idea of the thermal cap shelters. If they would have had them out when I picked up mine I would have gone for it. You get the insulation in the right spot and don't add too much extra weight. In my QF3 that is where all the condensation seems to happen and I bet it would be pretty much eliminated with the thermal cap. Yes, the wind does beat on the sides alot, but inside the shack where there is no wind is where that really matters. The heat goes right up to the top and if thats got a bit of insulation then your getting the most out of your heat. If weight isn't a issue then the full thermal would obviously be ideal as you get the least heat loss possible.

With all that said, just going from using a flip over to a (uninsulated) hub I have noticed that I keep my heat on a lower setting 75% of the time. I almost always had my heat on high with the flip over and with the QF3 its either on low or medium. IDK what it is about it but it seems like it holds the heat in much better. I can only imagine how much warmer a insulated hub would be.

[cold one sd]

I wanted something that is lighter and easier to load than my two man flipover. I'm 67 and at the end of the day it gets pretty hard to wrestle that cumbersome tub into the back of a pickup by yourself.I worked in a tent like these for a lot of years and I know they can be a beast to put up when the wind is blowing hard. I have an auger mount, buchet racks and milk crates on my ATV for hauling stuff and this popup should be easy to tie on somewhere. I think it will be easier to work with than my flipover and there are a couple of other crippled up old coots that like to fish with me and I can use the extra room. One of them had a heart transplant and it is kind of hard to keep him warm at times. At least we get out on the ice and give it a try when we can.

[deadeye]

You will be very happy with a pop up then. No matter what brand you get its going to be a lot easier to wrangle than the flip over. I think my QF3 is something like 25 lbs so its definitely better than trying to man handle 75 lbs in and out of a truck. It sure takes up ALOT less space too.

I suggest a few dry runs setting it up in your yard at home. It took me a couple of times to get a good routine down but I bet I could have it popped up in less than a minute now. If its windy I take a little more time by screwing in a couple anchors but its still a pretty quick deal. No worse than sliding all the poles out and adding all the extra supports in the flip over.

Im sure you will be happy with whatever one you get. It sounds like the perfect fit for your situation.