Issue with poles in Eskimo Fatfish 949i.....Pics Included

[Mike Stark]

I just set up my new fatfish 949i in the garage. After setting it up I noticed that the pole that runs along the door bows out when the door is closed. When the door is open it does not bow out. Zipping up the door is a little rough too. It seems like there is too much tension when you zip up the door. Has anyone else noticed this? Any ideas on why it is doing this? Could I be setting it up wrong? This is the case on both sides with doors.

It may have something to do with poles caving in in light wind. The side with the bowed poles collapses much easier than the sides with no bowed poles.

Here are a few pics.

This is a side without the door. Notice all the poles are straight into the corners.

This is the bowed pole with the door shut.

This is a pic of the pole with the door open.

[mabr]

You know I noticed the same thing on mine while set up in the garage. BUT not to the degree yours is. Man I hope i dont regret buying it. I thought it would be the cats meeyow. Im still not going to pass judgement yet. Once its has been used I'll make my decision.

I do have one other complaint about it but im not going to specify what it is just yet. Ive already contacted eskimo and they are standing behind it, supposed to be sending it once I get the serial # to them. For those that dont know, the serial # is on a tag inside the house, FYI for warranty issues.

[Mike Stark]

Hopefully this is not an issue will all the shelters. I really like this shelter and have been very happy with my other Eskimo hub style shelters but this is going to be a pain in the butt to send back.

[Hardyboy]

I also noticed this issue but like was said not to the extent of yours Mike. Both my doors zip roughly like you said and the fabric is tight as a drum. The one thing im hoping for like every porty ive ever had is that the fabric stretches and loosens over time and this should alleviate the problem. Hopefully something doesnt tear or break before the fabric stretches.

[Mike Stark]

Do you guys find that your shelter will not sit flush on the floor? My shelter does not still level. The two tight corners are up higher.

I have not had this issue with my other two Eskimo shelters. One of them is an old Quickfish II that is green and the other is a newer Quickfish III. Both uninsulated.

I would lube up the zippers to try to make it a little more smooth. Mine is so tight that the teeth on the zipper were not always lining up right. That is the first step to wrecking a zipper.

[Hardyboy]

Mine sits flush on the garage floor. I mentioned a little earlier that the Eskimo rep i talked with recommended staking and the support lines on the wall pulls be used when setting it up. Not sure if that means they know the walls are weak in the wind or just saying it to cover themselves against claims.

[NCP]

I took mine out last Saturday and noticed the pole by the door was a little funny too, I thought it was because I staked the shelter too close together. With the little breeze I had two sides pop in at different times and had to stake them down with a bungee.... I am curious how many people this has happened to???? I did not look at it with the door open....

[fishwater]

My clam thermals have wonky poles by the doors too, especially new out of the box. The condition has improved considerably with moderate use, I'm assuming the shelter has stretched out a bit.

[olbaidhh]

I have the FatFish 949i and did not notice any pole bend like that, however... BE VERY VERY CAREFUL when packing it up in the bag. I was just careful... and the bag ripped at one of the seams. This was the 3rd time I packed it so, not like I didn't know how to. The seam in question looks like it wasn't even sewed properly. The shelter seems to be built solid but the bag is as cheap as it can be. I have sent in the warranty card 2 weeks ago and sent them an email on the matter 3 days ago and I have not heard back yet, may have to call them.

[mmeyer]

I have the FF 949i also and I set it up this morning to check on the poles that you have pictured. My poles were the same by the doors but I could easily move them around to make them straight or make others bent the same. I'm not too concerned about that but I am not too happy about the sewing quality. I tore off a handle for the bag the first time I took it out of the box. I emailed them and they sent me a new bag right away. Today I grabbed the top handle to pop it up and that handle came apart at the seam also. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come. I can't return it since I sent my receipt through the washer.

I can't get out for a couple of weeks or until the ice is good again but I'm very anxious to try it out for fishing and spearing.

[magic_minnow]

So any new updates to the fatfish pole situation? I just ordered one yesterday and i'm kind of nervous now. I hope its just a fluke and not a design flaw!

[Snag]

I'm going to try and put a corner into the wind next time. I had a wall into the wind and the wind pushes it back in easily. Mine sits flat and the door zipper can be a little tough to pull, but it looks good compared to the picture above.

Sounds like the warranty department is busy. I think it's extension 115 Jen S.

I had my best luck with stability when I roped down the non windy side and the windy side. It seemed to give it more stability.

[shizzy]

when I first got my Quick fish III I did notice the fabric around the door zipper was pretty snug. It did seem to loosen up a little after a few uses. it is still a bit snug, but no tears after 3 or so seasons.

[Mike Stark]

I emailed Eskimo the pictures above. They are going to send me a new set of poles free of charge. They said I have a defective set of poles. They must have had this issue before. I wonder if poles for the regular eskimos are getting mixed up with the new fatfish models.

I really hope this solves the problem. This is a very cool shelter.

[BenjamIncredible]

Eskimo stands behind there products. I exchanged my fatfish 9416..

Origional QF3 (Green) - the windows where made out of a plastic that cracked when it got cold.. eskimo sent them overnight upon request.

QF6 (Red) - Zero problems, and I beat the [PoorWordUsage] outta that shack. One time it blew across the lake and suffered no damage.

FatFish 9416 (Red/black) - Upon first opening, I noticed that where the 4 hubless poles intersect on one side had too much fabric compared to the other side. Upon further inspection I could see light. Hard to tell if they had simply missed the stitching or the stitching had opened up. The stitching throughout looked sloppy and rushed but only in some spots; couple windows, some pole supports, and 1 vent opening.

Called eskimo to discuss and they politely said it would be quickest to bring it back to where I had purchased for an exchange (Joe's). Called Joe's who were also polite and said to bring it in to see if it was something they could fix or would have to exchange. Set it up in-store and inspected and they gave me an exchange. Probably should have setup the exchange in-store, but I'll be un-boxing and taking a look this evening to ensure this one is up to eskimo par.

[sightfisher]

I'm in the the market for a pop-up and Eskimo is first on my list. I had been set on the Fatfish but since reading this string I'm thinking the Quickfish. The extra floor space on the Fatfish is appealing but don't want the extra headaches, be it either poles too long or a side pushing in with extra wind. So whats the vote, all things considered, would you go for a Quickfish or a Fatfish?

[Hardyboy]

I have the "questionable" fatfish 949I and i would buy it again! Stake like your supposed to and start fishing and throw up a support line if needed which could be done in a few seconds if you set some ropes up with a couple caribeeners attached on either end. The house is solid and i love the fishable area and the fact its 100% insulated.

[Mike Stark]

I'm in the the market for a pop-up and Eskimo is first on my list. I had been set on the Fatfish but since reading this string I'm thinking the Quickfish. The extra floor space on the Fatfish is appealing but don't want the extra headaches, be it either poles too long or a side pushing in with extra wind. So whats the vote, all things considered, would you go for a Quickfish or a Fatfish?

I would still got with the Fatfish. There is a TON of space inside the shelter. And like said above you have the option to get the fully insulated model. I can't wait to try out a fully insulated shelter. It's going to be nice.

[Mike Stark]

Just got off the phone with customer service. They are over-nighting two new poles either today or tomorrow.

[mwalleye]

I've owned the quick3 (red) for a few years now really great out of the box had the cracked windows replaced free of charge within warrenty I put it through its paces, alot of wind (takes alittle practice) over time had the poles slip out of hubs crimped pole holders alittle works great still although I did up grade to the otter lodge full thermal with this winter so far have not been able to really test it out though.

[Darren_Fischer]

i bought a brand new 949. The poles are the exact same as the ones in the pic. After reading this i set my my 949 up. Then pushed in the side with the weird poles, i pulled the rod out of the bottom holder took a pliers and took of the rubber end cap, i cut about ¼ inch off then tried it then another ¼ inch off. i left it a bit long so if the fabric stretches. It is 100% better, the sides pop out properly( the door sides always wanted to pop back in). The only issue is the stitching, had to fix one of the pull straps and now one of the shoulder straps on the carrying bag is pulling away and I've only used it once. Ive checked it over good and it looks fine other then some stitching and a minor fix on the poles.

[cichlid_baby]

I too have the Eskimo Fatfish 949i and I also have the same exact problems you guys are having with the poles. Also have the problem with side panels not laying flat on the floor as each of the panels appearantly seem to have differing tensions. Maybe it's all part of the same problem. I also noticed alot of the stitching is so poor that I want or need to ask my wife to re-stitch or atleast re-inforce some of them. Worse part.. some of the velco pads are not even stitched in the right places or are too far apart that I can not even velco the corresponding window flap in place to seal out light. Also.. would you believe that my carrying bag broke a strap as I tried to lift it up for the first time right after taking it out of the box?

That's right.. it's no joke.. I don't know what is going on with the quality of this product but I sure paid alot for this house and I expected a bit more or atleast on par with my previous Eskimo products.

I've already contacted Eskimo Customer Service and they want the house back right away so they can send me out a new one. That is great! But what good will that actually do me if the replacement one is just another poorly built shelter that came from the same low quality Chinese buildhouse that made the first one?

UGH .....

[mabr]

cichlid, are you sending the whole house back? I mentioned earlier in this post about my issue but didnt say what it was. It was the carrying bag,(Straps ripped first time trying to put it on my back and it had a tear on the seam by the zipper. It took one email and asked for the serial number. They are sending a new one to replace it and ask that I send the old one back. That easy.

My house has the bent poles BUT it does not affect the performance at all. Ive been out the last 2 days and its works great.no issues what so ever.

I will say I was worried as well, but not now. They do need to correct the bad issue Ive heard everyone has the same issue with the bag

[Archerysniper]

i bought a brand new 949. The poles are the exact same as the ones in the pic. After reading this i set my my 949 up. Then pushed in the side with the weird poles, i pulled the rod out of the bottom holder took a pliers and took of the rubber end cap, i cut about ¼ inch off then tried it then another ¼ inch off. i left it a bit long so if the fabric stretches. It is 100% better, the sides pop out properly( the door sides always wanted to pop back in). The only issue is the stitching, had to fix one of the pull straps and now one of the shoulder straps on the carrying bag is pulling away and I've only used it once. Ive checked it over good and it looks fine other then some stitching and a minor fix on the poles.

Sounds like your on the right track,I have had many of these same problems with my double bull turkey blinds and they are almost all ways solved by trimming the poles down a little. Before cutting the poles leave them set up in the garage a few days to stretch the material then trim as needed.

[Mike Stark]

I got two new poles from Eskimo. They were a hair shorter than the poles that came with the house. One side is 100% better. The other side is still having the same issue. I might just trim a bit off one of the poles. That is definitely the issue with the bowing poles.