Move Over ESKIMO FATFISH --- CLAM BIG FOOT coming soon !!

[cichlid_baby]

Looks like there's company this year..

Hopefully Clam has improved upon the many mistakes that Eskimo made last year with the rushed release of their FatFish series hub houses.

A google search will find many posts related to some of the problems experienced.

Can't wait to see these CLAM Big Foot houses in person and test the poles out.

[NCLaker]

I love my Eskimo Quickfish 6, it has been rock solid. Not as big as the FatFish version, but I can use the center ice screws to pull out the sides much wider. Not as big as the FatFish, but makes it much roomier then leaving their default center base positions.

[ClownColor]

Looks like there's company this year..

Hopefully Clam has improved upon the many mistakes that Eskimo made last year with the rushed release of their FatFish series hub houses.

A google search will find many posts related to some of the problems experienced.

Can't wait to see these CLAM Big Foot houses in person and test the poles out.

a google search will also find you a many problems with Clam...lets just wait unitl next year after the reviews from the masses have come out.

[cichlid_baby]

Not sure what kind of google search you are doing where you can find any problems with the Clam Big Foot model to compare with the Eskimo FatFish model when the Clam Big Foot hasn't even been released yet...

As these are the only two models being discussed in this post.

[fisherman-andy]

Looks like there's company this year..

Hopefully Clam has improved upon the many mistakes that Eskimo made last year with the rushed release of their FatFish series hub houses.

A google search will find many posts related to some of the problems experienced.

Can't wait to see these CLAM Big Foot houses in person and test the poles out.

I think your speaking too soon, Eskimo seemed to have made changes or upgrades to this year Fatfish hubs due to some experiencing issues with tearing or poles snapping. Although we had no issues with the ones last year that we used.

Plus carrying around the 949i 34lbs or 949 23lbs is big difference to hauling something like the big foot which weighs over 70lbs!!!

[MNPKRFAN]

Where are you getting the "over 70lbs" from fisherman andy?

[fisherman-andy]

From Clam where else? They have two models the 2000 @ 35lbs, 54sq ft fishing area and 4000 @72lbs 64sq ft fishable area.

The Eskimo 949i thermal is 34lbs w/61sq ft fishable area.

[Matt Johnson]

The Big Foot XL4000T is actually only 42 pounds. That is a typo on the Clam website. I will have someone fix that ASAP...

Also remember the size difference too... as the Eskimo Fatfish in question can fit inside the Big Foot XL4000T when both a setup, so you are getting more fishable room in the Clam Big Foot XL4000T for not much more weight...

[fisherman-andy]

The Big Foot XL4000T is actually only 42 pounds. That is a typo on the Clam HSOforum. I will have someone fix that ASAP...

Also remember the size difference too... as the Eskimo Fatfish in question can fit inside the Big Foot XL4000T when both a setup, so you are getting more fishable room in the Clam Big Foot XL4000T for not much more weight...

I figured it was likely going to be a typo lol . 72lbs just didnt seem right. I am more interested in Clam's new Six pack over square shaped pop ups.

[cichlid_baby]

I am curious to see how taught the poles and fabric are when fully deployed on these Big Foot models. The FatFish 949i was so flimsy and loosely put together that any small amount of wind and the thing would collapse on itself... the poles where inadequate to even support itself especially with the added weight of the thermal fabric... where as my other previous Clam made houses were very taught and many times would not even need hub anchoring unless it was extremely windy out.

Can't wait to see one of these in person at the man store.

[DTro]

Compared side by side the choice seems to be a no brainer to me

[JohnMickish]

Thats not side by side! At Thorne Bros the SL4000T is acually $20 cheaper to boot! The XL4000T is what I will be fishing out of this winter.

[fisherman-andy]

Compared side by side the choice seems to be a no brainer to me

That's a bad comparison DTRO

Having a 3sq ft size advantage over the Fatfish 949i also adds weight and clunkyness. In some part too big for a 4 person hub or for some.

Its best to probably see both of these two hubs in person first to fully compare size, build, and quality.

[chad austin]

Compared side by side the choice seems to be a no brainer to me

Appears to be an inside to outside comparison

[Brad B]

the extra material of the clam only adds 8lbs.

fatfish949i = 34 lbs

big foot xl4000T = 42 lbs

[anderson_dc]

This photo certainly seems to shoot holes in the claim that the Fatfish 949i has 80% more fish-able area than comparable standard pop up shelters.

Looks like Clam hit another home run with the Big Foot!

[fisherman-andy]

This photo certainly seems to shoot holes in the claim that the Fatfish 949i has 80% more fish-able area than comparable standard pop up shelters.

Looks like Clam hit another home run with the Big Foot!

I recall thats the advertising Eskimo has had last year even before Clam had their new line up hubs this year. The Fatish 949i is considered and listed as a 3-4 person hub with a setup size of: 94 in x 94.

The new big foot XL4000 is considered a 4-6 person hub with a setup size of: 96” x 96” The XL2000 model is a claimed 4-6 person hub also which I think is a more comparable model to the 949 has setup size of: 90” x 90”. I hardly think the XL2000 will fit 6 anglers with comfy room due to setup spec. Clam claims both models offer a 30% more space then the competitors model?

[cichlid_baby]

How do the poles size and hubs compare with one another on these two houses?

Are the poles on the Clam Bigfoot sturdy and strong enough to hold up the thermal fabric (weight) and still pull the fabric taught enough to provide structural integrity against wind collapse? This was one of the biggest problems we experienced with the FatFish 949i last season among others.

Wonder if Eskimo has really even made any changes or upgrades to their units to deal with some of the negative consumer feedback of last season. It was such a poorly built house and poor quality control fiasco. Haven't seen any of this years production to see if any of the issues and concerns were really addressed.

What I do know is that all last season, Eskimo spent the whole season denying that there was any issue at all with their new houses, even sending back faulty originals to consumers after having their people look over them.. putting the retailer on the spot to deal with many dissatisfied consumers.

[DTro]

I can’t speak for Eskimo, but from what I understand, Clam also had some issues with poles and the hubs they used in the past. In response to that, they beefed up the poles from like 9mm to 11mm and also changed their hub style from a T fitting to more like a universal ball joint. From what I’ve heard, they set up a stress test for the poles and with the older smaller style that the competitor uses they were able to get the poles to break with a few hundred flexes, however with the new beefier poles they were at 5000+ when they shut the machine off.

[Rod Woten]

I can’t speak for Eskimo, but from what I understand, Clam also had some issues with poles and the hubs they used in the past. In response to that, they beefed up the poles from like 9mm to 11mm and also changed their hub style from a T fitting to more like a universal ball joint. From what I’ve heard, they set up a stress test for the poles and with the older smaller style that the competitor uses they were able to get the poles to break with a few hundred flexes, however with the new beefier poles they were at 5000+ when they shut the machine off.

That is 100% correct.

-Rod

[fishwater]

Hopefully clam beefs up their corner reinforcements and makes sure their suppliers are running thread in the bobbins . I've had nothing but problems with the 2010-11 Clam products falling apart at the seams. Between my father, myself and a good buddy, we had 5 houses fail miserably with large holes forming in many of the corners. One of the shacks, a command post thermal that I've spent a couple hours sewing and reinforcing the corners on (because I figured it was better to trust my work than Clam's outsourced workmanship), has a good 7' of panel seams that just fell apart the other day while I was setting it up to fix yet another pushed through corner. Imagine setting that up after spending $200+ bucks on gas..? We started carrying a backup HUB house with us on every trip we wanted to use one.

I would just throw my arms up and say all these HUBs are essentially disposable after a season of use, but I know that isn't true. I have a first year command post with the tiny metal hubs that is still going strong (aside from the grommets falling out and that big burn hole..) Go figure.

[JohnMickish]

The seam issue has been addressed as well. It sounds like Clam got a reality check as far as competition goes last year, and has vowed to not let that happen again.

They have hired new people and have a 100% understanding that it's customer base won't put up with shoddy equipment from any manufacturer.