Pulling a portable...

[skippie]

I have a clam X2 and have no problem pulling it out by hand, throw a hyfax kit on and fave fun.

[choppermn27]

The nanook would be your best bet. Clam makes the better lightweight option for flipover. Wind makes hub houses a rough go unless you bring a cordless drill and ice anchors. A narrow sled and a hub would be better for snow but setup and takedown of the flipover are worth the extra work. I use a power auger all year after trying the drill converter on a 7 " lazer hand auger and 19.2 volt drill wasn't impressed the weight is worth it there.

[Stick in Mud]

I'm leaning towards sucking it up and buying the bigger house. I've sat in the Nanook, and it's not much bigger than my old one. I'm a fairly big human, as are many of my friends, and if two of us happened to be in, it'd be too crowded for my taste.

Da_chise is right about using a truck for most of the year, and when you pair that with a lack of snow (sometimes), there might not be that many terrible pulls, especially if I remove one (or both) of the seats, bring the hand auger, etc. And with a comfortably large house, I might be able to actually invite someone else along, thereby cutting the work down by at least 50%.

[NKLCOLT1911]

so speaking of weight savings, sorry if this is off topic, but is there anywhere to get those small 5# pancake style propane tanks.

[fishersofmen]

Good grief, carmike et al., are you pulling out to Garden Island or what?!? Maybe it's just me, but most of the time I won't pull more than a mile out. If that's not mobile enough for you at first ice, pony up and buy a sled.

Generally speaking, in an average year, you are pulling out for 2-4 weeks and driving a truck the remainder of the year. No truck? Then by all means, buy a small one man or a hub.

I guess I'm nuts for pulling a big house out, but I've done it, I've felt nearly dead and out of breath, but that hasn't stopped me from doing it again.

Completely agree. I pull my Predator around with heavy mods added to it and all my gear. Yea it can be heavy at times in deeper snow and then something terrible happens.....I end up getting some good exercise. Get the biggest house you can find and ignore the darlings that are afraid they will pull a calf muscle.

[1968]

On my old trap 2 I replaced that weenie rope with a much longer one. That way you can put it over your shoulder/across the chest. Went a little thicker too so it doesn't cut in as much. I've done a few deep expeditions around Ely with it, no skiis either. One was an overnight fish/camp with two trap 2's half open facing each other connected with a tarp up on shore. Haven't had much interest in doing that one again, but I did it!

The worst thing, if you can call it that, is having lotsa fish drag you down on the way out.

[dan z]

The hyfax kit really helps, I pull an otter cabin without much effort, yes a 20 min pull makes Mr tired but heck I'm going fishing and working out at the same time

[Bigbuck08]

I have the Clam 2000 It pulls nice but get 2" of snow on the ice and it's a bear to pull. The only nice thing about it is being able to fit it in the trunk!

[shizzy]

http://clamoutdoors.com/ice_fishing/http...ng-harness.html

I never leave the house without this and my flasher....

[Frankeberger]

I've pulled my Frabill Trekker for a couple years, and is some work. I need the excercise.

Yet, this year, I plan to purchase a deer drag harness and attach a longer lead to shelter so I can have my hands free. Walking a distance through snow with one arm behind me is a real 'drag'.

Also, I can then more easily carry my auger and punch holes as I go. In early ice, I like to check ice thickness every so often. Better safe than sorry.