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Frabill Predator Insulated

RiverChuckNorris

By RiverChuckNorris
in Ice Fishing

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RiverChuckNorris Community Regular

RiverChuckNorris

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Bought a Predator 2 seasons ago with the standard fabric covering. Since then, I've fished in a couple buddy's shacks that were insulated and I really liked it. I phoned Frabill and they'll sell me the insulated covering for $310 + shipping.

I'm looking for anyone that has any feedback from owning/fishing in an insulated Frabill (both of my experiences were in Canvas Craft)?

Has anyone converted their Frabill from the standard fabric to the insulated? Is it tough? Any tips? Worth it?

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RiverChuckNorris Community Regular

RiverChuckNorris

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Sounds good in theory, but, IMHO that'll be a lot of fussing around and more than a couple hundred bucks. I'm thinking I'll try to sell my existing cover for $100 as well to recover a bit of the cost.

The other thing is I would buy the Otter Lodge today if I bought a new shack. I have several hundred additional dollars into my Frabill (tow bar, tow cover, LED lights). Most of my gear wouldn't transfer to the Otter.

Let's pretend I get $300 for my Frabill. The new Otter is $899, let's say I get it for $800 out the door, after tax at the show. Not worth $500, my Frabill's in great shape as much as I like the new Otter.

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RiverChuckNorris Community Regular

RiverChuckNorris

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If you don't have any holes in your existing cover, PM me when you sell it and I'll let my buddy know. Mice got him pretty good.

Thanks BartmanMN. That actually makes my decision all the easier! I'm going to the St Paul show this weekend. If I can't get a deal there, I'll probably order it early next week and PM you. Would LOVE to avoid listing it for sale. No holes, it's in great shape.

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AndRo Collaborator

AndRo

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I've had the Frabill 7080 with the insulated shell for the last 2 seasons. LOVED it, had to let her go this fall though. I wanted a house that will fit underneath my tonneau cover and was about 70 pounds less in weight.

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hamms-scooter Veteran

hamms-scooter

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I would buy a cover for my yukon right now from someone going to thermal. I bought my yukon used and used it myself for the end of last season and it looks good from the outside but from the inside you can see light through. The black armour on the inside is really faded. For 200 or so I could get the clam thermal but the frabill thermal material looks much better.

I'm in the same boat, the price for the insulated shell is just too high to justify getting that alone. Almost pulled the trigger on a new house, but haven't yet. Never even thought about selling my non-insulated shell as I figured there wouldn't be any buyers.
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mww24 Experienced

mww24

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If I'm not mistaken the thermal material on the predator is norpac by 3m. Which is what canvas craft uses. I'm sure the inner and outer canvas is a bit different. Id bet that your experience in canvas crafts is comparable to what your new predator would be like.

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fisherman-andy Mentor

fisherman-andy

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If I'm not mistaken the thermal material on the predator is norpac by 3m. Which is what canvas craft uses. I'm sure the inner and outer canvas is a bit different. Id bet that your experience in canvas crafts is comparable to what your new predator would be like.

At this point it probably still is Norpac. However from the likes of trying to stay competitive Frabill may be or may have already started swapping all their Norpac R2 shelters over to the 3ply thermal fabric. Before you buy check out the shelter material or package labeling.

So if your looking for one that still has Norpac you may as well get it while you still can before their all gone.

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RiverChuckNorris Community Regular

RiverChuckNorris

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I spoke with a Frabill rep at the show about this and he confirmed they did discontinue using the 3M product. He said it was a huge cost saver and it reflects down to the customer (remember the insulated Predator was $999 I believe as recent as last year; it's now $799).

It's also worth noting, 3M's patent(s) on Thinsulate ran out around a year ago which he said drove the market costs overall down significantly.

He said Frabill ran tests and found no real difference in performance between the prior 3M product and current, go forward insulation. I'm ordering mine this morning so we shall see!

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