Clam 6 pack 1660; Reviews

[JbuZZo]

Bought this house earlier this week, haven't assembeled it yet. For those that own or have used it, what is your feedback?

Looking forward to fishing in this with my 5 yr. old and friends/family. I have a Frabill Trekker as well, but thought this would be a good house for smaller childern. I will probably get a big buddy heater too. I have a Mr. Heater cooker/heater but the big buddy will be a safer heating option.

How tough is it to heat the 1660? With 90 sq. ft. to heat I would imagine it will take quite a bit more to heat than the Trekker...

All feedback is appreciated.

[JbuZZo]

bump...anyone have this model? Feedback requested...

thanks!

[doomanmxz99]

I have the Fatfish Insulated and a big buddy not as big as yours but on low even on very cold days it will cook me

[BronzeBrother]

bump...anyone have this model? Feedback requested...

thanks!

Is it insulated? Big buddy should be fine, but I also recommend getting a fan or two that clip on the ceiling to help keep the heat down, circulating and also helps with condensation build up.

[JbuZZo]

its non-insulated...was looking at the six pack or the big foot 400t...the extra space won out over the thermal fabric.

[JbuZZo]

So...just got out to use this house for the 1st time on Sunday...mixed reviews.

Pros-

Space- LOVE the space and layout of this house. fished 3 guys, TONS of space. used 2 Mr. Heaters on low most of the day in single digit temps with a healthy west wind pushing the wind chill to below zero temps. With that said we were fishing in base layering in comfortable temps with both heaters on low.

Storage Bag- Plenty big for easy removal and storage of the house.

Set up- Set up was a breeze, no issues with the hubs at all. Also was pleasantly supprised that no assembly was required with this house...all ready to go right outta the box! (NOTE: We did have 3 guys setting up so obviously that made it easy. But I see no issues with two guys setting this house up, even in a decent wind.)

Cons-

Zipper pulls- I had 5 of the molded "Clam" logo plastic zipper pulls break off partially or completely, really bummed about this as it was a pain to try to zip our main enter/exit door after the zipper pull completely pull off/broke 1/2 way through our day. A zipper pull also broke off the bag.

Twist in Anchors- Wow...this was the most frustrating part of the entire day. These things are nearly IMPOSSIBLE to drive into the ice. Meaning starting the thread in the ice to get it to bite and screw in. Even had a home made jig that we used in conjunction with a cordless drill...even drilling a high speeds these threads would not take without extreme effort.

Summary- Very happy with the house. I think this shack will bring lots of pleasure to my family and friends to fish in for the remainder of this season and seasons ahead. However, nowing that lots of Clam Pro Staff members frequent this board, do you have any direction to provide this consumer on getting replacement zipper pulls or tips or tricks on the ice anchors? I have watched the video on the site of Nick Chiodo setting up the Six Pack. Followed that to a "T", but still had issues anchoring...

[masoct3]

Hey there,

I dont have that model CLAM, I have the Base Camp. Regardless, I had my pulling zippers break off as well. I sent an email to CLAM and went to their office in Medina and they gave me MUCH BETTER rings, like car key rings to put on the pulling part. I asked why not this from the beginning, but the lady at the desk had no idea. I also feel the fabric is a bit tight and that causes these to break. I asked her if she wanted me broken ones for quality assessment, and she said no.

[247outdoors]

The clam 1660 is awesome! I find having two person setting it up (one opposite of each other) pulling out the sides at the same time is the way to go. Hard to heat the inside...had to use a sunflower+ big buddy. Only negative is I also broke my zipper clip on the cover bag and on the pop up door

[JbuZZo]

good idea on the rings mascot3. I'll just pick up some, like big split rings that you can buy for car keys...that should work perfect. Kind of crazy that they would use plastic zipper pulls considering the conditions these would always be in. My fabric around the doors were pretty tight as well, i though we my have set it up a little "off center" and that that was the issue.

I would like to hear from other owners of this year's CLAM hub house(s) as well as CLAM Pro Staff on the ice anchors. A buddy of mine has an Eskimo hub house and I have personally help set up his house and the anchors he has with that house were unbelievably easy to start into the ice as well as drive through to completely anchor down. The tips on my cleats came with plastic caps so I am confident that they will be as sharp as the ever will be. So, is it an engineering problem with how the threads are designed or the "self tapping" style? Am I completely trying to start them/ screw them in completely wrong? Seems to me all you do is apply downward pressure and screw them in...am I missing something?

[Ryan_S]

My buddies and I were fishing in one of these over the New Years weekend and really enjoyed it. On the days with no wind, one sunflower style heater, set on low with a computer fan near it kept us warm all day, but we had a ton of condensation. We added a second fan hooked to one of the poles and the condensation was nearly cleared out. When the temps dropped below zero and the wind picked up, we added a second heater set on low and we were quite comfortable again. We loved the space because we had anwhere between 3-6 guys in the house at a time and a small folding table set up in the middle for playing cards.

We also experienced the zipper pulls breaking off and will be contacting Clam to get some new ones. Other than that, I would easily recommend this pop-up house to anyone who needs a lot of room.

[bassNspear]

i dont own one, but have been in one, and its a awesome house. you will like it

[hookncook]

I like mine, but had the same problem with the zipper tabs breaking. Guess China doesn't think America gets that cold

over all I agree with the above assessment. I love the space: had my daughter, girlfriend, and son all in it with no problems. I like the hexagon shape versus the square traditional pop out shack.

[SP180]

Used mine for the first time this week. Very nice. Had 4 guys with lost of space. I turly do not believe the set up in the ad will work for a trip with 6 guys sitting around the table but that is what is to be expected. i too broke a few of the pulls. Called the company and got replacements in 1 day.

[masoct3]

I like Clam, they have a great product line.

I would say if your zipper pull broke, do one of the following for simple rectification:

1) Email Clam

2) Replace all of the pull zippers with key rings.

[hookncook]

My formula for shacks are always take what THEY say and cut it in half. This goes for any of the box shacks.

In the store, there always is floor space, but toss in a heater, a few holes, rods, 200+ pound guys with gear on; and that space gets eaten pretty quick.

A 6 person shack is a 4 person shack

a 4 person shack is a 2 person shack... etc...