Full Thermal Portables

[Blackhawkxp]

I currently have a Otter wild cabin thermal top house. My question is do the full thermal houses stay alot warmer vs the thermal top versions? I have never been in a full thermal but i know in my portable i can pretty much fish in a lite sweatshirt and bibs with the buddy heater running on low/med. The shell does ice up quite a bit but other than that it stays pretty comfortable. Does a guy use quite a bit less heat/ propane in the full thermal? Does the extra cost of the full thermal offset the cost of heat? Would like to know what your experience has been.

[MikeH55343]

My new full thermal Otter Cabin will hit the lake for it's first trip this weekend. I've been fishing in a old green canvas Otter for the last 10 years. Pretty excited about the full thermal package.

I'll reply next week with my experience.

[dfeste]

As far as the cost I would say that fuel savings would not be equal to the extra cost of a full thermal for quite a long time. The two houses I have owned are my current full thermal from Canvas Craft and an old green Eskimo Quick Flip 2. The differences are quite apparent in the overall feeling inside the shelter as well as the required setting on the heater to stay warm.

This may seem a little contradictory but with the non insulated house there is always cold air penetrating the walls. With the thermal this is simply not there. While you will run the heater on a lower setting with the thermal I don't think the amount of fuel savings will be noticeable to most of us. Sure you'll use less propane but I would never notice it in my wallet.

I think the biggest pluses for the thermals are that they are far quieter and they simply feel warmer because you're not losing so much heat through the walls. I do know that I will never purchase another non insulated flip style house.

[TravP]

My wife get's cold easily but is comfortable in a sweatshirt and jeans in my full thermal Otter Lodge. That's with the big buddy on medium. Absolutely no condensation is a huge plus too.

[gonehunting]

In addition to what dfeste stated you will have far less condensation with the full thermal. In addition when going to full thermal in the Otter Line you get bucket seats and a heavier made sled. If you can afford to do the full thermal take the leap. You will never look back.

[Blackhawkxp]

Thanks for the input. I usually get pretty caught up with having the biggest, best, most expensive hype on certain things and then become disappointed when they dont pan out as advertised. I opted to go with the unisulated version last year because of the close out prices but wanted to know what i missed out on not having a full thermal house. I am pretty much satisfied with my current house but if i had to buy again it would be the full thermal.

[Iceboy]

I'm guessing full thermal's also won't blow around as much in the wind & be as loud - another thing to consider.

[lanningjw]

I'm guessing full thermal's also won't blow around as much in the wind & be as loud - another thing to consider.

I purchase the Pro Cabin last season. and "yes" it was so much quiter while out on the flats in the big winds. The flapping is limited by the thicker material.

[Grainbelt]

If you are already fishing without your coat on with your heater on low, there would be no advantage fuel consumption wise. I have a Canvas Craft full thermal and I also run my buddy on low but have to have the door cracked open because it is too warm.

When I bought mine I was going from the CC yellow/black suitcase house to the fully thermal pull over. I had a big difference in fuel consumption and comfort, well worth the extra money.

[DRH1175]

If your thermal top house is in great shape I don't think you would see enough difference as most heat escapes thru the top. However, If you were to buy a new house, full thermal is the only way to go. I am still fishing out of my original Fishtrap non thermal and love it. I will be selling it though soon and buying either the full thermal Frabill Predator or Otter lodge pro 900.

[Blackhawkxp]

Yeah I cant really complain about the thermal top. I was out in -4 temps last night with no wind. I set it up and turned the big buddy on high for about 10 minutes and then set to medium for the remainder of the night. Fishing in hooded sweatshirt and bibs and @ times that is almost too much. Now if the wind was whipping it might be a different story. I will admit dragging the big buddy and 20lb tank along is a bit cumbersome and that was the reason for my question.

[slurpie]

Never been in a thermal top only,but a question is does the top drip? If not then you already could have the benefit of thermal.

[Blackhawkxp]

No the roof stays dry it is just the sides that sweat and freeze in real cold temps.

[Capt. H (Ret.)]

Fuel usage won't make a difference unless you run out. I had an Otter Lodge, the green one, and I heated it with a 5 lb. tank and a sunflower head and it worked fine. Sometimes the wind did make it a little noisy inside. Once in a great while condensation would form on the inside but not very often. I am going to buy a Otter Pro Cabin this week-end and the only reason is I don't care for the bench seat in the Wild.

Mike

[dan z]

I have a thermal top cabin and am really impressed with how warm it is. Hooded sweat shirt is what I can fish in no matter the temp. 20° or less and the sunflower goes on medium with the top if the door open and both vents open. Love my house!

[dashtek]

This is a good thread, thanks for the info and opinions. I am currently debating between the Otter Pro Cabin and Otter Wild Cabin. I am curious if anyone has info on how hard either of these are to pull by hand and foot? Am I going to die pulling a 100lb thermal house? I am trying to keep my gear light, I have a bucket with my tackle in a single tray, poles and a scooper. I am also going to pack a little buddy heater and gas auger. That is all I plan on bringing. I don't drive on the local lakes usually, I generally walk around a bit.

Would I be just as good with the thermal top Wild Cabin for less money? Will my llittle buddy heater heat that house or will a need a sunflower and bigger propane tank?

I have a $500 gift card so trying to debate $50 out of pocket for the Wild Cabin or $230 out of pocket for the full thermal.

[Blackhawkxp]

If money is no object I would probably go with the full thermal. I tried the medium size buddy heater and returned it and bought the big buddy heater. I have the Wild Cabin and the medium buddy just wouldn't keep up on the real cold days with wind. 85% of the time the smaller heater would be fine but we haven't hit the cold part of the year yet. The wild Cabin is only around 20lbs lighter I believe so if it is a weight thing only I would go full thermal. You may want to hold off till end of season. I saved around $250 on the Wild Cabin and that is the main reason I went that route.

[Gillfisher]

I got the Otter Pro Cabin this year, I personally would not pull it by hand it is well north of 100 pounds with gear and is difficult to load in the back of a pick up empty without some sort of ramp due to the shape of it more than the weight. The full thermal is extremely nice in wind and cold, I can not leave the Buddy Heater on low for very long at all even with coat off. My advise, it is cheaper to get the full thermal now rather than later. I have the Hyfax kit on mine and that seems to help on how easy it slides around on snow and ice.

[DRH1175]

What about the Clam Jason Mitchel Pro Thermal vs the clam Pro TC? Thermal cap vs Full thermal? Wonder how much difference that would make.

[Northlander]

I have both Otters, 1 wild and Pro full thermal. I notice the difference between the 2. The thermal top Wild is much warmer than my old non insulated and the full thermal pro series is warmer yet. As far as not noticing the propane savings I disagree. i know the winters are getting warmer but I would say I used about 1/3 less propane since getting my Otter Pro series full thermal. I love it and wont go back to a non insulated house again.

[otterman91105]

I would have to agree. With the full thermal the house stays warm therefore my heater is always on a lower setting then it was with my non insulted house.

[cavalierowner]

This is my second season with a 4x8 CanvasCraft suitcase style house. I debated a long time about getting the insulated version because it was about $200 more. Now that I have it, I would never buy an uninsulated version again. For me it's not so much about using less propane, it's all about not having condensation dripping on me. I HATE the condensation dripping in my uninsulated portable.

I have a Portable Buddy heater with just a high and low setting. I put it on high to warm the house up, then it goes down to low after about 10 minutes. If it's above zero, I have to leave the door partly unzipped to keep it from getting too hot. With a difference of $200, I imagine it would take a lot of years to save that much propane if you're using the 20# cylinders.

[IamZombie]

I've got a Clam Nanook thermal, I really like it. I had a sunflower heater but I had to replace that with a portable buddy because even on low that sunflower was way too hot. The windows will get condensation on them, but not the rest of the house.

[otterman91105]

Same thing i have had condensation on the windows but no where else. Would not go back to a house without the insulation.

[minnesotathorn]

i have the clam 1 man big mouth full thermal. only condesation is on windows. only use the smaller buddy heater on low facing across my ice holes. too warm pointd at me. set it on a piece of old heavy rug & pretty much ended the swimming pool on the ice. wouldn't ever go back to uninsulated house.