Best flip over fish house opinion

[buddha]

Ok, I know this is a can of worms but I'm gonna ask for pros and cons of what people have already.

I have a clam yukon that's close to 10 yrs old and is showing its age. I have no issues with Clam, just checking to see some other opinions of likes/dislikes with the other brands.

I would like it to fit in the back of my truck so 65" or less, I fish two people and normally use it behind a wheeler, I very seldom hand drag my house. I will go thermal and have fished in a brand new clam two person(forgot model) and it was wonderful.

So, if anyone has good or not so good experiences with any of the big brands I very much appreciate it, I'm likely to pull the trigger at the end of the season, I will make my current house work and then fix it up for a spare.

Again, I know there will be lot's of loyalty flags being waved, but I've never fished in anything other than Clam so I'm curious what the others offer.

Thanks,

buddha

[picksbigwagon]

I just bought an Otter cabin pro 1200 thermal house. It just barely fits in the back of 65" ford f150 truck bed. I have yet to put the buddy heater on high. Seating is awesome, we have a sportsman's caddie too ( worth the $). The tarp is heavy enough that I have only used all the wind poles once so far, 25 mph winds that day. Seating height is perfect, I don't like sitting down down down like I did in clams when shopping. To me, otter makes the best house out there

[DTro]

I've been in a lot of houses and to date the best overall is last years model 900 Otter Thermal. I assume this year's 1200 is just as good, but never have been in one so I cannot comment.

Based on your preferred dimension you would be looking at the Cabin size (66"L). This will fish 2 guys comfortably. The Lodge model is longer at 76" but has noticeably more space and will fish 3 people if needed.

Basically if someone gave me a blank check and told me to go by any portable flipover I wanted, it would be an Otter Lodge Thermal.

Canvas Craft is also a good option, but you will have to wait a bit (ordering) and pay a premium for their customization. I've fished out of CC houses and the canvas is awesome. The poles they use didn't overly impress me though. Not saying they are bad or less reliable, but the Otter poles just feel a lot beefier and more sturdy.

Good Luck, lots of good options out there, and what you might find is that there is no perfect house, there will be pros/cons with every single one.

[JoeTC]

The otter sleds have the best leading edge for being pulled behind a sled/atv and theyre tough as nails. I hit some bad slush with my snowmobile and had to punch it through with my otter behind me and the thing was getting pounded and was bouncing everywhere, to my amazement the house and all my gear was unharmed. I've also pulled my house out twice this year at about -20F and I had no issues with any of the poles or windows which I can't say about other houses I've used in those conditions.

Joe

[dan z]

I have a otter xt600 grey camo on my 3rd season and it is the best house I have sat in. The only flaw is that the back of the bench is a hair to high and I can't reach the bottom of the tub. I have installed broom clip on the back side of the bench to hold the support poles and underneath the seat is four more clips to hold 2 frabill tip ups. I have 2 sets of led lights zip tied to the center and forward poles for lights the connect to a battery held by a clam bracket. The hyfax kit does wonders also. And the large clam organizer is a must because there is a lack of pocket storage.

[aanderud]

I've owned an older eskimo quickflip 3 for years, and for the last 3 years an otter lodge xt900 thermal. I've fished in a clam yukon, a frabill something-or-other, and a few of the hub style houses. The otter xt900 is my favorite of everything I've fished in. Nice seats (bought a third to go with the two it came with), nice tarp (rarely need the wind support poles, light colored interior is nice for lighting, quiet in the wind, etc), extremely warm (rarely turn the big buddy past low), and durable sled (pulled behind a snowmobile at sometimes high speeds for years now, and see no signs of wear other than the rust on the hitch bracket)

The only gripe I have with the unit is that it won't fit under a tonneau cover, no matter the length of your pickup bed. The brackets/poles get in the way, it's just a few inches too tall. I drive a dodge ram. Seems to me that they could design the brackets such that it's a few inches shorter, but who knows.

[Northlander]

In my opinion I believe the Otter 1200 full thermal to be the best house out there. Best canvas and thermal properties, best sleds, best seating arragement and most versatile and the poles stay nice and easy to use no matter how cold.

I have been fishing in down to -26 real temps this year in my Otter 1200 Thermal Cabin and have only been running my lil buddy heater. Plenty warm and no dripping of condensation on my head and no wind flapping noises to bother you.

I have sold more Otters after guys have fished in mine than I can count.

If you fish 1 guy mostly and a second every so often get the Cabin. If you fish mostly 2 guys get the Lodge.

If you pull with a sled or wheeler get the nOtter tow bar and flip hitch adapter. You will love it.

The sportsmans caddy is a awesome add on and I wont fish with out mine. Just about everything tackle and tool wise goes in it. Cup and bait holders.

Good luck in whatever you buy and stay warm.

[Dave]

Canvas Craft is also a good option, but you will have to wait a bit (ordering) and pay a premium for their customization.

I believe the price reflects from using premium fabric plus, it's USA manufactured. While Canvas Craft uses 3M's Thinsulate, I've been searching to find out what insulation material is used in other "thermal" shelters but have come up empty. Does anyone know?

[Esox_Magnum]

I went to an Otter XT650 Lodge this year after 8 years with an Eskimo QFIII, was out in the open in 40+ mph winds and it was rock solid and easy to manage alone, something I could never have done with my old shack. Pulls easy by hand if needed, my only regret is waiting so long to upgrade... I also have a 3 year old clam 1 man that was a huge waste of money, it works but is not durable...

[MNCPRGUY]

I cannot argue with the other posters. Otter makes a nice and solid shelter. I looked hard at them and the Frabill shacks but I ultimately settled on a Jason Mitchell thermal X as it was the lightest. It has served me well and I have added several mods. I don't pull it by hand but loading it into the truck bed is still a beast. My next mod will likely be a winch in the truck bed!

Good luck finding what works best for you.

[FISHINGURU]

Canvas Craft FTW

P.S...Canvas Craft uses Otter Sleds, so all the sled toughness comments are the same for the Canvas Crafts.

P.S.S...The Otter poles are bigger and beefier but also seem harder to collapse and sometimes get stuck, the Canvas Craft poles are round and slimmer which give them more play. I think the Canvas Craft poles would break before the Otters would but I've had a couple Canvas Crafts now and have had no issues with poles fishing in gale force winds on Mille Lacs and Rainy.

If you can wait a few days I'd go with Canvas Craft, If you want to just go into a store check them out and leave with one I'd go with Otter, either one is very nice.

[highlife4me]

If you would happen to damage a CC pole, which would be very difficult, you could make one yourself if you couldn't wait for one to be shipped to you. Would only take 10 minutes with a saw and a drill and pipe bender if needed.

I have had my CC double flip for three years now. It is too big if fishing alone but works great for 2 - 4 people. I also have the Otter rail system so I use the Otter seats and caddy. Conveniance of a portable but with the room of a permanent.

[Greenhornet84]

No one mentioned the side door frabil? Haven't been in one but I thought they were worth a look

[Eric_Kruger]

I had an otter and loved it, sadly it was heavy and I'm a walker so pulling it got to be a chore. I also had a clam scout for years. Awesome little shack, light, quick to set up, and quality fabric. This year I switched to an Eskimo inferno wide one, and have to say Eskimo stepped up their game the last few years, nothing like the old houses! Check out the flip mo 2 inferno, tons of room since it's built on a 3 man sled, insulated, poles stay on the frame so no freezing, big alum frame.... Def back In the race with otter and clam if you ask me!

[kfk]

I have a Jason Mitchell Thermal X and love it.

[DarthBaiter]

I also have a Jason Mitchell Thermal X and so far so good. My second season with it. I like it has a front and rear door (nice for tossing gear or whatever into sled once it's set up). I think new this year is a beffier extruded sled and now comes with led's built into a tube so you can cut one of your hoop poles and insert the "light stick" or get some clips and just connect it that way if cutting a hoop pole seems risky (comes with wire harness and alligator clips for easy connection). Plus it has the 3 LED's to mount onto sled. Bottom line, has a lot of light options that come with it out of the box to set up any way you want.

The only thing I wish they would have used is a higher quality zipper like they use on the Eskimo line (YKK). I think clam uses the cheapest China zipper you can get. I used some zipper lube and that seemed to make not feel so rigid and weak. Despite the description on the clam site that says the TOP is thermal, the WHOLE tent is thermal and also the HSOforum says it weighs only 110 lbs. but I know it's more like 130 or better. Come on clam, fix the typo's and sitch to YKK zippers!! The instructions suck but that may be the case with all. I have yet to see any product provide great instructions.

[kerryd15]

I have the frabill ambush side door. Still getting used to setting it up, but seems very warm. heater was on low today. not sure how it will handle in high winds. First time out with it we lost a stretcher pole down the hole. I used a hose clamp in each corner now so the stretcher pole cant slide sideways and unhook from the frame. Very nice to get in and out of with multiple people. Lots of room up front VS my voyager. Fished 3 people in there today.

[southender]

Otter/canvascraft because of the tubs. Otter tubs are very tough. I was able to destroy a otter tub, but it took years of abuse. No other tub can be customized like a otter tub. The custom bench seat I built is just like sitting on the couch. I don't pull by hand so weight is not a problem.

[buddha]

Wow, thanks for all the great responses, so I'm glad I asked. I know many of you are hardcore during ice and Otter seems to have a great track record. I still welcome all points of view, this will help others too.

[dil]

Buddha,

First of all thanks for the complement on my Clam fishhouse in your original thread. I am a fan of the Voyager tcx that you have fished out of. As you know, it is big, and I don't think it will fit in your truck bed. I am a big fan of this house, but will say, it was my first and setting it up, installing the tent, I have learned a bit about where to give slack in the tent so it fits tighter to the ice. (a few rookie mistakes). Also, the transition between the tub and the tent could be better. It seems like the design creates an opening that lets the wind in. This could have been designed bettter. Anyway, I am very happy with this house. AND I have had a few interactions with the CLAM customer service people and they far exceeded my expectatons. That matters a lot to me. I haven't fished in the Otter houses, but if you buy one, I better get to!!

See you at the extravaganza!! Stop by early, even though we plowed EVERYTHING last night, parking spots will fill up fast!

[harvey lee]

Canvas Craft FTW

P.S...Canvas Craft uses Otter Sleds, so all the sled toughness comments are the same for the Canvas Crafts.

P.S.S...The Otter poles are bigger and beefier but also seem harder to collapse and sometimes get stuck, the Canvas Craft poles are round and slimmer which give them more play. I think the Canvas Craft poles would break before the Otters would but I've had a couple Canvas Crafts now and have had no issues with poles fishing in gale force winds on Mille Lacs and Rainy.

If you can wait a few days I'd go with Canvas Craft, If you want to just go into a store check them out and leave with one I'd go with Otter, either one is very nice.

I would agree that the Otter poles are harder to work than the CC ones. Has to have something to do with the shape of the poles. My square Otter poles have never worked easily, maybe I need to do more with them as they could be binding some. The round poles in my CC are so easy to use, I push the button and they almost fall on there own. I did bend one CC pole but that was all my fault, easily replaced by CC.

Of course the tub is an Otter tub on the CC so you have the best tub on the market on the CC portable.

My CC insulated is probably about 5-6 years old and have yet to break or crack a window. No zipper issues either.

CC was also the first to come out with the insulated house and the white interior is awesome to seeing and easy to light up with lights.

I had a heater issue one day and burnt a rather large hole in the front side of the house. Called CC and in 2 days, I had a large enough of a piece to have my wife sew it in.

The skirt that runs from each corner at the bottom and comes across the front of the tub is nice as it cuts all the wind out from coming in the corners.

To be honest, I use to use my Otter Lodge alot until I got my CC house. Now my Otter gets used maybe once a year.

I cannot speak of the others like Frabil as I have not owned one of them for years.

I have seen alot of issues with other brands in these forums but I have yet to see a complaint about the quality of the CC house. Not they CC could not have an issue, I simply have not read one in the forums.

For me, the best on the market and one of the best built is the CC house.

Yes, you may have to order one and wait a bit to recieve it but I would guess the reason for that is they are so busy building more houses.

[shamus]

What do the CC flips cost? All I can find on their site is what is listed for fabric and frame on the "single flip over," but that doesn't include the sled.

[fsnrod]

Call'em they will help you.

[RiverChuckNorris]

I'm on my 3rd season in my Frabill Thermal Predator. In comparison to the Otter, I believe the main downside would be that the sled is formed from a heated and pressed piece of plastic (vs. being roto-molded) thus making it (potentially) weaker and less flexible. It is also a bit heavier I believe than the 1200.

I purchased it as I liked the chair setup better (no rail, just two collapsable) and the sled itself was a bit deeper. I am willing to put up with the extra bulk as a tradeoff for having a bit more room to pile in gear as I never fish alone and only pull it with a snowmobile (1 time was all it took to learn pulling by hand is not worth it (at least alone)).

It does fit in the back of my short-box F150 (5 1/2 foot) because I have the bed-extender option (plastic fold down gate that rests on the tailgate). Even with the Otter (1200), I believe you'll need a 6 1/2 foot bed to fit a house flush with the tailgate closed (my buddy's Otter just fits in the back of his Chevy 6 1/2 foot with no room to spare).

Thus far, the sled seems to be wearing well (I don't presently have hifax runners on it although plan to install next year) and my trips include an annual run to Ely, URL and multiples to ML, all of which involve miles of towing.

The only issue I've had thus far happened last weekend up in Ely. Not sure if it was the cold (Friday night on the lake at 8:30 PM was -18) or something else but one of the windows literally cracked. The good news is they velcro right on so I'll be ordering a new window online this week.

Good Luck with the purchase and enjoy, Thermal is fantastic!

[JakeJ_Mn]

I currently own an Eskimo Flipmo 2 Inferno and a Eskimo WideOne Inferno. Both great flips warm and poles work fine. I have used both several times this winter.

I had an Otter Cabin 1200 Pro Insulated, but traded with my son. It also was a nice house.

I have had other Otters and Eskimos that were equally nice, but uninsulated.

The insulated ones make a world of difference in warmth and lessen most of the condensation.