Insight from anglers with insulated hub houses

[pdk511]

Hey everybody,

I have a eskimo grand caravan shelter but no longer have access to a vehicle that can transport it (i drive a small car now). So earlier this year I picked up an eskimo quickfish 3 hub style shelter. I live in fargo, nd so pretty much anywhere I fish I deal with pretty decent wind. The other day I was fishing in about 30 mph wind and it was so cold I had the sunflower on high and had to keep my arctic armor on to stay warm.

I got this house for pretty cheap from someone and i think i could sell it and get all my money back, im just wondering if anybody who had fished in both thinks it would be worth it to upgrade to an insulated type house.

It would be nice to not have to burn through half a tank of propane to stay out on the ice, but if they aren't much warmer I probably wouldn't go through the hassle. Someone at scheels told me they were only 20% warmer but that seemed kind of low considering I have seen guys on here saying they don't even need a heater in some of them.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

[mrklean]

Get a insulated fatfish if you do, I have a QF3 and like it but when I need a new one I'm getting the fatfish. But then again 90% of time I use it for spearing and the dark interior is awesome.

[Summett]

Right off the bat, I have to say that I've never fished out of an uninsulated hub, so I can't really compare.

BUT...I do have a Frabil Predator insulated, and it is very warm (at least to me and my 7 yr old son). We pretty much fish in snow bibs/pants & a sweatshirt with a Big Buddy heater. The heater is rarely on higher than medium and I am constantly turning it on low or off because it gets too warm in there most days. The coldest we've fished together is -15 with winds gusting to 20 mi/hr and as long as we were in the fish house...we were just fine. Taking the time to push snow around the hub on those really cold days definitely helps.

Pros & Cons to either style (price, weight, warmer on warm days, etc.), but having a young fishing buddy...no way I would go without an insulated house. Just my

Edit: sorry...just realized that you were referencing "hubs" only. Can only imagine though, insulated would be better. Freezing while fishing just doesn't sound fun.

[jentz]

I'm using a Clam base camp full insulated,I had a uninsulated.The difference is out of anyones comprehension, till they are compared side by side which we did,back a few years. save fuel and go out when its real cold,Get insulated!!!

[Mistermojo]

I fished in an un-insulated fish trap, and switched to a fatfish 949i. I love it. It is warmer, quieter, and not all that much heavier than the non-insulated model. The only downside I have noticed is that if it's around 10* or below, the condensation in the air will start to frost up on the walls. Have not experienced the dripping people mention. The windows tend to get frosty as well, but there's no insulation there. In 30* weather and a standard buddy heater, you can pretty much go in a t-shirt. in 10* weather, the coat is open and gloves are off.

[DTro]

On my Clam Bigfoot the only downside I've came across is that when 10 degrees or colder, it will start to frost up a bit and it makes it much harder to pack up at the end of the day.

I'm sure a small fan would work wonders...

[ZachD]

-28 in my clam JM 5000 and stayed nice and warm with my sunflower on low

Like Dtro said only prob was getting it back in the bag I zipped it up the most I could brought it inside and packed it when it thawed

[JakeJ_Mn]

I started with uninsulated Eskimo flips and hubs(QF3 & QF6). I now own an Eskimo Flipmo2 Inferno and an Eskimo Wideone Inferno. I also bought a 949 Insulated Fatfish and a QF3 insulated.

There is a great difference in the warmth and condensation built up. I won't go back to uninsulated houses. Now just waiting for them to come out with a double insulated hub.

[EJ]

I also have the JM 5000 and almost never need to go above low setting on Big Buddy. Another plus to insulated Hub is that the thicker walls don't flap as much in the wind. Only con as mentioned is that when fishing in the snow they get wet on outside and I just lay on bag rather than in when packing up. Need to take out to dry when home anyway. Very happy with it.

[PurpleFloyd]

Just had my new Bigfoot 4000T today in the wind and and the cold.The hub actually surpassed what I thought it would be. It was not that hard to set up in the wind and it kept us warm with the big buddy on low most of the time. I did crank it to high for a while to see how warm it would get and we could have worn t-shirts in there if we had kept it on high.

There was one hub pole that was out of the pocket when we set it up for the first time today and of course it was on the side facing the wind that I had tied to the running board of my truck with a rope so it took some work to get back in the pocket since it was also anchored down.

I was less impressed with the Clam ice anchor drill attachment that I bought. I thought it was metal but on the 4th anchor the darn thing snapped in half and I had to finish that anchor and remove them at the end of the day by hand. I have no idea how it could have broken as easy as it did unless you are not supposed to use an 18v drill with it.

[pushbutton]

I use both. Warmer days…..15 to 20 ish and above….the uninsulated; bottom line, it's 30 lbs lighter. While the inevitable dripping in the non insulated is a PITA, the insulated houses "store" that moisture in the fabric and are a PITA to pack up at the end of the day and need to be dried out after use. Personally, that is a wash in my mind as far as the PITA's. Propane use/warmth is obviously a no brainer between the two.

PF, not trying to dump on clam; it is a great house, but start thinking about other ways to use your anchors…..x-mas tree ornaments? maybe fondue?…. they just suck, adaptor or not. Look into alternatives like the ice angels or even a competitors.