What do you think about the Eskimo Fatfish 6120i Insulated Ice Shelter?

[MidCoast]

I am thinking about getting one, but does anybody have experience with this shelter? Pros and Cons?

Do you prefer the Clam 1660 Mag Thermal, Jason Mitchell 5000 Thermal, or the Clam x4000t over it?

[jsr426hemi]

I bought one a few weeks ago on sale. Only used it once so far. Got it for when the ice here in north Iowa isn't thick enough for my permanent. It is really easy to set up. The self tapping ice anchors are easy to screw in by hand that came with it. Its not as tall as the clam's big one but that means less area to heat. I am 6'4” and I can stand up in the middle. I have two complaints. The two doors are very short. I have hard time twisting my frame through the door without tripping and the doors are hard to zip shut. Feel like I might break the pull tab trying to zip the door shut. It seems to heat well with the insulated fabric. Used a big buddy heater on medium on a cold day and it stayed warm.

[ZachD]

I have a JM 5000 The only thing I did not like is the anchors. They have already started to bend but I think it was due to fishing last year when it was warm in high wind they kind of melted out of the ice a little bit giving the strap more leverage to bend them. I do know I like the anchors on my uncles non insulated fatfish better they look chunkier and seem easier to screw in.

As for the doors being too tight it seems as most thermal hubs have this problem. I emailed clam about mine and it was an easy fix by removing the poles that border the doors and trimming a little bit.

I would think this would cure the eskimo zipper problem as well but I would suggest contacting them first.

[Mike Stark]

Anyone have any other reviews on this shelter?

 

Just saw the post below about the 6120i.

 

Thanks.

Edited October 27, 2015 by Mike Stark

[GillAssasin13]

Anyone have any other reviews on this shelter?

 

Just saw the post below about the 6120i.

 

Thanks.

Sorry if some of this seems out of context, I posted this in another thread on here a few days ago for a guy interested in the Fatfish 949i vs. an Otter of similar size. Hopefully it helps:

I previously had a Clam shelter this size, and upgraded to the Fatfish 6120I last winter after a ton of research. I went with the 6120 for the much bigger size (about 20 square foot more) without much of a price increase. We fish with 4 people when we use the hub, and this size was just a tad small. For 2 - 3 guys it was awesome. The 6120 is perfect for 4 and it would probably even be comfortable with 5 or 6 guys because of the shape (6 sided vs. 4). Not sure how big you want, but I would very highly recommend the 6120I after a season of heavy use last year.

When looking, I couldn't find anyone else with a shape like the 6120I (maybe I missed one or someone has one now?) so my decision was very easy. The YKK zippers were also a must after struggling with the zippers on the old one. It just didn't zip great when the shelter was up and fabric pulled tight. The YKK's are the best out there, IMO (not just for shelters either).

As for the black interior, this really is a preference thing. I actually wanted the black interior. We set the hub up over cribs we fish in 8-10 foot of water for crappies. The dark blocks the sunlight very well and helps the crappies act less spooked - another tip is to actually fill your hole with ice chips to block sunlight when in shallow water - but this is a whole other discussion =) - so I preferred this. When the windows are opened, it has more than enough light if we want to fish that way. We run a single LED lantern on the roof when it gets dark and it works great. Again, this is just a preference thing though and may not at all fit your needs! I know a lot of guys who actually 'black-out' the inside of their hub shelters, so this is a welcome feature.

[Mike Stark]

Just got this house in the mail yesterday.  This thing is NICE.  It has tons of space.  Easy set up and take down.  Eskimo has come a long ways since their first insulated house.  They beefed up the poles and made an over sized bag.  

Now we just need some ice! 

Edited November 5, 2015 by Mike Stark