What's your favorite kids portable?

[Lawrence Luoma]

My daughter just turned one last month and my family fishing days on the ice will have to change to more kid friendly environment for the years to come. Which portable is your favorite for entertaining kids?

[Kevan Paul]

Any of the hub shelters will work great for you and a child. They offer lots of extra room. The Summit FLR works nice and it has a floor. Most of the time I run my Command Post but there is 4 of us.

[lundguy]

I agree with the hub house. I use a 6X6 when its just the boy and me and the 6X12 if he or I bring friends. Both are from Cabalas and have work great for year. The only thing I will say is make sure the thing is tied down good. Last year we almost lost the small house when the wind came up in a hurry.

[Matt Breuer]

We have a Base Camp Thermal, and there's plenty of room for my boy to play trucks or build snow contraptions when he's not fishing. If we're serious, and on a short trip, I bring his Batman chair or a Clam Cooler Chair with me and set it up next to me in my ProTC. He fits great. Wouldn't want to do that all day though, it's not exactly roomy, but it's comfortable on a serious little trip!

[Tony Mariotti]

I second the Base Camp Thermal for planning an afternoon or evening out with the family. I like the ability to have an area for toys, games and away from wet feet, yet it is still heated. For a quick outing, I will bring my Thermal X flip over and it is just fine for my daughter and I. If she wants to color she just crawls in the sled with her blanket and coloring books or sits with her feet under the chair and uses the chair as a table.. Both are nice for keeping the heater away from the kids, and giving enough room to still be able to fish and bring all the necessary snacks, toys and treats.

[Gus]

Here is what I have done. I have a Yukon. I purchased foam puzzle piece floor mats which I use as a floor when out with the kid(s). I Put the mats together 3 across the tub, then 1 on each end leaving only 1 open hole in the middle. I fish with Just 1 hole when the kid(s) are there. We take turns. Too many holes for the younger ones and you are asking for trouble. I only go to lakes where I know I can keep them busy, with 1 hole even taking turns it's not hard to keep them entertained then. I almost never get to fish myself, but that isn't what this is about. It's about the kid(s).

The floor pieces really make it warm, and less likely for them to slip and fall. The square with snow open in the middle and the hole is the offlimits for walking. It's easy, and the kids do it naturally. Much less likely to have a wet boot this way. I put the heater in the corner next to me and away from the zipper side of the door. Makes burns much less likely as the kid would need to completely cross me to get to the heater. I use a buddy and keep it plenty warm for them. usually they can take off the winter jacket but keep the boots and snowpants on even though I am down to a tee shirt.

Use the underwater camera, but if you do make that hole outside the shack right next to where you sit and cover it with a hole cover or something visable. It's easy to stick your hand under and adjust and the hole is not inside the shack where the kids can get into it. Cameras are fun for all of us. If no camera, don't be afraid to explain the Vex/Marcum. My 4 year old started to understand it then. He's 6 now and can fish with it himself.

Snacks and drinks, and don't be afraid to pack up when they say they are done. It can be a great time out there but only do what they can handle. I've had nightmare days where we only stayed 15 minutes. Both him and I fell in a hole and we didn't catch a fish. When he said time to go, no arguments from me. That day just started out bad to begin with!

One of the best things I did was get back into the Permie sceen also. I built an 8x10 and that is really awesome with the kids. More room, warmer, and much less to do to setup/ takedown when the kids are antsy. I ran 12V in there so they can play with their DVD players etc. That keeps me fishing longer now.

Good luck. It's a lot of fun seeing them learn all this great stuff.

[muskE]

Here is what I have done. I have a Yukon. I purchased foam puzzle piece floor mats which I use as a floor when out with the kid(s). I Put the mats together 3 across the tub, then 1 on each end leaving only 1 open hole in the middle. I fish with Just 1 hole when the kid(s) are there. We take turns. Too many holes for the younger ones and you are asking for trouble. I only go to lakes where I know I can keep them busy, with 1 hole even taking turns it's not hard to keep them entertained then. I almost never get to fish myself, but that isn't what this is about. It's about the kid(s).

The floor pieces really make it warm, and less likely for them to slip and fall. The square with snow open in the middle and the hole is the offlimits for walking. It's easy, and the kids do it naturally. Much less likely to have a wet boot this way. I put the heater in the corner next to me and away from the zipper side of the door. Makes burns much less likely as the kid would need to completely cross me to get to the heater. I use a buddy and keep it plenty warm for them. usually they can take off the winter jacket but keep the boots and snowpants on even though I am down to a tee shirt.

Use the underwater camera, but if you do make that hole outside the shack right next to where you sit and cover it with a hole cover or something visable. It's easy to stick your hand under and adjust and the hole is not inside the shack where the kids can get into it. Cameras are fun for all of us. If no camera, don't be afraid to explain the Vex/Marcum. My 4 year old started to understand it then. He's 6 now and can fish with it himself.

Snacks and drinks, and don't be afraid to pack up when they say they are done. It can be a great time out there but only do what they can handle. I've had nightmare days where we only stayed 15 minutes. Both him and I fell in a hole and we didn't catch a fish. When he said time to go, no arguments from me. That day just started out bad to begin with!

One of the best things I did was get back into the Permie sceen also. I built an 8x10 and that is really awesome with the kids. More room, warmer, and much less to do to setup/ takedown when the kids are antsy. I ran 12V in there so they can play with their DVD players etc. That keeps me fishing longer now.

Good luck. It's a lot of fun seeing them learn all this great stuff.

+1 on the permie.

We did the Clam pop-up with a rubber puzzle floor 3 years ago and it worked well but I always had a healthy paranoia about the hole. I too only drilled one and camped out over schools of potato chips for constant action.

Last year I got a small 6x8 permie with removable wheels which was way better. She stayed warmer, enjoyed it more by being able to move around more and lay on the floor if she wanted, has 12v power if she wants to watch a DVD, and I can control the hole openings with trap doors that keeps her and her stuff from rolling in (I enjoy this the most). I have a small Honda 1000 generator that I fire up a small microwave and she gets a major rush out of making popcorn on the ice. We're out there much longer, have more fun, and don't have to fret too much about setup/ teardown when she changes her mind about wanting to be out there.

She's 6 yrs old now and starting to get into the sled thing so we parked on the bank and took the "long way" to the permie and back when we're done. She has been asking about going ice fishing for about a month now so I hope to keep building on her enthusiasm and may have her "help" pimp the permie some more. If you see a small shack with incomplete pink paint on the lower 3' of some sides this season stop by and say, "Hi."

[pushbutton]

+2 on the perm for kids as well as packing all the non ice fishing necessities.......

If its not in the cards financially or logistically.... get the largest portable you can work with as far as transportation to and on the ice. No, it does not have to be big, but usually the larger it is the longer you will be out. Having said that a lot will depend on the child....my 8 year old god daughter could sit in a flip over for 12 hours straight completely dialed in while my 6 year old boy loses interest in minutes. Like Gus, I also use the "puzzle mats" and would recommend them to anyone that has a floor less porty....kids or not! A great recent addition has been a cheap lightweight cot. While these two items do take up some transportation space they weigh next to nothing and REALLY help for the warm and dry factor, which is one of the biggest things to take into account with the little critters.

If you are new to the kid game also would advise you to bring a big bag full of lowered expectations and patience. It will not be like ice fishing in the old days with your buddies, somedays it will be hard to fish much at all. But don't burn them out. Start slow, take the time to go out and play with the slusher.....and, by the way, buy a few more of them, you will need a spare ....kids are genetically programmed to "lose" them down the hole