first time ice house purchase very soon

[zac_gerhardt]

I have spent more hours researching the perfect portable ice house for my needs. I think I am even more confused now then I was before I went to any store. I think I have settled on a clam explorer, that scheels claims to have exclusivity to. It is selling for $499.00 They say the only difference between voyager tcx and explorer is the fabric. Input would be optimal now. I am a bigger guy, never fish alone, pull the house out by hand, no 4 wheeler or snowmobile.

[Johnny_Magellan]

Not sure about he fabric off the top of my head.I'm thinking they're both still 600 D? But the seating's different. There isn't any side to side movement on the Explorer, whereas there is on the TCX. There's still plenty of room in both, though. You can't go wrong with a Clam, though.

[Tod Todd]

Zac take a look at the weight of just the shanty and then think of all the stuff that you may put in it for a day of fishing.

Auger, bait, rods, flasher, heater, cooler next you know you've added a hundred pounds now try pulling that through the snow.

One thing that helps is the Clam pulling harness (35.00) using the harness allows you to be hands free keeping your upper body forward using that momentum to help pull the heavy load.

If fishing alone you might think about a Scout or Pro.

[Jeff Andersen]

Zac,

I would strongly encourage you to stop by the St Paul ice show. Not only will you find the best deals but you can see all the fish houses on the floor. Many of us Ice Team guys will be there to chat shelters and ice fishing.

[JuanArellano]

I would go to the blaine show and then you can see what everyone has to offer and price, then you can get what you want before the season starts.

[zac_gerhardt]

I would go to the blaine show and then you can see what everyone has to offer and price, then you can get what you want before the season starts.

when is it?

I would strongly encourage you to stop by the St Paul ice show.

when is it

[Iambjm]

Blaine show is Nov 16-18th

St. Paul is Nov. 30 - Dec. 2nd

[zac_gerhardt]

Does the thermal tarp help that much

[harvey lee]

It will cut down on the propane use for sure.

It will also add some weigh to the portable as the fabric is heavier.

I can fish with another in my Canvas Craft insulated down to about 20 degrees as the body heat from 2 of us will be enough during the day without turning the heater on.

On the super cold days and evenings, it will heat up very toasty and with less gas again as it seems to retain its heat better.

For the added expense, if a person is going to use it say 3-4 times in a season, then due to the added cost it may not be worth it.

I use mine alot and would not go back to a portable without it.

[zac_gerhardt]

Thank you i will take that into consideration

[mww24]

The thermal fabric also keeps the condensation to a minimum. So the house doesn't drip water on you. The thermal also seems to not flap around and therefore is quieter on the windy days. Downside. Some thermal fabrics let a bit of light in where the two canvases are joined together. On my clam thermal you can see light coming through in the diamond pattern they use to join the canvases. If you do a lot of sight fishing and want the house as dark as possible you may not like that.On most thermal vs. non thermal houses the weight is not a huge difference. Probably less than ten pounds. I'd look more at what the weight is to begin with. Pulling a big 2 man house with gear may be over 200 pounds when all said and done. If money is not a huge deal I would buy thermal everytime. The goods outweigh the bads for most.