Best one man portable?

[Kylersk]

I've got an otter lodge and love it but.. There are times when I wish I didnt have to lug the thing around. I'm thinking maybe I might want to get a one man portable as well? But I'm afraid I'll miss the extra room that I have with the lodge. I'd need the one man to have enough room for my Flasher, sunflower, lantern and 2 holes to fish from. Thoughts?

[skinnylee]

I had the same problem I have a fish trap voyageur now I bought a Eskimo Quick flipsport it has enough room for me and all my stuff and easier to move by myself

[jigginjerk]

I also have a quickflip sport but you will have to pick between the lantern and the sunflower because there is not enough room for both with two holes. But the lantern will work as a heater in this house unless it's 20 below.

[hovermn]

I just bought a Clam Pro. It has much more room than the other 1 man portables I've looked at. Before buying, I spent about an hour in Gander setting it up with everything I may use on the ice. Stuck a buddy heater, flasher and even a rod in the thing and layed it out. Seemed to have enough room for everything, including my feet I even stuck an auger in the sled to see how much would stick out! LMAO The seats are comfy and I like the idea of a gear tray. Small thing, but something nonetheless. Other 1 man's are 36" wide. The pro is 43. That little bit makes a HUGE difference!

I'm going to use it for the first time tomorrow morning and will report back with the results.

[Captain B.R.K]

Hovermn, nice choice on the one man house. I ran with a Fishtrap Pro since my beginning ice fishing days ( 4 yrs ago) and was very happy with it.

I now have the Fishtrap Scout and do miss the additional space you get with the Pro. It is practically the same house, but the house flips over the width way vs. the length way on the Scout. So there is some room (leg room) that is sacraficed in the Scout. HOWEVER the nice thing about the Scout is that the poles don't need to be extended in or out. Plus the seat is padded and after getting use to, it is a comfortable seat as well.

It too weights 43 or a few more than that pounds I believe.

If you are going to go with the Pro or Scout, you'll find that you can fish comfortably with the Buddy Heater and depth finder on the ice with no problems.

I'd recommend you buy Clam's runners for it to extend the life of your sled. Otherwise if you are pulling your sled on rough surfaces for any period of time, you'll be sorry for not putting on those runners.

[CatManLee]

Check out the Polar Sport 1-Man house. I can easily fit, my sunflower heater, 5 gallon bucket, Vexilar, Lantern, and have three holes drilled, plus I still have lots of leg room. The Polor Sport 1-Man is not as wide as the Pro mentioned, but it is longer @ 100" set up verses 78", so instead of more room on both sides, you have more room out in front of you. The Polar Sport is 35" inches wide, so there is still enough elbow room.

Just my 2-Cents

[nytelyter]

kylersk,, i should stop by and set up my otter den for you to check out i have it tricked out i am 6'3" and better than 325 it is great for me i still get to st boni quite often and do not plan on putting out the sleeper this year. e-mail me if you would like to see it.... paul

[email protected]

[mnfishman]

I would get the QFII if I were you. I own one and there is enough room for you, all your stuff including a heater and a lantern if you use one plus if someone is tagging along there is enough room for them as well. They are on sale at Sportsmans Warehouse for $280 and the St. Cloud Fleet Farm for $269.

[tightlines]

Otter 2 cabin. Best of both worlds.It is considered a large 1 man or a small 2 man. I love the extra space when alone and it is big enough for 2 when needed. It is also light enough that 1 person can lift it into the truck bed. The optional seats make this thing really comfy...

[LEECH21]

I have a FishTrap Pro and it works great. Or at least it did last year. Who knows about this year...because of the crazy warm weather I haven't made it out yet

[TJB]

I like the Fish Trap Pro the best.

[EBass]

Otter cottage! It's deeper than the den, but same length. Works great with the big buddy heater I picked up. It's pretty light as well when you're on your own. Now if it could catch me a walleye....

[vern]

Fish-Trap Pro! I have a Fish-Trap Guide also which is great as a 1-man or 2-man. Plenty of room for 2 guys & not a whole lot heavier.

[hovermn]

Well, I just got back from my first outting with the Fish Trap Pro. I like it! It has tons of room for anything you want to stick out in front of you. I had 2 holes, flasher, buddy heater and had room for another buddy heater and another hole if I wanted it! Of course, the third hole would be for the flasher :-) All of my gear fit into the sled and it was extremely easy to pull across the new wet snow this morning. With gear minus auger, I can lift it completely into the truck without problem, it's that light!

The door works great and there are plenty of windows. I like the pockets on the sides and the pouch below the seat works great for accs.. The gear tray was nice to have, too.

Now for some of the not so pretty things. The gear tray can be a pain when loading the sled, there's just no good place for it. I made it work fine, but there's a little more finess to loading than I'm use to. I wish the front window was just a couple inches higher. When looking out, you have to bend down to see the shore. Aka, Tip-up. It would be nice if the sled was just a hair wider (front to back when sitting in it) for easier loading. The support bar above the door could be a few inches higher. Getting in and out of the door is a task

Now some notes that I found. When loading, don't put anything in the gear pouch below the seat, it makes it hard to load stuff underneith. A gear bag for fishing poles, tip-ups and accs. would be nice for transport. I was also happy to find that my current double sided blue tackle boxes fit into the molded slots in the gear tray. Way to go, Clam! lol

Overall, I'm very happy with the house. I plan on keeping it in the truck to use right after work like I did this morning. It's easy to load and unload from the car, pull across the lake to your spot, and it's extremely roomy for a 1 person. You can't go wrong with the Fish Trap Pro

[ozzie]

I have a Pro and every time I go out I am happier and happier about that purchase and that was over a year ago!! My seat slides forward and backwards which I love cause I can stretch my feet and the seat itself is comfy. You can have the vex in one hole and then the sunflower in the other corner poles right next to me. One thing I added was I had my friend run wires through the top of the door poles and hooked up a auxilary dome light for a car and bring with an x-tra vex battery and then I have light!!!! Another plus with the pro are the pockets 1 on each side of the house plus a little rod/tackle/treats holder right under your seat..... For a one man fish house this is by far the best. Oh I also have 10 inch holes off set a little or side by side still keeps every thing inside with room to set the hook!! And the auger can lay right on top of the sled when out exploring.

[Gus]

Plenty of praise for the FT Pro here. I'll also add my .02 for the fish trap pro: GET ONE! They are great. If you have a buddy who also has one the traplink feature is GREAT!

I also love to use mine just as a wind break. I leave the rear expander pole in place and just tilt the rest of the shack up and it lays upright just past 90 degrees pretty darn well. I just drag it with me going from hole to hole.

[Bulldoggr]

Quote:

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I've got an otter lodge and love it but.. There are times when I wish I didnt have to lug the thing around. I'm thinking maybe I might want to get a one man portable as well? But I'm afraid I'll miss the extra room that I have with the lodge. I'd need the one man to have enough room for my Flasher, sunflower, lantern and 2 holes to fish from. Thoughts?

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Your thoughts are dead on. I went from a fish trap to the Otter Lodge, for the whole reasons you just stated. flasher heater aqua veiw. I have on occasion felt like you have but one time back out in the fish trap and those feelings are gone for the rest of the season

[koochiching]

If you plan on towing your one-man portable behind an ATV or snow machine, you really need that heavy, ultra-durable sled used by Otter and a few others...

But if - like me - you drive your vehicle to your fishing location, and you reposition your portable by pulling it by hand a maximum of a few hundred yards during most fishing trips, you really don't need that very heavy sled... in fact, loading and unloading an Otter portable from a pick-up box can be a real chore!

I had a spacious 2003 Frabill Ranger Solo, lots of room for one person and his large dog, or two persons on occasional outings... and the whole shebang weighed less than 65 pounds. The uninsulated swivel seat(s) is the best-designed seating in any portable unit. Period.

The current 2005 Ranger Solo has been improved and upgraded in just about every possible area... Frabill engineer Tim Makos and his team should win a prize for their brilliant upgrade of an already great design... insulated swivel seat, replaceable windows, separate ventilation window, improved windbreak mode, extended sealer flaps around the front and sides, with a chain pocket (I installed a 20' length of #2 chain, and it seals the bottom edge even when there is no snow on the ice.)

And the 4' wide R-12 bubble insulation from Menards fits perfectly when inserted between the tube supports and the heavy waterproofed tent fabric. I used exactly 10' to insulate the back wall and the entire roof, to 1" above the front door...

I use a Swedish folding cot from Cabela's for my tent camping (springs, a 2 1/2" thick mattress), and it sets up comfortably inside my new Ranger Solo unit.

IMHO, anyone looking for a spacious solo unit should take a look at this new Frabill Ranger Solo portable. The fact that it is priced at less than $300 complete is just a bonus... it's actually the best "portable" unit out there.

kooch

[Swimmer]

FT Pro. I use a stadium seat for times when the boss decides to join me. Of course, I'm stuck with the stadium seat and she gets the FT seat. THere seems to be just enough room to house two with accessories...don't think I'd want to share the space with a buddy though (Buddy heater OK).

[hanson]

Really like my Otter Den!