Arctic VS Ice Armor

[Loft]

I'm looking at purchasing either the Arctic Armor or the Ice Armor X suit for next year. I believe they are both good/great suits, but what are the pros and cons of each suit?

[Powerstroke]

There's about an 8 page discussion on the pros of the Arctic Armor a few pages back. I'll try to find it.

In short, many will agree that the weather proofing and the warmth of the two suits are pretty comparable. I do think the the ice armor has an edge because of the different layers involved and also the abundance of velcro and zippers to make it easy to get in and out of the suit and also for "nature's calls". I think you'll find the Artic armor to be superior and to their advantage they came out after the other 2 brands and therefore had the advantage of seeing the other dsesigns and improving on them.

Oh yeah, one "minor" detail about the Artic Armor.....IT FLOATS!! The other suits don't do that. IMO since they are all in the same price range, you are well served to get the floatation suit. It does everything the other suits do and more.

If you couldn't tell, I do own a Artic Armor suit and I love it. I've worn it in the below zero temps and in the mid 30's and I've been very satified. It cuts the wind and elements, is waterproof for cutting holes and for kneweling on the ice. Many of the guys I sought advice from loved it and use it for everything form open water fishing spring and fall to 4-wheelin and snomobiling in the winter. I love my Artic Armor and my wife loves that it floats. No she doesn't worry as much when I head out early and late in the year.

[Jim Hudson]

The past three years, Ice Armor has been my outerwear, and I have been very impressed with it's warmth, windproofness, waterproofness, and durability.. Being on the ice almost everyday of the ice season in all types of elements.. Has shown that this stuff is the real deal for what I do... More and more improvements are being made to this line of ice fishing outerwear. The extreme suit has two seperate jackets plus breakdown bibs that can be turned into regular pants. The double layered jacket system is great for those really cold days. Not a lot of layering is needed to stay warm when wearing both jackets in unison... Actually, for myself, 99% of the time I never wore the interior jacket. But the interior jacket is what I have been wearing now, because the high temps just do not allow me to be comfortable in the outer jacket. Through on the light jacket and your bibs and your set... Combine these suits with the fleece hat, gloves or mittens, and some good quality boots.. Your bullet proof to the elements on the ice..

But with that, from the reports I have heard on the Arctic Armor.. I am gathering you will get the same as I have experienced. With the floatation, I see that they do float.. But what I am curious to see and hear, as I havent heard this yet.. Is how much weight do they float? Do they have enough buouyancy to float a body vertical (the pictures I see are all horizontal) like a Mustang immersion suit? And are they registered as a PFD?

Either way, I am sure you will be impressed with the element cutting technology these suits bring us ice fisherman...

[rocki]

I also went with the ice armor, i picked up a set this year late in the season for 250 bucks, best investment other then a vex! Great suit, absolutly no regrets!

[hoppe56307]

I have the Strikmaster bibs, and they are worth looking at as well.

[TycoCowboy]

I went with the Ice Armour X. Love it, tons of pockets, totally warm even at LOTW when it was minus 39 windchill. Best of all it's Clam Corp. If you ever have a problem with any of their stuff, drop by the factory and ride the red carpet of excellent customer service.

[pegleg]

Jim, I am curious about the flotation amount of Arctic Armor also so what I promised my buddies is to "test" it on April 27th or 28th when we are out at Waubay in South Dakota. I will let you know if it holds up a 6'3", 240# body or if I sink into the muddy waters of Waubay. It is not listed on any of the labels as being an approved PFD so I would say no to that question.

[BoxMN]

I'm going to wait to test mine until some time into June, off the dock at the cabin

[mjhowe]

I believe the large size will float 287 pounds, bibs and jacket combined. Read that somewhere, perhaps on IDI's HSOforum...they make the Arctic Armor.

Run dont walk to Walleye Dans HSOforum and buy the ARCTIC ARMOR suit. It outperforms the others even without the flotation aspect.

[Loft]

They state that 8.8 ounces of Insultex™ can float approximately 287 pound of body weight. Now the question is how much Insultex is in a suit?

[ArcticArmor1]

I just wanted to post this message to answer your questions regarding INSULTEX. The actual amount of INSULTEX in each suit varies according to the size of the suit. All of our suits (even our new X-Small) have quite a bit more than the 8.8 ounces that was tested and was found to float 287 pounds of body weight. Our suits do not have PFD certification, nor have we made any attempt to go that route. Coast Guard certification involves quite a bit of time and money, which eventually gets passed along to the consumer. We felt it was more advantageous to make this affordable to everyone immediately. I have testimonials from people who have fallen into the water and have lived to tell the story. These are people who have held onto their augers knowing there is substantial buoyancy for both. I can personally tell you that I am not the best swimmer, and I have tested and re-tested our suits countless times and always found the suits kept me on 'top' of the water with no need to tread.(I am 5'10", 200 pounds) I even tested the jacket alone, and found that it kept me floating. I fully understand there are, and will always be, skeptics and consumers who believe in the offerings of our competitors. We strongly believe that if YOU examine all of the features we offer versus that of the competition, you will find our products superior. I have examined the suits from our competitors and found all of them to be of fine quality. Again, I would like to thank those of you who have complimented our suits on various forums here and I will continue to monitor and answer any questions you may have...

[harvey lee]

I purchased an Ice Armor suit early winter and it is one great suit. I only see one problem with it and thats that it will not float myself if I fall in. Next winter I will be purchasing the Artic Armor suit for the security incase I have that bad accident. Every one that has purchased a new Artic Armor has been very pleased with it. SO, why not myself also.

[Cyberfish]

How is it for fishing in heavy rain? I already have the blue ice suit, though I got it for only 98 bucks on sale last year. I am pretty happy, my only disappointment is the zippers are poor IMO. they seem kind of cheap for the price.

I am going to use the blue suit for boat fishing, but don't like trying to get my PFD over it.

Thats why I am interested in the Arctic suit. I am guessing it would be good rainwear, and I would not need to wear my PFD because of built in flotation, right? How is the arctic armor for hypothermia protection if I am in cold water?

For 100 bucks more I could get a mustang suit that would keep me warm in cold water and is coast guard approved. I don't know how they do in the rain though.

[guide2live]

I work for WalleyeDan, and I wore the Artic Amror almost eveyday this winter. I was on the ice in -48 wind chills and +30 warmth, and this suit does it all!! I put it through all siguations and it worked great! It is extremely wind resistant. My Artic Armor really took a beating this winter, matter of fact it is almost black with dirt and auger exhaust, and nothing has been wrong with it. It is the best on the market, and I look forward to using it for early walleyes and late fall!!