Frabill & 3m team up on new huts!

[Ed Carlson]

3M and Frabill have teamed up on two new versions of the GT Magnums and Fortess packages, insulated with the new Thinsulate material R-2Tec.

The lightweight insulation has the added benifit of being fireproff, a handy deal for our Canadian friends whom need this feature to keep up with new regulations. Face it, fireproofing a shack is just a wise deal no matter what Eh.

The controlled tests at -10 with a -36F windchill showed as much as a 38 deg increase in heat retention with this new R2-Tec material.

They are avalable in the Mag and Fortress packages this season.

[lookincalifornia]

cool, my dad works for 3M. perhaps he can get me a discount

[JP Z]

Ed, No matter which shelter company it is. If you want to sell to canada you have to Be pass CPIA-85.

Saw those R2 shacks in the 08 In-Fish Ice guide preview copy.......Didn't even mention Frabill in the FULL PAGE AD, would have thought Frabill would have wanted folks to know it was them....

[Ed Carlson]

Yes, it's Frabill for sure, and in the 2 models I mentioned. 3m liscenced the new R2-Tec out to Frabill only for 08.

I have a hunch there will be a bunch of shack Co's bidding for it for the 09 ice season.

I also suspect you will see the 3-M R2-Tec pop up in many forms in the great outdoors over the next few years, lost of appications for it.

[JP Z]

Crazy that the 2 man is $999 and the 3man is $1299 though.

[Ed Carlson]

Yup, they cost more....yet Thinsulate anything will cost a bit more, it will be up to the consumer to see if the cost is worth the warmth. I have a hunch it will be, as there is already a waiting list for both R2-Tec Frabill GT models.

I have a 1 year old Fortress with all the toys and I am looking hard at the new R2-Tec. I look forwerd to carrying half the heater..and staying twice as warm. The extra 6 lbs of weight for the R-Tec will weigh far less than a 20# propain tank that I used to tote with...now I can do more with just a couple 1# canasters. That's my angle on it anyhow.

Time will tell, I would guess this R2-Tec is a new landmark inovation in the icefishing game.

[iland99]

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Crazy that the 2 man is $999 and the 3man is $1299 though.

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I think I'll just crank the heater to a higher setting, thank you very much!

[slipperybob]

hmmm, I wonder if I buy like ten poncho's of that insultex blanket/poncho's and line that in my clam will work out? It'll be waterproof and windproof. , then again i'll have to figure out how to sew it on.

[CSP88]

Wow I'm sure they are warmer, but the price does seem a bit steep.

Chad

[ice-man/vexilar-king]

Ed

These are great shelter covers, but they put them on the glide traxs sleds. The same style they had before with the rod hatches that don't fit. I think they were going to change the color of the hatch cover to Yellow. I am worried how many times these will open/shut before they fall off. Maybe for a while but I would bet heavily against it after I talked to the reps that were pushing them at me. They also made them hard to order because most retailers will not order $5,000 worth of these at one time. Just think how many Otter or Clam you could stock, and they are proven items. You are right the material is awsome, I gaurantee you will be warm in there but $1,000 per house ouch! Oh ya there is deffinetly some added weight to this material, so phone a friend to help carry it arround.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I too talked to a rep about these. I got to see the first one built(or so the rep said). It looked very nice, the price was a tad steep in my opinion as well. But staying warm is important. He also quoted me that the material was only like 3 lbs heavier than the normal material? For now I'll stick with my Otter.

[harvey lee]

I would agree with you Dietz, that looked to be a very warm house. The rep explained the testing they have done on how warm they are but the price was a little on the high side for my blood. Looked to be a very nice house though.

[Eric Wettschreck]

It's cool to see it come out, however for that price I'll have to wait a few years and hope the price tag drops, a lot.

[Ed Carlson]

My hatch's fit very well, and I had no complaints on them all season...that's kinda odd? Must have got them out of square a bit (Easy to do) when instaling the cover hindges, that will make them bind up. I put many GT's together last season and all the GT's fit well after.

The only real complication I seen was in the seat adjustment. They came set too far ahead so you felt like you leaned forwerd. A quick adjustment took care of that and that also made for more room as well as a tighter fit of the cover with the seats in place. I never fold the seats completely down now, I just swivel them in and scoot.

The storage is nice on the GT's, and the new brighter rod locker area is a good change, the old black was kinda dark so I added a LED stick-on light to the lids...I can see well now. They also added a swing out rod holder, not sure if that will be of much use to me...yet many will like it.

Tweeks are half the fun Eh. I want some room to make things "Better..as I see it anyway". Tinkering and ice huts go hand in hand.

All kidding aside, the new GT's with the R2-Tec will be really something worth a look. I guess thats my point, check it out and judge for yourself.

[Ed Carlson]

FYI- Da-Word is the new R2-Tec shacks will ship this week, so we should get the first peek soon.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

You can buy a lot of 20# cylinder refills for the $600-700 premium they are charging. That price will have to come down sharply IMHO for it to stand a chance. Interesting concept though.

[blueroof]

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Crazy that the 2 man is $999 and the 3man is $1299 though.

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Clam's Thermal X is going to retail for $899. Oddly they didn't make a new insulated tent for the X2, they made a slightly smaller two person trap. Pictures and info are on the HSOforum. LB

[Ed Carlson]

How heavy is the new Clam version? I have not been able to get a read on that yet...anyone hear?

[blueroof]

Here are the specs from the HSOforum (this includes the mass of the chairs.)

X Thermal

Setup Size 92" Long x 72" Wide

Center Height 75"

Weight 135 lbs.

X2

Setup Size 94" Long x 74" Wide

Center Height 75"

Weight 145 lbs.

LB

[IcePro]

Keep in mind that the R2-Tec house comes with tow bar, travel cover and hyfax runners. To buy these for the Clam house would be over the $100 difference.

Plus the R2-Tec house is insulated with Thinsulate.

Ed,

The Fish Trap Thermal X weighs 135#

[Otterskin]

R2-Tec is the name of the new shelter...The fabric is NorpacR2 with 3M Thinsulate. They have a site with more info!

[fiskyknut]

Hmmmm not so sure about these Frabil huts being a "landmark innovation" as mentioned in an earlier post. I dunno about that as Canvas Craft has been selling their Otter Skins and other shelters with their Norpac option for a few seasons now! Norpac option is 3M Thinsulate sandwiched between fire retardent R2 skins!

Frabil price is up there and will probably plummet mid-winter. A guy could get into an Otter tub all set up, with the Norpac insulated Otterskin set up quite a bit cheaper it looks to me.

fiskyknut

[Ed Carlson]

Yes sir IcePro, once you factor in all the extras the price is not that much higher when you compare it to the new clam that is without all the extras.

As per the weight, I miss-spoke (My bad), it is #3 higher per unit, not #6.

[jkanters]

FYI

There's some confusion here. The Extreme Outdoor Shelter Fabric that Frabill's R2-Tec line of ice shelters is using is called NorpacR2 fabric from the Norpac Company of Minnesota. Norpac R2 fabric uses a fire retardant version of Thinsulate Insulation from 3M quilted to fire retardant shell materials to create a new extreme outdoor shelter fabric being used by several ice shelter manufacturer's. Currently these manufacturers include Canvas Craft and Frabill. Norpac R2 fabric also has many applications for lightweight and portable blinds, tents and shelters for outdoor recreation as well as the utilities manintenance, construction industries as well as the military.

[Northlander]

For the prices they are asking I will also just buy another 20# tank and MR. Heater. $1000 for a 2 man house is crazy!