pak shacks - how warm?

[bgreen82]

for only 99 dollars, how warm are these things. not sure i want one, but a friend of mine keeps saying he wants to try one out since its not a huge investment if he doesnt like it. who has any experience with them? oh, and how much room inside is there. any extra space for heater, flasher etc.?

[cRaPpiEMaN8265]

i got one a few months ago... i found if you make your hole a bit off center to the left you can put the big buddy heater in the upper right corner and my flasher along the left side... there isnt a lot of room in there but definately enough to fish... just be careful; because the fabric is=nt made as well and will rip easily... one day i was about to move so i picked the shack up and heard a tear.. turns out the back of the skirt was frozen down and now i have a good size rip in the skirting.... Good luck!

Ryan

[polarsusd81]

Brian, my buddy has one and uses a sportcat heater in there and kept plenty warm. There really isn't enough room for more than one hole in the house though. But with the sporty and a vex, you can still fish comfortably.

[bgreen82]

if i myself were ever to get one id have a hole outside with a tipup and jig inside. right now i have an old clam jr. and its tough getting out by myself with the suitcase style. i already have a mini otter sled so this might work nice for colder days when i dont want to drag out mine or go out without cover.

[crappie todd]

I got two of them . Myself and a buddy. we put em on the four wheeler when we want to pack light and away we go. So far its been great. I use my buddy heater which seems safer.

No, not roomy but when you want to go someplace its hard to take a house, its one or the other. and the pak shack helps keep it easy and light and breaks the wind.

Got mine on sale for less than $99.00. gotta love the concept.

[zamboni]

I used mine today- 3 degrees and about 50 MPH winds. After getting my Big Buddy going- I was sweating on high. It was probably about 75-80 degrees in it. Turned heater down to medium, got cold. So I turned it back to high and put up with it. I really like that PakShack, keeps you out of the elements pretty good.

[cRaPpiEMaN8265]

50 MPH winds! i think that may be a bit of an exageration maybe 30or40 but 50 is darn near tornado force winds! It will put up with some pretty good wind but be careful when you stand up so that it doesnt blow away on ya! also make sure you keep the bag inside with you on windy days or that may blow across the lake as well... one more recomendation it the pak sled... i think this is one of the best sleds i have had for walking out but i dont suggest pulling it behind anything... very slick setup though!

Later,

Ryan

[zamboni]

I bet they were pretty close to 50 MPH out there- wide open lake! I sat in that chair for 4 hours- forgot my anchors! I may not know the exact wind speed, but when the sides are sucking in on you, you know its howling out.

[mrcarp]

MY WIFE BOUGHT A THREE MAN ONE YESTERDAY. WASNT SURE WHAT I WOULD THINK WE WENT OUT WITH THE SMALL MR BUDDY HEATER VERY WINDY OUT WE STAYED VERY WARM. LOTS OF ROOM GOOD CONCEPT JUST HOPE IT HOLDS UP

[Ron Burgundy]

So you are saying that little heater is pretty warm? I need something bigger than a sport cat for my eastman 4 man.

[metrojoe]

A little Buddy would be better than a Sport Cat, but you may want to consider a Big Buddy. What is the footprint of that 4 man shack?

[slipperybob]

SportCat is a personal heater and outputs 1500 BTU's. My ProCat outputs 3000 BTU's and is just a personal space heater. It's a tad cumbersome of a design for space but catylic converter system is wonderful. Wished they made such a heater to run off of 20# tanks.

For a few years I relied on the lantern for the extra heat source on those really cold frigid minus days. This year I got the Big Buddy heater and when needing to heat up quickly, it's been wonderful. Then I just turn it back to low. Big Buddy setting of low 4000, med 9000, and high 18,000. There's not so much difference in feel between low and medium setting, but high really heats up the Icecube 4 man. The ProCat stays home unless I'm planning an overnight sleep in the portable.

[metrojoe]

Those Buddy heaters do have a low oxygen shutoff system.

I'd imagine a little buddy could roast you out of a Pak-Shak even on low. The floor space is limited, but I think you would have room for one hole a flasher and a heater. The little buddy would be nice because the back side of the heater doesn't get hot.