Seat or Bench in Portable?

[SkunkedAgain]

I've been researching the portables, and am definitely thinking about getting an Otter. Of course, I just noticed that the seats are extra. Do folks recommend the individual chairs or the bench? Is it purely a personal preference thing or is there a comfort difference?

It'll mostly be me fishing, along with the occasional guest and/or wife.

[riverrat56]

I'm a fan of seats when there is more than 1 person in the house, but I like my bench when I'm alone. Reason being is I don't like feeling it whenever the other person moves.

[Fishin Dan]

My last portable had a bench seat in it and i hated it! If you were in there for an extended amount of time your back would feel terrible! There was absolutly no back support. I would definitly suggest getting the individual seats. Way more comfortable. I havent had a ton of experience with them but i cant imagine that it could be as uncomfortable as the bench.

[Sonicrunch]

seat

[MN Musky]

I have had both. I prefer bench. I like being able to set things on the bench next to me like my aqua vu, beer, rod, second beer, jerkey, etc.

[toughguy]

I like the seats. You can swivel and you don't have to fight for space with your fishing buddy.

[Outfitter17]

Go with the seats, I have 2 portables one with a bench and one with 2 seats.

[Northlander]

Seats for me too. I like to be able to swivel to access stuff behind me. Reaching over the bench is a pain and I found the benches to not be deep enough for my big a-- to be comfortable.

If I could make a bench with a split in the middle so only 1 half had to come up at a time that might be cool. Easy acess to stuff behind and could tilt it up when you had company.

Also a bench that would have a drop down back rest so you could nap on it would be cool.

[Deitz Dittrich]

seats give you a better back rest.. if you ever plan to fish with kids, more than one, then bench.. but for comfort... seats.

[Gissert]

I'll echo what Dietz said. I have the bench in my house, and I like it when I have my daughter with. I also like it for putting a camera on as another stated.

My wife has seats in her house. Whe the kid is not with, we prefer the seats.

[Sandmannd]

I'd go with seats all the way.

[BoxMN]

I have bench, and like it pretty well. But if I was doing it again, I might go with seats, just because you can only take one if pulling by hand, and it would reduce weight and clutter (but not sure, as the bench is pretty light in the otter, I have Cabin). The seats do give you more back support, but bench allows you to "Spread out" so to speak. Tough decision. If you go seats, make sure they are the nice padded ones, or else the bench is much better.

[mngirl]

I used my ex's ice house last winter with him and the seats were way nice!

[PerchPounder]

Otter now offers their pro series houses as a package that includes everything you need short of a cover and hyfax. You can check them out here.

[wanger29]

Of course, I just noticed that the seats are extra.

Go to the ice show on Sunday afternoon. I did 2 years ago and got a really good deal on a pair of seats. $80 for the deuce.

[Sandmannd]

Or you can just modify you portable and put a couple of nice cushy boat seats in it. I think mine were only $20 each and they are comfy.

[jwhjr]

Or you can just modify you portable and put a couple of nice cushy boat seats in it. I think mine were only $20 each and they are comfy.

I have a couple of boat seats in mine as well.

[redtrucks]

I have a large resort with the bench. I would rather have the bench the the seats. It's nice to have with kids or to set things on. Also nice for taking a little nap.

[harvey lee]

I have used both and for comfort I don't believe that one can beat the swivel seats. Now, as mentioned above, with kids, the bench is nice. They both are nice seats and each have there own place.

[jigging-matt]

Another vote for seats. Have fished in both and I definitely like the seats better than the bench.

[FishGUY]

Seats are more comfortable IMO, but if you want more that two people, the bench is better.

[Eastwind]

Another "Ford vs Chevy" question. It's all a matter of personal preference. Unfortunately, until you've use one or the other, you don' know what your preference is. I bought an Ottter Lodge four or five winters ago. With it, I bought two seats. One had the metal mounting bracket and I didn't like it because it hooks over the edge of the sled and was wearing my canvas. One had the plastic mounting base. It was very tippy. Several times myself and friends got dumped on the ice or in the sled because we leaned over sideways just a little too far. At this point I should mention that alchohol was not involved in any of these cases. When my friend bought an Otter cabin that had a bench seat I liked the way it was bolted on to the top of the sled and did not need to be carried inside of the tub during transport, which only takes away room for other stuff in the sled. I sold my seats to a buddy and bought a bench last year. The front of the bench swings up when you need access to load or unload. I would suggestr making a little wooden kickstand to hold up the front of the bench for loading and unloading.

[andrew chadwick]

I just use the frabil sit'nfishes in my otter. I set them on the ice.

I dont have a snowmobile and I have to drag it out by hand if I can't drive out though. It saves me some weight.

Ive been considering buying a seats for it.

[ChuckN]

The bench seat gets my vote. A few reasons why...

Comfort: I easily get a sore back and this bench treats me well, I find it very comfortable.

Mounts: Traveling behind the snowmobile/ATV this seat doesn't move in transport, very securely mounted.

Efficient: I like the ease of it flipping up and away so I can access gear in the tub. When alone I can place items on the rest of the seat for easy access.

I had a seat in an Otter and I found myself with too darn short of legs and I didn't get the full back support trying to keep my feet from hanging in the air. It is a comfortable seat, no doubt, but for my situation it didn't work as well as the bench.

[mamohr686]

I have the bench also, but I think it's uncomfortable. My back is shot on long days when we fish from sunrise to sunset. If you keep the bottom bracket screws a little loose you can move it back and forth to change positions. The bench does also add a lot of weight to an otter if your going to be fishing by yourself a lot. I do like the hinge system for access to your gear under the bench. I also like setting my rods and tackle box next to me while I rig, after mister northern slime takes every line in the house. I sat in a new fish trap X2 and it's very comfortable, with the buit in chairs. If I replace my otter, that is the way I'm going to go next.