Portable ice shelter rope length?

[berke99]

I was just wondering if putting on a longer length rope on my portable ice house would make it easier to pull by hand this winter. Has any one tried this? Thanks for any input.

[jwhjr]

On my Otter Lodge I have the rope long enough to put around my waist to pull and it seems to help. On my 1 man Frabill it's shorter and it seems to be a little tougher to pull a long way that way.

[Northlander]

Make it long enough so you can put it around your waste or over a shoulder and not have the sled banging into your feet when walking.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I have mine pretty long as well. Having it around your waist can help a lot. Picksbigwagon has a harness that he wears and attaches the rope to that.

[BIG DS]

It also helps to keep the bottom of the sled waxed so it slides better on the snow/ice. But otherwise as the others stated, make it long enough to go around your waste and also long enough so that the sled is not banging into your heels.

[BigGrassBass]

Be careful, if you make the rope to long the sled acts like a plow in the snow. You will want the rope short enough to get a little "lift" on the front of the sled so it doesn't turn into a plow.

[Rope]

I'm with Northlander,need to get around you,but not bang'n ya.I carry a long piece of muletape (flat nylon rope) in case I need to make it longer or anything else that might need tied.

[Northlander]

I also have a deer drag type harness I use if I know Im in for a log haul. It just clips onto the rope I have on the sled until ice is thick enough to use the snowmobile.

[picksbigwagon]

All I use is the deer drag harness thing that you get at Gander of the big C for 10 bucks. I used enough rope so I can keep the harness on and still fish with it. I also have the runners on the bottom of my otter one man

[cold one sd]

I made mine long. I can adjust it for snow depth and ice conditions by simply pulling some rope into the tub and tying a knot in the rope.

[Nordern]

I agree with the others; make it long enough so you can pull it with your waist. I have pulled my Otter Lodge II over a 1/4 mile, fully loaded, with very little effort. I do have the hyfax runers which seems to help. Also with a longer rope it's easier for 2 guys to pull w/o banging into each other. Ice cleats, of course, are also a requirenmet on the early ice.