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Portable with kids?


Bottle Fish

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I'm looking to buy a portable for my son and I and would like to know what anyone recomends. My son is 4 and I know I'll be doing all the work pulling it around. I will be walking and therefore my biggest concern is weight. Any portables anyone could recomend for us would be wonderful.

I'm starting to lean on just getting a big single person, after all he is tiny and I'm only 5'8" 160# maybe. I've heard you could get away with it in a FT Pro. Has anyone tried it?

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I bought a eskimo quick flip 2. Started my son with me in it when he was 4 also. Not too heavy, loaded everything in it or on it and it pulled easy. We still use it all the time and he is 8 now. I would think any two person one would work good. Don't short yourself on space, you will need it down the road.

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ya when they say a recomendation u ushually want to go one up from that. I have a eskimo grand caravan and I think that fits 2 people roomy. U wont want one that big because the weight, but a two person like a quickflip 2 would be good. Or you could get a fish trap guide wich is made for two people and it is very light and can easilly be pulled by one person

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Another option would be the Quickfish. Its a pop up so there is no sled, but its really light and depending on if you get the 3 or 6 person one it can be very roomy. Plus it packs up really tight so there is minimal space needed for storing/transporting it.

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I've been looking on this site for about two months on and off and as far as I can tell no one ever says anything about Fish Traps. They are cheaper in price than almost all other brands and Genz and the Blue Team use them all the time. It does break down to what a person feels like paying I know and if I had more than 3 to drop on a portable I would to. Do they have issues? Why doesn't anyone really discuss them much? If so what? Sled? Materials? Shell? Heat? Just curious.

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Any of the major brands will be a good house to start out with. There really isn't much difference from one brand to another in the same price range. Pick out a size and the features you like best and find the best deal. As you spend more money you get bigger and heavier sleds, thicker fabric, better seats, heavier poles and so on. Great time to go shopping but hurry there isn't a lot left in the stores.

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I've been looking on this site for about two months on and off and as far as I can tell no one ever says anything about Fish Traps. They are cheaper in price than almost all other brands and Genz and the Blue Team use them all the time. It does break down to what a person feels like paying I know and if I had more than 3 to drop on a portable I would to. Do they have issues? Why doesn't anyone really discuss them much? If so what? Sled? Materials? Shell? Heat? Just curious.

They are all very nice houses. I have fished out of the x2, guide, youkon, and pro. They dont have a very heavy duty sled though. some runners should take care of that though. the material isent a very thick one unless youre talking about the x2, but it is durable and is very good stuff. in my experience they heat just as good as any other house. i dont really think that they are neglected on the fourms thoug imo...

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Frabill Trekker II...

Got one for Xmas this year and my 5 yr old loves it. Its lighter than most flip-overs, folds down nicely to fit inside my Chev Malibu (with the backseat folded down) and is a bit cheaper in price than the others.

Don't get a one person portable. Your kid will want to move around, look out the windows, play with the ice chips the auger made. He will not want to stay still and fish like the adults do. Give yourself and him the extra room to move around. It will keep him on the ice longer and he test your patience as much.

If time is not a critical factor in your decision making process, Take yourself and your son to Cabelas, FleetFarm, Gander Mtn, Bass Pro, whatever and explore/test drive the floor models they have out. Make him part of the decision making process and he'll be more eager to go fishing with you.

Just my 2 cents

Redbeard

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pdk511 Redbeard and all the rest so far. Thank you for all your help. Think I'll get a Guide been looking at FT from the start anyway for the speed when setting up and mobility factor. They still weigh in lighter than most that have chair's or a bench as well. Still a little concerned with weight though you can only really look and sit when in a store. They should set a track in the back of stores with all models loaded down with gear to do a little field testing to get a feel of what you might be hauling. Just hope I make the right choice, can always get a scout too just in case.

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I just got off the lake with my 6 year old. I've got a frabil speed shak cub and it was great. I like the fact that it has a floor and most of the time that means not sitting in water on the ice. I'm not knocking any flip over guys, but I really think that having a floor in the house gives the little ones a little more feel for home. pulling a house with a floor is a lot harder than a sled type however so thats something to keep in mind.

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Use a FT Guide with my 16 year old and he isn't getting any smaller. Of course, at present I'm not either? Plenty of room depending on how many holes you drill. It is a bit of a dance when we drill four holes and then throw the heater and the fish bucket out front. Love the seats that slide back and forth and the hammocks for rods and the miscellaneous stuff.

The only downside on the FT's is the sled is not as durable as the Otters. I don't pull mine out that many times so it doesn't make that big of a difference to me.

The one really neat thing about the Guide is that my SM auger literally lays right across the seat slide brackets perfectly with the seat pushed to the back. Nice and stable for hand pulling out.

Good luck.

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I gave my son(10) a used 5600 to fish in. I will admit that I think a flip style might be a quick way to fish on the move but cost really determined what we got him. It is a smaller suit-case style so it is really not a big problem to tote around. We also do not move a lot and the few occasions that we do, it can be pulled open with ease as long as its not too far. If he decides to get something different when he's older that's fine but for right now when his only fishing partner is me, the 5600 would be hard to beat. One more thing. I like the fact that his(and my) feet are off the snow/ice so getting wet isn't a problem.

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Bottle fish, I'd also echo on the Yukon. I have one and couldn't imagine anything smaller for 2 people no matter how large they are. I can fish comfortably from it alone or with my wife and/ or daughter. Yes, it can be tough to pull at times, so I just take a few more rest breaks. One point of note, The front of the sled is a really steep angle making it act more like a plow at times, so I try to keep the heavy stuff in the back. The big advantage to the Yukon, the sled is large enough to haul all your equipment under the optional cover. At least when you get there, you still have all your stuff. Phred52

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