Pop up

[walleyeboater]

Who makes a decent pop up shelter?
Doesn’t need to be insulated.
Thx

[Pudsky]

Eskimo FatFish 949i

[hardwater diehard]

Features to look for ...removable windows ...grommets in the skirt ..tie down straps no ropes...good ice anchor .. 11 mm poles. Eskimo and Otter have these features Clam I believe does not have removable windows or grommets . Some off brands have these features,

[jrjach75]

Features to look for ...removable windows ...grommets in the skirt ..tie down straps no ropes...good ice anchor .. 11 mm poles. Eskimo and Otter have these features Clam I believe does not have removable windows . Some off brands have these features,

I’d agree with all of these. On the tie down straps, that is the one thing that isn’t a deal breaker, there are aftermarket kits, the one I got is form Lakco. My quickfish 3 had the rope type, more like strings really

[hardwater diehard]

Also look for a wide bottom ...that extra real estate is priceless....and of coarse insulated is hard to beat and will cut down on wind flap noise.

[Splattypus]

There are plenty of cheap brands available in uninsulated pop-up hubs that will work, but won't necessarily have the features you want. Some middle-of-the-road brands like piscifun that have some of the features, an appealing price, but may be suspect in their durability for longterm use. And then the big brands that do cost more, but better quality, features, and product support.

I went cheap, getting into the game with some fleet Farm house brand pop-ups (tiny uninsulated, and small insulated). For the money, I'm pleased, but in hindsight I should have gone up a tier. If I was looking to by my first now, I'd probably take a try on a piscifun, Nordic legend, of fallback on guide gear or cabelas house brand. Next time around, I'm going big name brand (probably Eskimo or clam, but not ruling out otter.

As others have pointed out, wide bottom and full sized door make the space more usable. Removable windows are nice for so many reasons, and tiedowns and anchor grommets are critical for keeping your hub stationary and upright on windy days.

I would also recommend going a 'size' larger than you think you need. A '2 man' is barely a 1 man if he wants to keep gear inside. '2-3 man' is nice for 1 person being well equipped for a day, but gets tight with 2 adults and doesn't allow for much extra space for those comfort features like cooking space, or TV, or a cot to camp. They also tend to be low in the ceiling, so if you're tall, take that into consideration.

Personally I argue that the insulated hubs are worth the extra bit of weight, but uninsulated ones can be perfectly comfortable if you're typical temps are only in the 20s. And depending where you live, the selection of uninsulated may be much better. Obviously they're cheaper too, but if you have to offset that by buying more propane or just fishing uncomfortably, those costs add up in one way or another.

[ryguy80]

Getting a full-size door would be a must have whenever I decide to upgrade my hubs (Quickfish 3 and Clam C360 thermal). Had some close calls since I forget I need to lift my foot up more to compensate for the weight of the boots.

I do think the whole uninsulated vs. insulated is a little overrated - I own both and don't notice much of a difference with heat. Instead of drippy ceilings, you're dealing with frosted ceilings for insulated, which can make it a little more difficult to fold up when it comes time to pack up for the day.

[slipperybob]

If you do consider insulated shelter.  The insulated varies a lot between the type of fabric/insulation method.

The insulated shelters with the pin holes (thermal welding) is the weak link.  There in the pin holes is where the frost starts to build up right away.  It's similar to an uninsulated shelter, but where there is double fabric, there's either no frost or very little frost build up there, while the single fabric often has a lot of frost build up.  All depending on temps and moisture in air.  As sometimes I find it more preferable to stay colder so as to not get so much condensation on the fabric.  Or get totally toasty warm and dry off all condensation.  Yeah the sunny side of the shelter is often frost free just from the heat of the sun.

The insulated fabric that has no pin holes, is the most frost free fabric.  The frost usually starts where the sewn seams are.  Where actual pin holes and sewing threads are.

There was a time when they made those partial insulation shelters, mainly the roof portion was insulated.  Those helped reduce the condensation dripping from the roof.

Even with uninsulated, if one is innovative, bring some material to put onto the roof or sides of the shelter and it can make a lot of difference. 

If you look carefully at the shelters, some have a zipper cover flaps.  Those help a lot in preventing frost build up on zippers.  Frozen zippers don't work or you be fighting them.

Not sure how shelters are built nowadays.

[Jack978]

I bought a non-current model of the Eskimo Fatfish (747) from an Ebay site.  It had been used as a demo at some point but was complete.  I got it for $175 including the shipping. So far it has 4 seasons on it and is still in good shape.  Once you decide on what features you want don't overlook open box deals since they can save you a lot of money and also allow you to get something better without breaking the bank.

[Hawk13]

I used to be the best deal, cheap pop up, insulation doesn't matter guy.  Then I decided to buy better after lots of research. I went with an Eskimo XD 450.  It has everything I wanted.  The full length door opening down to the ice is amazing for easy access.  It has removable windows if one breaks or you just want more air.  It widens at the bottom for more room.  And the insulation....some can argue with me that insulation doesn't matter.  After using uninsulated hunts for so long I will say it matters.  You can definitely tell how much warmer the shack is and the heater rarely moves off low because it holds heat so well.  One last thing I love about it is the storage bag is huge and easy to get the shack in and out.  Most the cheaper shacks I used made the bags fairly tight.  Anyways, just my view from a guy who has been called a cheapskate... I prefer thrifty.