Insulated vs non-insulated ice shelter

[kratoct]

After having a homemade wooden shanty over the years, I've considered getting a pop-up this year. Before i worry about the specifics, I want to determine if its worth limiting my options and spending the extra cash on a thermal/insulated ice  shelter, or just sticking with the non-insulated/non-thermal. I've been looking primarily at the Eskimos and the Clams. I like that the Eskimos have the nice YKK zippers but how the Clams have the 600D material and the Eskimos only have 300D.

I fish in northern lower Michigan, usually for smelt and walleye, not much spearing. I'm looking to find one that fits about 5 people. Looking for easy set up, tear down and transport and something durable. I'm new to the whole pop-up ice shelter thing so any input is appreciated. Besides for hearing your input on thermal vs non-thermal, I'd also really like recommendations and preferences.

Models I'm considering:
Eskimo Fatfish 949, 949i, and 9416
Eskimo Quickfish 4
Eskimo Quickfish 6
Clam Command Post
Clam Summit
Clam Six Pack 1550 and 1660
Clam Bigfoot XL2000
Clam Bigfoot XL4000T

[bquick]

A bit pricey but definitely worth checking out before you settle on either of the two companies that you are looking at.  I love the one I just got.

http://canvascraftinc.com/ice-houses

[strike1st]

I bought the shappell widehouse 6500 for this season it's made with 600D.if its too big they also make the 5500. I bought mine at sportsmansguide. Plus shappell is a Michigan company. (seeing you are a fellow Michigander)

I put mine up and man is it nice. If need be Shappells replacement parts are cheap (for after the warranty period)

What area do you fish btw? I have Gaylord/Johannesburg roots myself.

AND...Welcome to the Shanty!

[fish-kabob]

before you jump on one the clam vista is one sale at basspro.com for 160+s&h it only has a 420 d cover but is a very good pop up. mite save you some cash any ways i got a shappell s3000 breif case i think thier warmer casue of the floor and the tight seal to it being enclosed  any ways wish ya the best hope you find what your looking for. 

[Svengalli]

As far as thermal or not.  I fish in -30 to -40 often and with a double sunflower I don't have any trouble heating my Clam Command Post non thermal or with a single sunflower I don't have any trouble heating my Eskimo 3 man non thermal.  FB which I fish with every week has the Eskimo Fatfish thermal and the only time he brings it instead of his 3man non thermal is if his wife comes along.  Otherwise he says it isn't worth the extra weight, money or longer drying time.
 

[xjma]

You'll like pretty much any pop-up hub style out there, they work awesome and are very easy to transport and setup/take down.  I've never seen an insulated one on the ice.  I've never had a problem staying warm in the many different portable shelters that I've used, my own and others that I fish with.  If it's not really that cold, just the presence of five people in the shelter will generally be enough to keep things comfortable in there to the point that you'll want to remove your jacket, maybe more.  One time on a -20 night there were was a bunch of us packed into a hub and we turned off the heater and opened the door as it was too warm. 

[Minnowhead]

Never thought of drying time. 

[gearheart]

You said five guys? the 949 holds three in comfort, five never.  The double wide one, 9416? That would be enough.   Add a sunflower at each end and all the heat you need.

[Svengalli]

Never thought of drying time. 

Yeah that quilted material can really soak up the water.  It doesn't shed the water like the plain poly material does.  So at the end of the day it can weigh alot more too which is something to consider if you pull your gear manually often.

Personally, if someone's really keen on gaining a few more degrees of warmth a few times a year I would suggest buying a small insulated tarp.  You could bring it with you on the really cold days anchor it to the hub eyelets with a gator clip or something.  That way you keep most of the warmth from escaping out the roof.  On the not so cold days, leave it at home.  Just a thought.

[CMMahy]

I've got the Woods branded Crystal 6 tent, which is identical to the Quickfish 6 (except for the material color), and fishing 4 people is about the max in that tent. 5 might be do-able if a few of the people are kids, but it's going to be cramped, and you've got to leave all your gear (like tackle boxes) outside the tent. Finding enough floor space for all the holes will be tricky as well.

The Thermal models are nice for cutting down the condensation inside from the heaters, but not a necessity. A double sunflower heater will heat my un-insulated Crystal 6 to t-shirt temperatures, even down to -25c.

[Svengalli]

I've got the Woods branded Crystal 6 tent, which is identical to the Quickfish 6 (except for the material color), and fishing 4 people is about the max in that tent. 5 might be do-able if a few of the people are kids, but it's going to be cramped, and you've got to leave all your gear (like tackle boxes) outside the tent.

For sure. With the standard hub styles I consider our "6man" to be a 6hole, 3man max (2preffered) and our "3man" to be 3hole, 1man.  If 3 of us head out we bring the 6 and 3.  More room, more water covered.  With the fatfishes or other similar you can get more people comfortably obv. 

To the OP, I suggest to make sure you get the good anchors b/c there is nothing worse than trying to get anchored in the wind with crappy ones.  Eskimo's have always been good, Clam's weren't but it looks as though they've adopted styles resembling Eskimo's now.  With the Eskimo style ones I don't even bother bringing a drill w/adapter to get them in.  They start and finish like nothing else.

[Wavemaster]

I went with the QF 4. Waiting for ice so I can use it.  The doors are huge so easy to get in. Zippers I am happy with, removable windows (able to replace and allows extra ventilation). Cold air barrier made a big difference when tried outside and gives the tent some extra support. Should help with condensation as well. Height is great, allowing me to stand up everywhere. Would need a bigger hut to fish 5 inside. You could get 2 huts. Use 1 for when you go out with a couple people, bring the other when you have more people and use both

[kratoct]

Alright sounds like I'll be going with the non-thermal material which I was kinda of leaning towards unless nearly every comment on here was strongly in favor of it. Got a chance to slip into cabelas today and finally compare the Eskimos to some of the clams and they seem like very similar quality. I've heard reviews on  the older clams tearing and ripping in the wind but I've heard the newer ones are supposed to be better. At this point I'm just wondering what company I should be leaning to. I really like the clam six pack style and wondering if anyone has picked up one of those yet? I also really like the Eskimo fatfish and the clam bigfoots. I will definitely look into the shapells which sound like good quality but wondering how clam and Eskimo stand up against one another. Thanks for the help!

[Svengalli]

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=187191.msg2050956#msg2050956

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=168257.msg1649576#msg1649576

Some posts with my experience regarding clam vs eskimo.  But as the last post in the first thread eludes, when I finally did get a new clam to replace the POS previous model, the new one seemed to be better by a mile and so far the new clam is holding up... but the anchors were garbage again  .  My original Eskimo 3 is still good as new btw.  If I was getting a nother new one, I think I'd give Shappell a whirl.

[Caseman]

Last year I seen 2 clams fall apart one when opening other when closeing.
One of the guys bought a eskimo to replace it and says its a huge improvement. From set up to just putting it back in the carry bag.

This was on a hub style

[$ignmoney]

It depends if you run your heat or not. I have a scout and I fish in a sweat shirt, first thing I do is take off my coat and turn on the heat. Im out to enjoy myself not shiver with cold hands etc. So after a bit the water droplets will start to form on the roof. A gust of wind comes along and shakes the hut some it rain's on you. After you get rained on a few times you get  damp. I installed reflex in my scout last year and that is the best thing I have ever done! It is a LOT warmer, NO dripping anymore. My roof is warm to the touch (reflex is) I have done a lot of mods and that is no. 2  I think. (adding a door to the scout is no. 1.) Moral of my story is if I buy another hut it WILL BE insulated, save me the time screwing with reflex.

[Chris338378]

I would go with one of the Eskimos, good prices and high quality.

[nodakclam19]

I just purchased the Clam Summit Thermal and I am extremely happy with my purchase. I did a lot of research between the Eskimo and Clam popups. The reason I chose the Clam over the Eskimo was because the Eskimo pop-ups only have 9mm poles (only of the 2013 models, 7mm on previous years) and they only have 300D fabric. Clam has 600D and 11mm poles so it makes a huge differences. The zippers on the Clam are also very nice being the Ice Armor zipper. If you need to fit 5 guys comfortably I would definitely go with the Big Foot 4000T as the Thermal material is awesome and I heavily recommend it. If you do not want the Thermal go with the Six Pack. They are extremely build well for windy days with its new design it is very stable. But Clam all the way. 

[eriksat1]

The extra weight of a insulated model is not worth it imo, specially early and late ice when you need to walk out. I have a unisulated Frabill flip over and stay warm with a buddy heater no problem down to minus -15f

[BWB]

I've had the Fish Trap X Thermal for 4 years and I wouldn't buy another shack without the insulation.  Extra wieght has never bothered me, I load this shack by myself into the back of the pickup often.

[fish/hunt4ever]

Here is my .02 worth.  i have a hub style shanty and like it, but hate packing all the other crap out with me, ie chairs, heater, propane bottle, well you get the point.  I usually fish with my family of 4 and we fit ok in the 4 person hub style and stayed warm in the black canvas, still use it today when I have a bunch of us out, or just want somewhere warm to stay while fishing in the fall for the walleyes after dark.  I went and bought a Clam Denali IV and love the shanty on the sled.  I can put my heater, propane bottle, fishing poles, tip-ups, and other gear in and pull it out on the ice, 3 inches or more, and it sets up in a flash.  Everything is there and do not have haul everything out in two sleds anymore, even though i put my tote of 36 tip-ups on another sled with my minnow bucket so I can take it around to the other holes, since we can have six poles on some lakes, per person.  But I think it comes down to personal preference of hub style, sled style shanty's.  I love the clams since I can get every part I need to fix the shanty if i break it. Plus I like have all the seats and everything in one place, the only bad thing is loading it in the truck fully loaded, usually just put it on 4 wheeler trailer.  But good luck and enjoy what ever you get.

[kratoct]

I just purchased the Clam Summit Thermal and I am extremely happy with my purchase. I did a lot of research between the Eskimo and Clam popups. The reason I chose the Clam over the Eskimo was because the Eskimo pop-ups only have 9mm poles (only of the 2013 models, 7mm on previous years) and they only have 300D fabric. Clam has 600D and 11mm poles so it makes a huge differences. The zippers on the Clam are also very nice being the Ice Armor zipper. If you need to fit 5 guys comfortably I would definitely go with the Big Foot 4000T as the Thermal material is awesome and I heavily recommend it. If you do not want the Thermal go with the Six Pack. They are extremely build well for windy days with its new design it is very stable. But Clam all the way. 

I'm glad you mentioned these two because these are the two I've narrowed it down to at this point, Clam Six Pack 1550 or Clam Bigfoot XL4000T. I kind of like the more circular idea of the Six Pack but have never had a pop-up hub style nor have I seen one of the six packs in person. If someone has one, has seen one, or just has had experience with the hub style pop-ups and have an opinion on the four sides vs six, please comment, I really want to hear opinions. I'm looking to order real soon and need to decide soon. The extra 5 lbs of the thermal isn't a concern to me, hell my college backpack weighs over 50lbs and I haul that around every day. And they are about the same price.

So I'm basically just looking for opinions on the SixPack 1550 style vs the square XL4000T style. Once again, looking to fit about 5 people for party/fishing. We like to get grandpa out there and fish and play euchre and shoot the crap a while; I know alot of you guys take it more serious but thats how we like to do it, so a little room for a small card table would be nice, thats why i thought the six pack might be nice(more round), but maybe the bigfoot design is similar; I havent had the chance to see either in person.
Your guys' help has been great so far, I sure appreciate it. Looking forward to see what you have to say about these two. Thanks!

[Wavemaster]

I'm glad you mentioned these two because these are the two I've narrowed it down to at this point, Clam Six Pack 1550 or Clam Bigfoot XL4000T. I kind of like the more circular idea of the Six Pack but have never had a pop-up hub style nor have I seen one of the six packs in person. If someone has one, has seen one, or just has had experience with the hub style pop-ups and have an opinion on the four sides vs six, please comment, I really want to hear opinions. I'm looking to order real soon and need to decide soon. The extra 5 lbs of the thermal isn't a concern to me, hell my college backpack weighs over 50lbs and I haul that around every day. And they are about the same price.

So I'm basically just looking for opinions on the SixPack 1550 style vs the square XL4000T style. Once again, looking to fit about 5 people for party/fishing. We like to get grandpa out there and fish and play euchre and shoot the **** a while; I know alot of you guys take it more serious but thats how we like to do it, so a little room for a small card table would be nice, thats why i thought the six pack might be nice(more round), but maybe the bigfoot design is similar; I havent had the chance to see either in person.
Your guys' help has been great so far, I sure appreciate it. Looking forward to see what you have to say about these two. Thanks!

I found both six pack shelters set up  and went inside. Lots of room. I liked the taller 6 pack much better as I could stand up inside (some people don't mind not being able to stand). The doors were very small and the windows were not removable (If I remember correctly). Not sure how long the windows usually last but what happens if one breaks? Other than that, I thought it was pretty nice. Should be lots of fun to fish 5 in there. Get the clam table to put in the center

[nodakclam19]

In the Bigfoot 40000T there is a ton of standing room. I'm 6'2" and can stand up no matter where I am in the ice house, it also has the thermal material. But since the 4000T is so tall and is an 8'X8' shelter it bounces around in the wind a lot. I would personally go with the smaller six pack. Having 6 sides to it and a rounder shape it cuts the wind like a flip-over does. Although it does not have the thermal material which is a bummer and it has a much smaller clearance inside the shelter it is better built for the wind and for the set-up you are looking for.

[s10xr]

The extra weight of a insulated model is not worth it imo, specially early and late ice when you need to walk out. I have a unisulated Frabill flip over and stay warm with a buddy heater no problem down to minus -15f

what he said.   I have a clam pro 1.5 man, a kill zone hub shanty, and a shappell fx200.  none of them are insulated and I just run my mr heater usually on 4000 btu and stay very comfortable with no coat or gloves on all day.

[bluemountainlaker]

i use the shapppele dx 4000 and it is verry warm! i love the hard floor. it is a little heavy but thats what you get with comfort. i fit 3 people in it but really 2 is the comfortable amount

[Grand County Resident]

I just bought the Clam Bigfoot 4000T.  It's sweet.  I'm 6'1" and I have just enough head room in all parts of the cube.
The thermal is quality so far, I haven't been on the ice with it yet.  But in the garage, it doesn't feel cheap.

So you know, Summit is discontinued.  Most places are sold out.  The Bigfoot replaces it.  Its bigger, has thicker bars and costs less.
Clam is price protected, especially in November December, so don't bother price shopping.  They are 319.99 everywhere.  Im sure in April they will be less but right now, no chance.

I was really torn because thermal you cant black out, I haven't tried to do it myself yet. There are some rubber coating paints that may work, but they aren't cheap and I'm afraid all that crap will run and screw up the fabric.

I don't spear fish so the blackout isn't necessary, I would rather be warm.  I live in sunny Colorado, so I'm hoping the thermal will get warm enough without a heater.  I don't plan on fishing in a t-shirt anyway.  A longsleeve would be nice though.

I plan on getting those director chairs and one that lays back for a nap and there is plenty of room.  4 can fish in there no problem, its says up to 6 but no way that will happen.  Maybe 6 for lunch.

Hope this helps.
D

[bwana72]

I have a couple flip over shelters already, but I recently decided that I NEED(want)a big hub style pop up shelter for days when me, my son, and a few buddies want to all fish together. I have done some research, and I have decided on the Clam Bigfoot 4000 shelter. There were several factors that went into it. Being insulated was one, size and fishability, and just previous experience with Clam products also played into my decision.

[nodakclam19]

I have a couple flip over shelters already, but I recently decided that I NEED(want)a big hub style pop up shelter for days when me, my son, and a few buddies want to all fish together. I have done some research, and I have decided on the Clam Bigfoot 4000 shelter. There were several factors that went into it. Being insulated was one, size and fishability, and just previous experience with Clam products also played into my decision.

Good decision! Clam for life in my opinion. I have the Summit Thermal which is just a little bit smaller than the Bigfoot 4000T, you won't be upset.

[jethro]

I just bought a Clam Bigfoot XL4000T myself this weekend. It's my second portable ever, next to my 30 year old Jr Clam minuteman style which is still serviceable to this day. I set it up yesterday and had it out most of the day in the snow/rain we got and took some pictures, I will post them in the next day or so with my initial thoughts. One thing I was curious about if the thermal material would soak up or repel the moisture, it certainly did well repelling the water. It was snowed and rained on all day and it packed up nice and easy and wasn't soaked through at all. One other thing I really like in regards to the thermal cloth is it seems real durable. They wrap the shelter in scraps of the thermal material from the factory, I took it and tried to rip it, no way you could by hand.

As said, look for my pictures and initial thoughts shortly. I'll try to do it tonight.