IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Equipment => Topic started by: 74redone on Oct 11, 2012, 10:55 PM
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Well I got the new Clam bigfoot todat. I will try to post some pics tomorrow. When I first opened the box is was impressed with the bag the bigfoot came in. It is made out of a good heavy material and has nice rubber handles on the zippers to aid in opening and closing. The bag also has a nice over sized pocket that houses the anchors on the outside of the bag. The material that the hut is made out of is very heavy duty and not very stiff. There is nice reinforcement at the hubs in the center of the walls and at the top of the corners. There is a storage pocket on each wall and two ceiling storage nets. It has a nice big skirt that should be easy to cover to help hold the heat in. My only complaint with the skirt is there are no eyelets for anchors. I am 6' and with shoes on I can stand in the corners and not hit my head. the windows do not remove but do have enough Velcro so you can seal the light out easily. The new poles are huge. They are the same diameter as a 3/8 ratchet ext. After put up the hut and taking it down I was happy to see that the bag was still plenty big enough to get the hut back into with out have to spend a lot of time folding it up. The hut is great for three to four guys. I like lots of room so you could probably get six guys but it would be tight. For the money I don't think you can go wrong. If you have any questions just ask.
Tight lines!
Matt
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This is very helpful.
Pictures would be great.
Have you weighed the shelter?
I'm looking at this for two adults and two small kids and think it should be perfect.
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Look forward to pics as I plan on buying one as well. Thus far I am not seeing a reason to go with a different shelter.
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There is plenty of room for two adults and two kids. i havnt weighed it yet but will later today. i will post the pics later as well. it has alot more head room than the eskimo 949i does
I can stand anywhere in the hut and not hit the top and im 6'.
Matt
This is very helpful.
Pictures would be great.
Have you weighed the shelter?
I'm looking at this for two adults and two small kids and think it should be perfect.
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They went away from the grommets in the skirt because there were too many issues with ripping when a strong wind came up. Just shovel some snow on top of the skirt and you'll be all set. Hope you're happy with your purchase.
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Thanks for the review! I had the giant clam 6800 cabin shack. Lots of room but a pain in the rear to fold up with 30mph winds at -10 below then haul it. Sold it 2 yrs ago. This pop up looks much easier. Hmmmmm tempting.
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Pictures coming later tonight. There not the greatest but u will get the point.
Matt
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Just out of the box!
(http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p488/74redone/2012-10-11203732.jpg)
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Set up and ready to fish!
(http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p488/74redone/2012-10-11202705.jpg)
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Hub and rods
(http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p488/74redone/2012-10-11202856.jpg)
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Nice big rods! ;D
(http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p488/74redone/2012-10-11203143.jpg)
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Top corners
(http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p488/74redone/2012-10-11202931.jpg)
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Wall storage pockets are on each wall
(http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p488/74redone/2012-10-11202843.jpg)
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Whats the cost on that one, my Eskimo quick fish 3 has been great so far. If it ever fails I will buy another hub style as it has worked for years.
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ceiling storage on two sides the full length of the hut
(http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p488/74redone/2012-10-11202827.jpg)
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Cost is just $319 with free shipping at Reeds. Its $30 cheaper than a Fatfish 949i and bigger to boot!
Matt
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Whats the cost on that one, my Eskimo quick fish 3 has been great so far. If it ever fails I will buy another hub style as it has worked for years.
$319.99 Stores like Reeds are even offering Free shipping.
I would say those poles are thick enough. I will have to order one in at my local Cabelas if they do not have one in stock. I am not seeing a better hub shelter for the money right now.
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I agree thats way theres one in my garage right now. I was going to get a Fatfish 949i then was turned on to this one. The bag for the Clam is a lot better than eskimo has ever had. I had a 949 and a QF4 and both bags were pretty flimsy. The Clam bag looks like its made out of 600 Denier. It is not open all the way down the bag so once you get it started you can just lift it up on end and tuck it in and zip it up. All the zippers have nice rubber pull handles so they are easy to grab. My only complaint now is there no ice yet ;D.
Matt
$319.99 Stores like Reeds are even offering Free shipping.
I would say those poles are thick enough. I will have to order one in at my local Cabelas if they do not have one in stock. I am not seeing a better hub shelter for the money right now.
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They went away from the grommets in the skirt because there were too many issues with ripping when a strong wind came up. Just shovel some snow on top of the skirt and you'll be all set. Hope you're happy with your purchase.
Exactly what Mark said. They moved the anchor points to the inside of the shelter. They are web straps with quick release buckles and allow you to drive the anchor into the ice first, loop the web over the anchor and cinch it down. Much easier and quicker than the old skirt grommets and definitely more robust. ;)
-Munchy
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I agree, but it was nice to put one anchor in the skirt on a windy day when setting up. It just made it easier holding the hut in place with one anchor in esp, if ur setting up by yourself. I do like the anchor points inside.
Matt
Exactly what Mark said. They moved the anchor points to the inside of the shelter. They are web straps with quick release buckles and allow you to drive the anchor into the ice first, loop the web over the anchor and cinch it down. Much easier and quicker than the old skirt grommets and definitely more robust. ;)
-Munchy
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When I get mine a may put a big brass grommet in each corner. I still have the tool and the grommets from a job I did so why not.
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Price is right, think I might have found my new portable!
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nice, dig the new clam man, i have the 6 man comand center i love it, tons of room,kind of a pain to move around a lot with though.
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nice, i got the 6 man clam command center and i love it lots of room, the bag that it came with is a piece of junk it tore the second time i took it out
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Interested to see how clams new line holds up as ive read clam kinda went downhill for a while. These hubs are just getting better and better. Noway I would pull around one of those heavy flip overs again.
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I agree. The hubs and poles on the New Bigfoot are impressive. I used to have a Trekker2 wich was alot smaller and weighed twice its weight.
Matt
Interested to see how clams new line holds up as ive read clam kinda went downhill for a while. These hubs are just getting better and better. Noway I would pull around one of those heavy flip overs again.
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Bought one myself today. Man do I like this thing.
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I agree. I thought the Fatfish 949i was pretty awesome,but compared to the bigfoot it falls short in more ways than one.
Matt
Bought one myself today. Man do I like this thing.
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They are very roomy, and seem solid -- very easy to set up, and the center hub is very stout. I like the new anchor system, too.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2Ce_rvR4E8U/UJ_8uDbVvYI/AAAAAAAABNQ/G8wQBawfLMw/s576/Clam.JPG)
Might need a bigger basement! ;D
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I bought an XL4000T last week finally. Did not get to set it up yet.
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Are the windows removable on this thing? That's one thing I really like about the FatFish.
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Are the windows removable on this thing? That's one thing I really like about the FatFish.
I set mine up tonight to take a look at it. Did not look like the windows are removable, just covers for the windows. My Otter is the same way and have not had any trouble with them for many years.
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Got my 4000 thermal this past weekend. It's a big boy!! And seems pretty water resistant too. I like the fabric, just hoping it isn't too heavy in the wind.
(http://www.geofftaylorphoto.com/Other/New-Shanty/i-nPx3JMf/0/L/GSParts-2-L.jpg)
It is amazing how easy it is to set up and take down. Really cool. Much bigger than I thought it would be packed down, was hoping it would fit completely inside an XL jetsled, but it's not gonna, at least not with the cover on. But totally worth it. Doors are a little small, but not terrible. Zippers seem really nice. I put my little buddy heater in it and it was t-shirt weather in there in about 5 minutes.
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Bought one the other day. Pleased with the Bigfoot having used it on two fishing trips so far.
Plenty of room for 4. Brought along one of those Mr. Heater dual head types that attach to the top of a propane tank.
Key thing was I didn't want the family cold, well running one burner on low with outside temps hovering around 10...we all agreed.
Shut off the heater, it is just to warm.
Also I do like one of those battery powered light/fan combos..with out it the top two feet of the clam get just plain hot.
Hand anchors were pretty easy to put in via hand only.
Set up is crazy fast and easy.
Only down side I would give is small doors.
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Does it get dark enough with the Velcro windows to use as a portable spearing shack?
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Does it get dark enough with the Velcro windows to use as a portable spearing shack?
I've never been in a spearing shack. I will say the bigfoot4000 is not dark on the inside. When I wanted to watch the fish I need a blanket over my head while looking down the ice hole.
I am toying with the idea of sealing the inside to keep more light out.
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Going to use mine for the first time tomorrow. Reports will follow.
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Well, I got to use my Bigfoot all weekend. At least 18 hours of use over the past 2 days. I still really like it, but I do have some criticisms...
First, on Sat we were got about 6" of snow while we were fishing. Big design flaw... the doors have flaps that cover the zippers, and the bottom flap fills with snow like crazy because it faces upwards, which when you have a heater roaring in there causes that snow to melt and then freeze and the zippers get frozen. We basically couldn't use the bottom zippers on both doors all day. Simple fix would be to put the flap (or maybe an additional flap) on the door instead of the hub wall, facing down and covering the zipper instead of facing up. This is a big design flaw that I am surprised wasn't thought of. Granted it was a pretty serious blizzard all day, but still, you would think Clam would have thought of this.
2nd, and certainly related to the first issue, the zipper pulls on the doors are absolute junk. The zippers themselves look really stout, but the pulls break off easy. Replace the zipper pulls with parachute cord, trust me. I thought it was just because the bottom zippers were frozen, but after it broke off I was able to get a good look at the metal that attaches the pull tag to the zipper and it's very weak, mild steel wire. The kind that if you bend it 4 or 5 times it breaks. But this is an easy fix I suggest anyone who buys this thing does right away.
3rd, and this isn't really a criticism for the hub itself, more for the people that make the Clam videos... they say to open the doors before you put the shanty down and away, which makes sense, but they do not say anything about closing the doors before setting it back up. We found that if you do not close the doors before your final setting of the shanty and anchoring on the ice, that the hub can get tweeked and make the doors impossible to close. Best to start off with all sides pulled with equal tension, rather than have the two sides with the doors not tight.
Also, if you set it in some deep snow, it might be a good idea to shovel the square that the hub will sit in. We found that if you don't shovel the snow, the corners work their way right down to the ice, while the middles of each side bow upwards with snow underneath. That tweeked the hub and made the sides not symmetrical. So we will be shoveling the entire footprint of this thing from now on.
So that are the only bad points (not really all that bad except for the stupid flap placement). Oh, and as said by someone else, the doors are kind of small and cumbersome for a big guy like me. But that's a small problem, I got used to it pretty quick. The good points are many... as said, we pretty much went through a blizzard on Saturday, and the material was quite waterproof. On Sunday it got super cold and windy... some SERIOUS wind gusts out there, and the hub preformed very well. Amazingly comfortable in there. The little buddy heater kept it nice and comfortable in there, and it was cold outside. Love the netting for the gear lofts on the roof, and the pockets on the sides. At one point we had 6 people in there and a small child, while I was jigging, amazing amount of room in there. Putting it away wasn't bad either day, a little harder on day 2 when it was freezing cold but still not bad. There was little to no condensation drips that I noticed, maybe that's the thermal material, or maybe just the conditions.
All in all I love this shanty and hope it stands the test of time.
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intresting now you have me thinking of getting one
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intresting now you have me thinking of getting one
So far the shortcomings are very few... I am really quite pleased with my purchase. I was really worried yesterday, we had some 35mph winds and the Clam held it's own very, very well.
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Sounds very compelling. Does it by chance have vents?
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Sounds very compelling. Does it by chance have vents?
yes it does have vents....
I picked up the XL2000 yesterday as I usually fish by myself or with 1 or 2 other people and there is plenty of room in that thing.... my cousin also has one and I usually fish with him so if theres a big group we are fine. As the flaps issue I didn't notice it until someone said something and yea that's an issue but not a huge one maybe just keep the zipper open a bit so the snow doesn't build up but then you lose heat. Other than that its a nice popup shelter and light too. I had no issue lifting it up and moving it around in the bag. Definitely an improvement over the one my cousin has.
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Yep, nice vents, two on either side.
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Thanks guys. Gonna pick one up next week me thinks.
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I got the XL2000 for christmas and have used it 3 times. My reasoning for going with the hub vs a pull over is that I already have $250 invested in an otter sled. I fish Upper Red all winter so I tend not to need to move around allot, I'm to old to run and gun and you really don't need to on red anyway. I have two suitcase style frabils that I have grown to hate so much that I basically refused to even bring them along for the past year. I would rather sit out in the elements than have to fight putting them away in the dark and wind. So this year I decided I would get a hub style shelter. I looked at the Fatfish 949i for the last two months and really thought that I would get that. On xmas eve day me and my wife went to go buy the fatfish at Mills Fleet Farm in Brainerd and they were out of stock. So we decided we would stop at Reeds and get one. Well they had the Bigfoot XL2000 set up right next to the Fatfish. I liked the overall build of it better. The poles looked bigger as well as the hub looked beefier. The XL2000 has 600 denier fabric and the bag is also way better. The price was also $60 less than the fatfish. But the price diff between the 2000 and the 4000 was $80. The set up size is just a bit smaller that the 4000. I fish alone about half the time so the extra few inches wasn't a deal killer either.
I fished with it both days this weekend and yesterday. Set up does take a bit of time but what is 10 minutes? It did sweat and drip but only from the edges of the ceiling so it does not effect me. My old frabils did the same except they would drip on me. I heat with a sunflower heater so I was able to sit in there without a jacket on. It was -17 below yesterday morning and I stayed warm. And taking them down and putting them up is a breeze. Overall I am very happy with it. I bought the clam light/fan combo which is really nice to help keep the heat back down at you.
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I fished with my 4000XL for the last 4 days. After being out with it set up it is way bigger than I need. There was two of fishing and we only really needed half of the shack. I should have went with the 2000 instead but the thermal lining is nice in the 4000. Most of the time we use the hut as a warm up spot. We hole hope :alot of the time so its just a place to get warmed up or eat some lunch. The hut stained up for 4 days in single digits at night and highs in the low 20's during the day. I had no issues putting it up or taking it down. I did put up LED strip lighting and will say that is a must. Its nice not to relay on just a head lamp. Over all it is a top notch hut and is built very well. The only regret I have is I should have gotten the 2000 instead of the 4000.
Matt
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Has anyone else had issues with the zipper pulls. Some of mine have broken off. Clam sent 'replacements', but they're nothing more than key rings with string through them.
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We have not had that issue. YET! I suspect we will though unfortunately. A lot of folks having that issue. I love everything else about it though.
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I was waiting for someone or people to post a report on the XL 4000T . Well i am convinced no condensation and retains the heat. Thanks for making up my mind :clap: :thumbsup: :clap:
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I have used my XL4000t a few times now, and have had no issues. It is exactly what I wanted in a pop up. It gets warm with no heat source, and has plenty of room for an overnight trip.
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I have used my XL4000t a few times now, and have had no issues. It is exactly what I wanted in a pop up. It gets warm with no heat source, and has plenty of room for an overnight trip.
I will second that.
I am loving it!
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Anybody have the dimensions of the 4000T when its in the bag?
I just need the length so I can figure out what size sled I'm going to need for it.
Thanks!
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Rather than start a new thread I will just add to this one.
My new BigFoot 4000 just came today and I got it setup in the garage.
First impressions are...damn, it's a beast!!
It's taller than I would have thought, the quality of the sewing and fabric looks pretty good and I didn't notice any problem areas and I gave it a thorough look over.
The hubs and poles are very sturdy and I have no doubt they will hold up.
I followed the instructions which are quite easy...doors closed, top up first, then the opposing sides and that is it, aside from anchoring--it is stupidly easy to setup.
There is a lot of space inside and for 3-4 adults it looks like the perfect size.
I didn't get a chance to put a heater in it yet, but given how my Scout TC thermal performs I'm sure this thing is going to cook.
The carry bag is pretty decent quality, sort of a mid weight denier.
Given the reports on zipper pulls breaking I tested one on the bag first, by pulling and twisting it with a little bit of force and sure enough it broke.
The metal part of the pull is wire thin and die cast and that is where it failed.
I took it down then set it back up again and when I went to open the door the pull snapped in two, this time on the plastic, so yeah, I can report that the zipper failure issue is real...LOL!! ;D
I'm in the process of installing paracord pulls now, but man, how embarrassing, Clam really screwed these up big time, especially since they use these zippers as a selling point in their promo video.
Big FAIL.
Other than that my Big Foot looks to be in good shape from the factory, it hangs right, with no loose fabric or other oddities or stressed poles. I will be breaking it in this weekend with the family. It really looks nice.
The BigFoot and storage bag weighed in at 37.03 pounds about 38 with the 4 screws, small carry pouch and two guy lines which is significantly less than the 42 pounds listed by Clam.
(http://i48.tinypic.com/m7q36c.jpg)
The beast taking up 2/3 the garage.
(http://i50.tinypic.com/2hd157c.jpg)
And the epic failure of the zipper pulls. Come on, you just get a new company logo and you put it on these crap zipper pulls that break if you look at them wrong. I can imagine if it is cold that these things would fail almost immediately they are that bad. I Recommend you take them off before going into the field as stated in the reviews above.
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2q8tsi0.jpg)
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Awesome review man. I have yet to change out my zipper pulls, but you can bet it is on my list of things to do now.
On a side note, I have been having an issue with a different clam product that I won't mention, and I am really not impressed with there customer service department. I wrote a well thought out email to them, to recieve a quick and in my opinion garbage response. Needless to say, The Clam products I currently own will be my last. Customer service goes along way with me, and it seems to me it is what this company is missing.
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Awesome review man. I have yet to change out my zipper pulls, but you can bet it is on my list of things to do now.
On a side note, I have been having an issue with a different clam product that I won't mention, and I am really not impressed with there customer service department. I wrote a well thought out email to them, to recieve a quick and in my opinion garbage response. Needless to say, The Clam products I currently own will be my last. Customer service goes along way with me, and it seems to me it is what this company is missing.
There is room on the zipper itself to feed some paracord through with the pulls still attached so that is what I'm going to do, so when the inevitable failure occur I'll have the cord already in place.
Might be a fun trick to play on someone...."**censored** man, you just broke the zipper on my new BigFoot 4000T!!!!"
LOL!!! ;D
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There is room on the zipper itself to feed some paracord through with the pulls still attached so that is what I'm going to do, so when the inevitable failure occur I'll have the cord already in place.
Might be a fun trick to play on someone...."**censored** man, you just broke the zipper on my new BigFoot 4000T!!!!"
LOL!!! ;D
Haha! My buddies wouldn't even care. ::)
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Well, it looks like I got a sub standard BigFoot because I'm missing the two ceiling nets that were mentioned in the first review of this thread--I just noticed it tonight.
I double checked and there are no ceiling nets.
I have the four pocket style nets below the windows but nothing on the ceiling.
Not a happy camper. >:(
Can other Bigfoot 4000 owners confirm whether you have ceiling nets or not?
Shakes head...walks away.
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Ceiling nets...... Check
Dont worry in about a week they will respond, and let you know that they may ship them out when they get around to it. ;)
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Ceiling nets...... Check
Dont worry in about a week they will respond, and let you know that they may ship them out when they get around to it. ;)
So are they sewn into the roof or are these separate nets that you have to install?
There are no attachment points on my ceiling anywhere.
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So are they sewn into the roof or are these separate nets that you have to install?
There are no attachment points on my ceiling anywhere.
Thats messed up. They are sewn across the bottom with small plastic hooks that hook to rings closer to the center of the ceiling. There are two of these set ups in mine.
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Heres a pic wiyh the net not attached to the top. There are black plastic rings for the hooks:
(http://www.geofftaylorphoto.com/Other/New-Shanty/i-sLWqcCW/0/XL/GSParts-6-XL.jpg)
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Hey doctor thanks for posting that, I definitely don't have hooks or any netting in mine!!! >:(
Well, this will be my first interaction with Clam on a customer service issue, so we'll see how it goes.
Makes me wonder what else is messed up on my BigFoot, although, everthing else seems to be there and is functioning properly.
Between the zipper pulls and this, I think I'm due some sort of recompense.
We'll see what Clam says.
:(
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Well, I just fired off an email to Clam, the clock is ticking, we'll see what they say (and of course I'll post everything here so you can all follow along.. :)
My email:
Hi, I just purchased a BigFoot XL4000T and I have two issues with this product:
1. My shelter does not have any ceiling gear nets, nor are there any attachments hooks sewn into the ceiling fabric. My understanding is that there should be two nets sewn into the ceiling at one end and then you can use the attachment hooks to secure it. All the other 4000T shelters I have seen have these nets. This makes me wonder if I have some sort of prototype shelter or if there are any other "isssues."
2. My zipper pull tabs are falling apart. Two broke as I set it up for the first time, one on the bag and one on the tent door.
The zipper issue is well known, as nearly everyone with this shelter has the same problem, as for the nets, I'm not very happy about spending top dollar on a shelter with missing features.
Please let me know what my options are at this point.
Thanks.
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Wow, that is crazy! I would not be happy either!
I am not one bit unhappy with the zipper pulls, I have discovered that the parachute cord with a little black plastic piece of tubing is actually far superior to any zipper pulls they could have come up with. I would suggest that anyone who gets one of these just cut the pulls right off before even taking it on the ice. Way easier to use even if those zipper pulls wouldn't have broke.
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Ive used my XL4000T twice so far and love it. Plenty o room and it contains heat very well. The thermo fabric prevents you from getting dripped on from condensation. The windows fog up but thats with any hut.Havent had a problem with the zippers yet. Definitely a portable man cave! I haul it on top of my Otter sport sled,The sled is 53" long and the shelter hangs over front and back. I place everything in the sled then put the hut on top and secure it with one bungee. No problems so far. Not exactly an easy pull but better then pulling my old Clam fish trap. One issue I have is with the storage bag. The seam above the storage pocket is unraveling. I have the same problem with the storage bag for the Clam packable round table. Its storage bag is unraveling at the seam also. Their website is very vague on warranty information. I contacted them thru their website today to see what can be done on both issues. I was wondering if you guys know of any other ways to get a hold of someone there? I am not a big fan of throwing random emails to an unknown person in customer support hoping they get back to me.
Any suggestions would be appreciated
Darren
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I just got a response from Clam about my missing ceiling nets and the zipper issue and it looks like they are going ship replacement parts out to me.
While the response has taken a few days, at least they are responding, now we'll have to see how things go from here and whether I get my parts.
I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to attach replacement nets that were supposed to be sewn into structure of the shelters ceiling! ???
Here is the email, apparently I'm not the only one with missing ceiling nets:
If you could send me a copy of your receipt, we can take a look.
We will also need your shipping address.
I have had a few XL4000T's that were missing the cargo nets.
Once we have your address, we can have some ring style replacement zipper pulls sent out to you and also the missing
Organizers.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
We appreciate your business and value you as a a Clam customer
Sincerely,
Customer Service
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Take it back to your retailer and cause a stink! They will deal with Clam.
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Glad the customer service is taking care of you. Good products are key to being a successful company, but there will inevitably be some defects no matter how good the manufacturing process. It's times like that when customer service is there to take care of any issues. A lot of people will say to take it back to the store but check with customer service first, they usually have a quick fix for you.
Take care,
Tom
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I set up my Bigfoot XL4000T next to my friend's (same house) that did not have the ceiling mesh storage.....and we were both surprised to find that his house was not the same size as mine, even though they both were sold as Bigfoot XL4000T's. In fact, his house dimensions were in fact consistent with the XL2000 model.
There were many differences between the two houses. Some of which were the overall width of the shack (mine was about 7 inches wider on each side), the color of the fabric (I understand that it could simply be a different dye lot), the eye bolts on the side hubs were at different heights, and the skirts were 4" different (mine has a 12" skirt and his has an 8" skirt).
Needless to say he was not happy and contacted Clam right away. They didn't directly address the situation, but sent him a brand new house. Clam has tried to sent out organizers to make up for the mesh nets, but never offered to replace it until they were called on the size......very poor. I would highly suggest you measure your house and make sure it is the correct size......I bet it's not!
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Thanks for that info, I will check mine tonight.
Clam sent me two small organizers, along with the cord and rings for the zipper pull replacement.
The organizers can't really be used in this shelter vary easily, besides, I don't want to carry them around.
In any event, I will check my dimensions, just having used the tent a few times, it doesn't appear to be smaller than advertised, but then again, I haven't had another one to compare to.
It makes me wonder if these cargo-less tents were first run products or early prototypes or something.
I noted in one of my posts above (see photo) that I was surprised that my shelter only weighed 37 pounds, when the list is 42. I notice the XL2000 is listed at 35 pounds, so mine weighs more like the 2000!!!!
:o :o
Did your buddy return the old one?
EDIT* Would you mind posting the dimensions if you get a chance, particularly the eyelet height. I'm assuming your is the full 96" x 96" with 82" center height.
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Riffle, you and I are really close to each other, so you could compare with mine if you would like sometime. I'm 10 minutes to Henniker.
One thing I am seriously not happy about now is that I am noticing the hardware used at the hubs is not waterproof/stainless. My eyelets on the hubs are getting really rusty and it's beginning to stain the fabric. I've used it probably 20 times this year, a lot of use, but still. I know it's not a $900 Otter Outdoors shelter, but even as cheap as $319, it should have waterproof hardware. It's an ice shanty, it's going to get wet- a lot.
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Thanks for the offer, I'm going to look at it later today and do some measurements and take it from there.
The lack of a gear loft(s) really isn't sitting well with me, even after Clam sent me two organizers (useless with this hub shelter really) but I bought this online, so returning it would be a big hassle and not worth it.
However, IF the dimensions are off I will ask Clam to send me a new one for sure.
Makes me nervous given the posters account from above plus the weight discrepency.
Otherwise this shelter really is nice, I had it up last weekend with 45mph gusts and it was a rock, really impressed with the hubs and poles--just irritates me that they can't get the simple things right (crap zippers, lack of stainless hardware, miscut/mislabled shelters, missing gear lofts, etc.)
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Otherwise this shelter really is nice, I had it up last weekend with 45mph gusts and it was a rock, really impressed with the hubs and poles--just irritates me that they can't get the simple things right (crap zippers, lack of stainless hardware, miscut/mislabled shelters, missing gear lofts, etc.)
I hear you. Of course, I am sure you and I both noticed the huge "MADE IN CHINA" printing on the box... That's probably what we get when someone made $11 for the 14 hour shift they put in making our shanties.
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Ok so I just put the shelter up in the garage and measured the following:
Width: (corner to corner not including the skirt): 89" inches
Center Height: 80" inches
Skirt Width: 8" inches
Eyelet Height: 42"
Weight: 37 pounds
The measurements of the XL2000 per Clams site:
Setup Size: 90” x 90”
Center Height: 80”
Weight: 35 Lbs
Fishable Area: (56 sq. ft.)
Fishes 4-5 Anglers comfortably
it sure looks like I have the same issue as walleyeman22's buddy.
Thanks again walleye, I'm sending an email to Clam right now. ???
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Well, I just sent off my email to Clam, I guess I'll update this in a few days with their response... :-\
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Glad to help, I hope that more folks get wind of this issue and get what they paid for.
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Hey man, just by chance do you know if your buddy got his off Ebay?
I bought mine from Reeds Family Sports on Ebay, since they were sold out pretty much everywhere else.
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Not happy with mine.
First one, zippers failed immediately. Returned to store
Second one, zippers failed after 3 outings. Zipper pull tabs broke too on both zippers.
Size is great zippers suck.
Why don't these guys do VELCRO doors and not zippers?!?! FT
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Hey man, just by chance do you know if your buddy got his off Ebay?
I bought mine from Reeds Family Sports on Ebay, since they were sold out pretty much everywhere else.
Nope, he bought it at our local Cabelas.
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Nope, he bought it at our local Cabelas.
Got the call from Clam, they are taking care of me 100%.
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Clam posted this on their FB page explaining what happened with the size defect with the Bigfoot 4000T shelter:
Thought I’d jump in here. I work at CLAM and oversee the customer service and product development side of the business.
First, to the issue at hand, we can confirm the obvious. There are a small number of 4000T shelters out there that were produced to the wrong size specs. There are also some 4000T shelters out there that were produced without ceiling nets. All of the undersized 4000T’s do NOT have ceiling nets, but we know there are also some correct-sized 4000T’s without ceiling nets. IF you have ceiling nets, your 4000T IS the correct size. If you DO NOT have nets you MIGHT have an undersized shelter. Measure the floor dimensions. You should be at or close to 8 x 8 ft. on the floor. If you are not at 8 x 8 we will take care of you. We will allow you to KEEP your undersized shelter and will ship you a correct sized shelter at no charge. You WILL need to provide proof of purchase and proof that the shelter is undersized (pictures with tape measure). To contact our customer service, either email us at [email protected] or call us at 763-231-4120.
Here’s a stab at answering some of the other questions on this forum:
What happened?
Simply put, the 4000T sales are off the charts. Our customers saw this as a great shelter at a great price, and sales were more than 4 times our initial aggressive forecast. We chased sales and added “backup” factories to meet the demand, and somehow a batch that was the wrong size got out to you. It was certainly not our intent, and we believe we are compensating in a meaningful way those who received an undersized shelter.
What went wrong?
Ironically, we discovered that one of our “backup” factories was also making shelters for a competitor. When that competitor gives dimensions to the factory (and to you the consumer), the dimensions they quote are hub-to-hub, not actual fishing space. As a result this “backup” factory made a batch using the smaller hub-to-hub dimensions of our competitor as a guide, but we did not discover the issue until it was brought to our attention through our consumers. As an aside, when you’re reading dimensions and comparing shelters, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples and not floor space (which we quote) to hub-to-hub measurements (which our competitor does).
Why not address this proactively?
We are addressing this here, and we will also be addressing it through our website, an email blast, and our social media. While this issue is a very small percentage of the total units sold for this model, you are right that we should be proactive in getting it resolved.
Why doesn’t CLAM interact more in the forums?
The forums are a difficult environment at best for any company, which is why most avoid it. The company is fully transparent and accountable, while a minority of individuals in forums uses their anonymity and lack of accountability to distort facts and inflame what could be a healthy dialogue. We do monitor all of the forums regularly. I am a regular forum user, and the vast majority of forum users has integrity and is simply using the forum to share experiences and knowledge and learn more about their passions. In monitoring forums related to our products, though, we know for a fact that interactions between individuals and CLAM customer service are sometimes intentionally distorted or manipulated to the detriment of CLAM. In some cases the statements made are just plain untrue. Like most companies, we feel the best way to deal with this is to stay out of the fight, as it’s difficult to have a healthy dialogue with an individual who chooses to distort facts and manipulate the truth and then hide behind his anonymity.
Why does CLAM have “so many” quality problems?
As a percentage of sales, we don’t. Take a look on most lakes during ice season and you’ll see a sea of blue. We’ve sold far more ice fishing shelters than any competitor. We’re the first, the original, and the best. Our defective rate is as good or better than any of our competitors, but the fact is, even a small defective rate when dealing with huge volumes can result in unhappy customers. Our approach to quality is to build the best products, inspect during and after production, and deliver great customer service when we have an issue. We aren’t perfect, but our feedback overall tells us that we are doing well in all three of these phases. Having said that, it is our goal to continually improve, doing all we can to exceed expectations.
Just about all of us at CLAM are passionate ice fisherman and women. We work hard to put high quality, innovative products to market that we are proud to have our name on. We will stack our quality up against anyone’s. If you take the time to compare, to look into the details of all that we put into our products, we believe you’ll agree.
Steve Geertsen
CLAM Corporation
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Clam posted this on their FB page explaining what happened with the size defect with the Bigfoot 4000T shelter:
Thought I’d jump in here. I work at CLAM and oversee the customer service and product development side of the business.
First, to the issue at hand, we can confirm the obvious. There are a small number of 4000T shelters out there that were produced to the wrong size specs. There are also some 4000T shelters out there that were produced without ceiling nets. All of the undersized 4000T’s do NOT have ceiling nets, but we know there are also some correct-sized 4000T’s without ceiling nets. IF you have ceiling nets, your 4000T IS the correct size. If you DO NOT have nets you MIGHT have an undersized shelter. Measure the floor dimensions. You should be at or close to 8 x 8 ft. on the floor. If you are not at 8 x 8 we will take care of you. We will allow you to KEEP your undersized shelter and will ship you a correct sized shelter at no charge. You WILL need to provide proof of purchase and proof that the shelter is undersized (pictures with tape measure). To contact our customer service, either email us at [email protected] or call us at 763-231-4120.
Here’s a stab at answering some of the other questions on this forum:
What happened?
Simply put, the 4000T sales are off the charts. Our customers saw this as a great shelter at a great price, and sales were more than 4 times our initial aggressive forecast. We chased sales and added “backup” factories to meet the demand, and somehow a batch that was the wrong size got out to you. It was certainly not our intent, and we believe we are compensating in a meaningful way those who received an undersized shelter.
What went wrong?
Ironically, we discovered that one of our “backup” factories was also making shelters for a competitor. When that competitor gives dimensions to the factory (and to you the consumer), the dimensions they quote are hub-to-hub, not actual fishing space. As a result this “backup” factory made a batch using the smaller hub-to-hub dimensions of our competitor as a guide, but we did not discover the issue until it was brought to our attention through our consumers. As an aside, when you’re reading dimensions and comparing shelters, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples and not floor space (which we quote) to hub-to-hub measurements (which our competitor does).
Why not address this proactively?
We are addressing this here, and we will also be addressing it through our website, an email blast, and our social media. While this issue is a very small percentage of the total units sold for this model, you are right that we should be proactive in getting it resolved.
Why doesn’t CLAM interact more in the forums?
The forums are a difficult environment at best for any company, which is why most avoid it. The company is fully transparent and accountable, while a minority of individuals in forums uses their anonymity and lack of accountability to distort facts and inflame what could be a healthy dialogue. We do monitor all of the forums regularly. I am a regular forum user, and the vast majority of forum users has integrity and is simply using the forum to share experiences and knowledge and learn more about their passions. In monitoring forums related to our products, though, we know for a fact that interactions between individuals and CLAM customer service are sometimes intentionally distorted or manipulated to the detriment of CLAM. In some cases the statements made are just plain untrue. Like most companies, we feel the best way to deal with this is to stay out of the fight, as it’s difficult to have a healthy dialogue with an individual who chooses to distort facts and manipulate the truth and then hide behind his anonymity.
Why does CLAM have “so many” quality problems?
As a percentage of sales, we don’t. Take a look on most lakes during ice season and you’ll see a sea of blue. We’ve sold far more ice fishing shelters than any competitor. We’re the first, the original, and the best. Our defective rate is as good or better than any of our competitors, but the fact is, even a small defective rate when dealing with huge volumes can result in unhappy customers. Our approach to quality is to build the best products, inspect during and after production, and deliver great customer service when we have an issue. We aren’t perfect, but our feedback overall tells us that we are doing well in all three of these phases. Having said that, it is our goal to continually improve, doing all we can to exceed expectations.
Just about all of us at CLAM are passionate ice fisherman and women. We work hard to put high quality, innovative products to market that we are proud to have our name on. We will stack our quality up against anyone’s. If you take the time to compare, to look into the details of all that we put into our products, we believe you’ll agree.
Steve Geertsen
CLAM Corporation
Any interest in selling the defective shelter??
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I just read this thread about Clam while looking for auger info. I dealt with clam in jan 2013 about issues with this hub and was giving the cold shoulder for what was their manufacturing defects. Their response that was posted on here makes me laugh