Overnighting on the water - Need some general info

[Albertan]

I'm getting back into ice fishing after a long hiatus.  I'll probably just stick to my home waters for the remainder of the season, so I don't have to pack the sleds around to get over the snow.  But I hope to travel to some different waters next season with the son-in-law to fish some different species.  I'm starting to plan to stay out overnight at these remote lakes.  I'm looking for any recommendations from people who have over-nighted on the water.  One of my biggest questions is which type of shelter is better suited...something rectangular like the Eskimo FatFish 9416i or something hexagonal like the Fatfish 6120i.  I like the hexagonal hubs better.  But I can see the rectangular hubs being more practical for camping in.



More questions to follow once I settle on a hub style.  Cheers.

[Mizayikaa]

I have the 6120i and sleep in it regularly. For me and the dog it works well. I have stayed in it with another person with me a couple times and it works out but you run out of fishing floor space when there is two cots set up. If you're not concerned with fishing at night and just want to sleep it's fine. I like to have some rods set up with bells for a nice little alarm clock. This is still doable but tight. All and all I love my shelter but if I was planning on sleeping in it with another person very often I may want to step up to a bigger one. Hope this helps.

[hardwater diehard]

I would think the Hexagonal shape would offer a central heating option if the cots were placed parallel to the walls.

[Unclegillhunter]

Really y’all sleep when your fishing!
Keep it safe! JDL

[wyogator]

I have the rectangular Quick Fish 6 and have overnighted with it. It works fine if you are sleeping alone. It didn't hold much more than one cot with a little extra room for a buddy heater, cooler and a chair to fish. My cot is a HUGE XL Alps mountaineering cot. So a smaller one may give you more room. If you are overnighting with a buddy, I would get the hex shape, unless you want to go the bunk-bed cot route. It would be nice in that case to have an extra hub for fishing and using the rectangular one for sleeping. There was a post on this topic a while back by FGSteve with a wealth of info. I highly recommend reading it. Give yourself an hour, it's pretty lengthy reading.

[Royalwapiti]

How about something to save on floor space, like this?

[muskyon46]

Check this thread out. Lots of good info and some trial and error on things for overnights

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=325954.msg3587572#msg3587572

[Albertan]

I have the rectangular Quick Fish 6 and have overnighted with it. It works fine if you are sleeping alone. It didn't hold much more than one cot with a little extra room for a buddy heater, cooler and a chair to fish. My cot is a HUGE XL Alps mountaineering cot. So a smaller one may give you more room. If you are overnighting with a buddy, I would get the hex shape, unless you want to go the bunk-bed cot route. It would be nice in that case to have an extra hub for fishing and using the rectangular one for sleeping. There was a post on this topic a while back by FGSteve with a wealth of info. I highly recommend reading it. Give yourself an hour, it's pretty lengthy reading.

Agreed that was good reading and good info.  Thanks for the heads up. 

[Albertan]

How about something to save on floor space, like this?

Yeah that's similar to what FGSteve and his son used.  Definitely going to look into it.  Thanks.

EDIT - Actually, that's exactly what FGSteve uses.  Very nice cots that can serve double duty in the lakeside house during the Summer.

[Albertan]

Check this thread out. Lots of good info and some trial and error on things for overnights

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=325954.msg3587572#msg3587572

That's the one Wyogator put me onto.  It does have lots of good info.  Hopefully I can contribute with a similarly-informative thread in the near future.

[RickWakeman]

How about something to save on floor space, like this?

There's so much more room for activities! 

[Albertan]

I did some research on that Disc-O-Bed, and that's definitely what I am going with since I don't have any cots atm.  It's nice that you can run it as two single cots if you want...heck you can even turn it into a couch.  The only drawback is its weight.  But I'm hauling everything out using two Summit 800 sleds, so I don't need to worry about travelling light.  lol.

http://www.discobed.com/

[FG Steve]

We like the disc-o-bed cots for sure.  For us, the following tips help:

-We like size L, not XL or XXL.  Good length but more narrow.
-Get the leg extensions for more room between the beds.
-Get the foot pads to keep the bed on top of the ice/snow.
-Make sure the long poles are tightly assembled as you set up.  They don't latch together but once set up we haven't seen them budge.
-Put floor pads under the bottom bunk to keep it dry from below.

You can see them in action on the Camping on the Ice thread already mentioned https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=325954.0.  We've been having some fun with that thread for a few years now--197 replies and over 15,000 views so far.

IMO
YMMV