So im in the market for a ice fishing suit. I was able to check out most of the options at the St Paul ice fishing show to get a good idea on what the suits are like in person rather then reading about them on the internet. To be honest, i could probably count on two hands the number of times i ran my heater last winter when ice fishing. Granted in Iowa temps arent quite as extreme as up in SD, ND, MN, etc but it will get down to -20 here on a really cold day. So when im looking at an icefishing suit i want something that will keep me warm when im hole hoping and not something to keep me warm when im walking 20 feet from my truck to my permanent ice house if you know what i mean.
I was going to pick up an arctic armor suit at the show but after seeing one is person i have my reservations about it. I dont doubt one bit that they will float a person in the event that they were to fall through the ice. Beings that i weight 190 pounds i have no doubt that it would be able to float me without any problems. In my mind when im ice fishing im more concerned about getting cold then falling through the ice so i would rather have something which is going to keep me warm more so then having the ability to float first and can keep you somewhat warm.
When you compare the specs on the suit to that of the Clam Smurf Suit they might as well be the same set up. They both had about the same amount of material, pockets, D rings, etc. When you compare the suit to Clam X-trap series i think that the Arctic Armor is quite a bit less material and therefore in my opinion will not be as warm. When compared to the Snosuit pretty much everything is in second place in terms of warmth but im not going to shell out 450 bucks for a suit.
So i guess for those guys who own Arctic Armor suits what do you think of them in terms of warmth? Are you fishing outside with these suits for prolonged peroids of time or just walking in and out of you heated ice house? What do you normally wear underneath the suit (long johns, shorts, etc)?
The one thing i have never heard a guy with a smurf suit say was that he was cold while he had it on. Can the same be said about the Arctic Armor Suit. Thanks in advance fellas!
