New Ice Fishing pop up shelter

[EmeraldShiner]

Gonna pull the trigger tomorrow on a new Eskimo 350 XD outbreak series hub.
Picking one up in stock at local bait dealer tomorrow morning.   I'll pay a little more than if I ordered it on line but don't mind that when supporting local business and can be ice fishing with shelter the same day.  Any one on here using this particular hub and if so what are your thoughts and experience with set up and performance?

[Thebeardedwaterfowler]

I have the 450 xd. Same design only slightly larger. It is a great shelter. Goes up easily, heats well, and handles wind and nasty weather well, if tied out properly.

My only dislike is the size of the bag it comes with. It could use to be larger, especially when you are fighting with it in the snow and wind in the middle of the lake. It is not easy to get back in the bag. I am thinking about having someone add a full-length zipper and extending the width of the bag by 8-12".

[hardwater diehard]

I have the 650XD ...the bag can be challenging.. the video and some on land practice drils will help as does this gear tie .

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Nite-Ize-64-in-Gear-Tie-in-Black-GT64-01-R3/313478931?irgwc=1&im_rewards=1&cm_mmc=afl-ir-2003851-1420157-EdgeBingFlow&clickid=1dvQfJRbLxyPTBuwHWV0SWgoUkHwx8XszUYq380

[Nitz]

IMO the Eskimo Outbreak XD series are the best hubs on the market. I own an OUTBREAK 450XD and an OUTBREAK 250XD [both purchased in DEC 2021]. The "no trip" door was a game-changer. The overall build quality is great and the StormShield™ fabric performs well.

One of the regulars in my ice fishing group bought a new Otter Vortex Pro Lodge for the 2022-2023 season. It is nice, but I would rank it behind my 450XD in terms of workmanship and material quality. Not sure which is the 3rd best hub series out there (after Eskimo Outbreak XD and Otter Vortex Pro), but IMO it is a very distant 3rd.

Be sure to pay attention to the collapsed size and weight specs of these units as you shop. These are not small or light shelters - be sure you can handle loading, unloading, transporting to & from the lake, as well as traveling over the ice.

So I picked up the 250 shortly after my 450, intent of taking 250 out on solo runs.  Well, I did that 1X - now I just take the 450 even when solo.  How did you decide on the 350?  That is the one size of this series I have not yet encountered in the wild.

FYI - Farm and Fleet currently has the Outbreak 450XD at the lowest price I have seen it.

[hardwater diehard]

FYI - Farm and Fleet currently has the Outbreak 450XD at the lowest price I have seen it.

Doesn't look to be available for shipping ...Home Depot may price match and free ship to store ..Scheels may as well .

https://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/eskimo-outbreak-450-insulated-ice-shelter/0000000360914

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https://www.shoptackleshack.com/ice-fishing/shelters-huts-accessories/page3.html

[Nitz]

Doesn't look to be available for shipping ...

That is not what I am seeing, and I checked prior to posting.  It allows me to go all thru checkout for a 450XD.

Not sure what you are seeing, but BF&F only adds the red "Only X left order soon!" note when inventory gets low - check out the 650XD currently.

But good call on price matching, if I am completely missing something here.

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

Haven’t been in a 350. But love my 650. The walk through door is a must in my opinion. We can heat my 650 on most days with a buddy heater on low. High gets a little hot for me..daughter loves it.

[EmeraldShiner]

IMO the Eskimo Outbreak XD series are the best hubs on the market. I own an OUTBREAK 450XD and an OUTBREAK 250XD [both purchased in DEC 2021]. The "no trip" door was a game-changer. The overall build quality is great and the StormShield™ fabric performs well.

One of the regulars in my ice fishing group bought a new Otter Vortex Pro Lodge for the 2022-2023 season. It is nice, but I would rank it behind my 450XD in terms of workmanship and material quality. Not sure which is the 3rd best hub series out there (after Eskimo Outbreak XD and Otter Vortex Pro), but IMO it is a very distant 3rd.

Be sure to pay attention to the collapsed size and weight specs of these units as you shop. These are not small or light shelters - be sure you can handle loading, unloading, transporting to & from the lake, as well as traveling over the ice.

So I picked up the 250 shortly after my 450, intent of taking 250 out on solo runs.  Well, I did that 1X - now I just take the 450 even when solo.  How did you decide on the 350?  That is the one size of this series I have not yet encountered in the wild.

FYI - Farm and Fleet currently has the Outbreak 450XD at the lowest price I have seen it.

Great question regarding why I chose the 350xd size.  Most of my ice fishing trips are walk on by myself with small jet sled and a few trips with two other adults.  The size and weight are very important to me with portability and ability to set it up by myself.  I actually could have bought the 450xd for less money but chose the 350 for less weight and length when packed up and hauling it in the smaller jet sled. Gonna take it out this weekend on it's trial run and will let you know what I think of it's performance.  At age 68 really need a snowmachine and trailer to cart my ass out there but just can't justify $20,000,00 for new sled and clamshell trailer.  Am shopping for used machine and trailer but probably not in the cards until next spring/summer and used purchase is risky so need enough time to make sure I make the right decision.

[Nitz]

Great question regarding why I chose the 350xd size.  Most of my ice fishing trips are walk on by myself with small jet sled and a few trips with two other adults.  The size and weight are very important to me with portability and ability to set it up by myself.  I actually could have bought the 450xd for less money but chose the 350 for less weight and length when packed up and hauling it in the smaller jet sled. Gonna take it out this weekend on it's trial run and will let you know what I think of it's performance.  At age 68 really need a snowmachine and trailer to cart my ass out there but just can't justify $20,000,00 for new sled and clamshell trailer.  Am shopping for used machine and trailer but probably not in the cards until next spring/summer and used purchase is risky so need enough time to make sure I make the right decision.

Awesome, I am looking forward to hearing your update!  Three adults actively fishing in the 350XD might be tight, but probably doable.  The full, no-trip door on these units allows for easy in/out of gear as needed.  We fished two adults in my 250XD the one time I brought it out.  Four adults just sitting watching flags with minimal gear inside my 450XD is doable.  Fishing more than two adults in the 450XD w/ electronics and gear gets cozy in a real hurry.

I completely hear you regarding the sled; it is challenging to justify the up-front and total cost of ownership of one.

Stay safe!

[jacksmelt71]

I have the 450 xd. Same design only slightly larger. It is a great shelter. Goes up easily, heats well, and handles wind and nasty weather well, if tied out properly.

My only dislike is the size of the bag it comes with. It could use to be larger, especially when you are fighting with it in the snow and wind in the middle of the lake. It is not easy to get back in the bag. I am thinking about having someone add a full-length zipper and extending the width of the bag by 8-12".

i used to have eskimos. went to otters as their bags are bigger and open from the side instead from the end. no fighting to get the shelter to fit.

[EmeraldShiner]

I took the Eskimo 350 Outbreak XD for it's maiden voyage out this past weekend for two days in a row.  Good test conditions as although temps were up to 30 degrees for the high temp of the day, winds were gusting up to 20-25 mph once it got to be mid morning or after which made it feel much colder with the wind chill especially out over open ice.  I invited a close friend of many years to come ice fish with me over the weekend for two days and we bought tickets for the 1st annual Mount Vernon Fire Department Ice Fishing Derby that was held on Saturday 2/3/24.  The first day we fished was on Saturday 2/3/24 (ice fishing derby day) and we went to Flying Pond in Mt. Vernon.  First off let me qualify this test run by stating that both me and my friend have no snow machine or ATV four wheeler or track type vehicle so this was strictly walk on with one small sized Otter jet sled and one small sized Shappel jet sled.  Because of this walk on limitation with smaller jet sleds I chose the Eskimo Outbreak 350 XD for it's shorter length and less weight, Eskimo 350XD Outbreak is 48 lbs. in weight and 5'6" in length.  Even though we are in our middle to late 60's we are willing to walk great distances across a lake to get to prime fishing grounds provided there is reasonably compacted snow/ice conditions usually following snow machine tracks.  First day went fairly well after arriving to where we wanted to fish on Flying Pond (long walk), we were able to get all of our gear packed into those two small sleds including the new Eskimo ice shelter and pulling the sleds while walking was no issue as far as weight was concerned, however this was basically solid ice with less than 3" of dry powder snow on top. 

Once we got to our preferred location to ice fish we decided to set up the ice shelter tent first and deal with setting traps afterwards as neither one of us have ever set up an ice fishing shelter tent before.  I had watched a video on you tube of a guy setting up one of these Eskimo tent shelters the day before so I had a basic idea of what to do and expect.  I will say that I am glad I had another man along with me to set the shelter up for the first time as the new fabric and poles are fairly stiff.  In other words the side walls and roof are somewhat difficult to pop outwards and upwards on the initial set up with a new tent but was not a problem with two people.  The outside corners of the shelter need to be properly stretched, then put in the ice anchors at proper distance from the tent with adjustable straps to stabilize and hold the tent in place with the wind blowing at the rear side of the tent with the main door facing in the opposite direction towards the front side.  Here is a tip, install your ice anchors at the appropriate distance from the rear side of the tent with adjustable straps to hold the tent in place during windy conditions before you attempt to pop open the sides and roof or you risk having the tent become a low flying object down the lake and out of your immediate control (not good).  As I said initial pop up of the side walls which we did first and pop up of the ceiling was quite difficult but we managed to do it with two men, as we learned the next day this becomes a lot easier once the fabric and poles have been initially stretched into position.  Here is a tip, bring a rugged 1/2 inch drill with variable speed combined with a drill adaptor to drive the ice anchors into the ice, trust me you will need it unless you want to injure your wrists or shoulder trying to drive those ice anchors by hand.  Oh and by the way the extra ice anchors are for driving through the grommets in the exterior skirting surrounding the tent, if you don't install the anchors through the grommets in the skirting the wind will whip and uplift the tent making interior heating with a buddy heater much less efficient. 

After you install the anchors in the skirting grommets you can also shovel snow (for weight) over the skirting to maximize heating efficiency inside the tent.  In my opinion the build quality of materials on this shelter to include the exterior fabric, interior insulating quilted fabric and the case/cover are very good.  Once the tent was set up we fired up a brand new 9000-11000 BTU Buddy heater with 1 lb. propane bottle and set it on the low setting.  Heater ran for 6 hours on low and heated up that tent toasty warm and was like sitting in your living room.  Quilted fabric insulation was awesome in 25mph winds and did not feel any drafts at all, and with the heater running it was a joy to be out in the middle of a lake with cold winds gusting and not feeling one bit of that while inside the heated tent.  When it came time to leave the ice at the end of the day, break down of the tent was simple and straightforward and with proper installation of the cinching straps, once the tent was folded up like an umbrella it slid back into it's cover/case easily.  I don't understand what the complaints are about, this tent fits back into it's cover/case with minimal effort if done correctly using the cinch straps inside and out.  The 350 XD Outbreak is in my opinion the perfect size for 3 full size adults with three folding chairs. basic gear. a small buddy heater and up to three fishing holes if jigging inside the tent.  If your not drilling holes and jigging inside the tent, then it will easily handle 4 men with chairs, small amount of gear and a heater with no problem. 

We fished Long Pond in Rome on the second day (Sunday 2/4/24) in the same windy/cold conditions out on the open ice, but this time the tent popped up on the sides and ceiling much easier and with the learning curve figured out went much faster.  I now know I can set this tent up by myself without assistance from a second person which is very important to me and I can make it work for me with weight and length with all my other gear hauled out by hand and walking with a small jet sled.  This weekend's two days of fishing out of this tent/shelter were the most comfortable and enjoyable I have ever had in over 44 years of ice fishing Maine.  Hope the flags fly and you have tight lines on your next ice fishing adventure!

Sincerely,
EmeraldShiner

[Bottle_O_Moxie]

Nice update, Emerald. 
Thanks for sharing that, especially the part about the ease of packing it back into the bag and use during windy conditions.