In over 50 years of "walking on water" I've tried just about very type of tip up out there...
every one of them had at least one quality I liked.. and most had qualities I disliked ( even if it was only the cost)... I used 40 ups for years...my basic design was a beefier version of them...I used jack trap triggers... beefed up and redesigned the spools of the 40 up... my spools hold 300 yards of line and backing ...the weight of the line filled spool has a "fly wheel" effect it makes tripping and spool rotation fluid ..the spools ride on a nylon bushing to keep them smooth and eliminate chatter... I also have made the spools interchangeable... a large tangle goes in the box to be dealt with at home.. and a new spool is installed in just a few seconds.... I used the wind deflectors from the laker style traps... the flag spring is from from the 40 ups.. flags are from the polar tip ups.. love that bright orange.....cross pieces and uprights are made of rock maple... soaked in a 60/40 mixture of urethane and mineral spirits and then painted hunter green... the lower half of the upright is wrapped with black electrical tape to absorb UV rays and prevent the tip up from freezing in...... the high brace had a spacer block on each end to keep the tip up from rocking....I don't have any pictures here at work... I provide some in the future if needed..