Ice armor, Artic armor or sno suit. Which is best

[FishinJenn]

I'm hoping to be able to afford Arctic Armor for myself and my SO next year. The flotation aspect alone makes it worth the $$. Its scary thought, going through the ice.

[eriksat1]

I have never known of anyone who planned on falling thru the ice. You really need to do yourself a favor and watch the videos further up this thread. The life it saves may be yours.
 

I'm not driving on unfamiliar ice, I won't go where I haven't checked it out first, I certainly don't drive out early ice or late ice, this is mid winter it hasn't been above freezing in a couple of months the ice is almost 2 feet thick now where I'm at. I wear a life vest musky fishing in the late fall casting big lures, its not that bulky specially if your are worried about possibly falling through. If your are worried about flotation I would go with a life vest or one of those auto inflate life jackets. Another thing about a good life vest they are very warm, keeps your core body warm.

[DeLiarDaRuler]

I'm hoping to be able to afford Arctic Armor for myself and my SO next year. The flotation aspect alone makes it worth the $$. Its scary thought, going through the ice.

 I'm not scared to go through with an AA suit on... I'm just scared of that ice cold water hitting the "boyz"!!!

[dakotaice]

I am just wondering which to get, Ice armor, Artic armor or sno suit. Which one do you recommend

ICE ARMOR,got mine for less than 200 after the season  and i love ,warm ,dry and comfortable.tons of storage pockets inside and out.in all fairness i havnt tried the arctic armor though and the flotation part would have been a major plus.

[thew4]

This argument is quickly becoming as hot as the marcum v. vexilar v. hummingbird. I believe the answer is roughly the same...they are all better than nothing. I got the new all black AA suit this year, and wouldn't leave home without it now. It's awesome. My buddy got the Ice Armor suit and thinks the same of his. Just like he swears by his vex and I love my marcum.

At the end of the day, I did a boat-load of research and I concluded that I wanted the Arctic Armor, but after trying on my buddies, there is not a real big difference. I do like mine a little better, but I don't think you can go wrong either way.

good luck to yah...

[DeLiarDaRuler]

 I think AA comes with a guarantee you'll catch more fish too, if I'm not mistaken. 

[53andout]

I'm glad you did buy a Arctic Armor suit.
I really have to dis-agree with what you have said comparing the Arctic Armor and Ice Armor and saying there is NO REAL BIG DIFFERENCE. The difference is Black and White. Please watch this video especially the 3rd one.

http://www.yukonman.com/cold_water.asp

 I think you'll have to agree the Arctic Armor is a lifesaver. Furthermore, if you do some more research you'll understand that getting out of the water when you go thru the ice, only half the battle has been won. Ordinary clothing retains most of the water and you have to battle hypothermia. The Arctic Armor suit does not retain water and when you get out of the water you begin to warm up again. Same effect as a diver's wet suit. More videos to watch on the Arctic Armor website.

http://idigear.com/

watch the videos and listen to what happens when you get out of cold water.



 

This argument is quickly becoming as hot as the marcum v. vexilar v. hummingbird. I believe the answer is roughly the same...they are all better than nothing. I got the new all black AA suit this year, and wouldn't leave home without it now. It's awesome. My buddy got the Ice Armor suit and thinks the same of his. Just like he swears by his vex and I love my marcum.

At the end of the day, I did a boat-load of research and I concluded that I wanted the Arctic Armor, but after trying on my buddies, there is not a real big difference. I do like mine a little better, but I don't think you can go wrong either way.

good luck to yah...

[Ice_Stalker]

I have Cabela's Guidewear and an Arctic Armor Siut.  The Cabela's is the finest rainsuit you can buy, but it is not designed for warmth. The AA suit is almost too warm.  Today, it was 30 degrees, and after 20 minutes, I had to take off my parka.  I only had a fleece on underneath! I have not had any issues with snow caking on the knees or flimsy zippers. So far, the $300 I spent on it this year (Reeds) has absolutely been worth it.  I have a pair of Ice Armor gloves and they suck, not waterproof or warm, so I was hesitant to buy the suit.  The flotation sealed the deal.

[lives2fish]

I cant speak for the arctic armor, I hear there very good with the whole life saving thing and all...
I personaly, have the ice armor and I realy like the suit but hate clam. I had a problem with it this year, It seems as though every seam in the suit was only built to last for 2 years.
My dad has the cabelas guide wear suit and he raves about it every weekend and through out the week too. All in all If I had to do it over again I would probably go with the arctic armor. But My friend has the arctic armor and she said that she loves it but it is tight in the chest. She is not however overly large in the chest area. I would definately try before you but in that case.
Hope this helps.
tight lines

[SNAGGER]

  I picked up a Snowsuit at the Syracuse ice show for a good deal... Just started wearing it and man is it warm, blows my old Cabelas snowmobile suit away, seems very rugged too, too soon to tell. I don't fish in a shanty yet and I;m a walker, I weighed it and it's 2 lbs heavier than my old suit, but man is it warm.

I think (hope, since everything is made in china these days) it will be a good investment, I tryed on all those floaty ones you guys are talking about and they just didn't seem rugged enough for me..

[db1561]

I personaly, have the ice armor and I realy like the suit but hate clam. I had a problem with it this year, It seems as though every seam in the suit was only built to last for 2 years.
Hope this helps.
tight lines

Hmmmm.?  My brother has been using his Ice Armor for 3 years now and hasn't had a single issue.  He uses it almost 8 months out of the year. 

Sorry to hear about the issues you are having..

[DON-E-ICE]

I think im sold with the AA.  I can think of worse problems then maybe heating up too much.  Maybe I will put in on after walking out and drilling holes.

[stoph]

 2 huge thumbs up from a happy aa owner   i got the plus suit at the start of the season. it's so light and thin i was worried it wouldent keep me warm. Well it does, it really does. I too am a shantyless walker fishing all over Ontario, i've been out in -35 c with windchill and honestly been fine, i normally have to have the jacket undone when sled dragging and drilling. way too many +'s for me for aa over the comp after just 10 mins research the decision was made, too easy! I don't own a flasher yet and i know next yrs decision on which to get is gonna be 100x tougher!

[lives2fish]

Hmmmm.?  My brother has been using his Ice Armor for 3 years now and hasn't had a single issue.  He uses it almost 8 months out of the year. 

Sorry to hear about the issues you are having..

I undestand that poop happens but I am just fustrated because they wont get back to me. It is rejuivating though to hear that they are normally good. thanks for the reply

[CrappieGuy]

I bought the camo IDI Artic Armour suit for bowhunting and ice fishing.   I only have the single layer bibs and double layer jacket unlike the 3 layer ice fishing suit.

It keeps me plenty warm and I have had the misfortune or should I say fortune of having the suit on when I have went through the ice in 18ft of water.  I floated like a bobber and my fishing buddy just reached down and pulled me out.  We had 6" of ice and some idiot moved his shack after it melted an open hole and never marked it.   It had skimmed over with a 1/2" of ice over night.  It was dark when I found the spot.  All I got was a little water in my boots, took them off and rung out my socks and back to fishing.

If you want good pricing on the suits contact Troy at http://www.blindhunterssupply.com/     great guy with good prices.

[db1561]

I'm hoping to be able to afford Arctic Armor for myself and my SO next year. The flotation aspect alone makes it worth the $$. Its scary thought, going through the ice.

I went through twice in one season before I purchased the AA suit.... The first time was only waist deep (more embarrassing than anything)  ..the second time could have been real bad water was over 10 feet deep we went through on a 4 wheeler, my brother flew over the handle bars while I was on the trailer he ended up on solid ice while i  was bobbing around in busted ice with a running 4 wheeler and sinking fast with my carharts, army issue parka & Micky mouse boots! Some guys playing hockey helped me out and we actually were able to drag the 4 wheeler out before it sank...

This happened mid February 08!

Long story short I got home let the wife know what happened ..the suit was ordered that night!  If you fish alot you should make this or any other flotation suit a priority.. IMHO 

We both knew the lake very well where we were fishing.. It just goes to show it can happen to anyone at anytime! 

[elcapitanmas]

I have had all three and will ONLY wear the snosuit as long as I ice fish.  If your on ice thats thin enough to worry about whether or not your suit will float you, your not being responsible.  Sno suit is by far the warmest thing I've ever worn.  I usually don't even put the jacket on until 3/4 of the way through the trip.  Ice armor is def nice and warm, just not built as heavy duty as the snosuit.  For the price difference though, you could get an ice armor suit, use it for 3 years and then get another.  I was sick of being cold (arctic armor) no matter what my layering was underneath.  Arctic armor jackets DO NOT breathe well (floatation insulation)  Go with the ice armor if money is an issue, if not, go with the snosuit.

[addicted2fishin]

i couldnt deciede between ice armor blue and artic armor but finally i placed my order in 2day for a artic armor just because i got it cheaper then i would have the ice armor blue I hope it holds up 

[northernnyice]

it should hold up just fine. they are all well made.

[Krazykaiser]

 Like elcapitanmas said the Sno suit is tops.  I could say that it was almost too warm in the Sno-suit.   My friends and i bought  PRE- FRABIL Versions OF THE SNO SUiT bibs and Jacket on close out. We used them for a season and abused them like a red headed step-child. Trips to lakes,  Lighters,  Flasks, Keys, matches, smokes, line, and lures passed through our pockets with no effect,   Just find a deal on the pair and you cant go wrong.

[pikeking]

Arctic armor,,, it's warm and IT FLOATS!!!

[Mainedog]

Like elcapitanmas said the Sno suit is tops.  I could say that it was almost too warm in the Sno-suit.   My friends and i bought  PRE- FRABIL Versions OF THE SNO SUiT bibs and Jacket on close out. We used them for a season and abused them like a red headed step-child. Trips to lakes,  Lighters,  Flasks, Keys, matches, smokes, line, and lures passed through our pockets with no effect,   Just find a deal on the pair and you cant go wrong.

Any feedback on post-Frabil versions of Snosuits?

MD

[wiskeyfish]

arctic armour...it floats nuff said