Ice cube -vs- Quickfish shelter

[JeepAlaska]

Been looking at the Eastman Ice cube 4 person, or the Eskimo quickfish 3.  Does anyone have any opinions on these shelters?  Will two cubes zip together or two quickfishes zip together?  Any info would be great.

Thanks
JeepAlaska

[Fishin Fireman]

Let me first say,  Welcome To ICE SHANTY and "TEAM ALASKA"

I Got this from my PM's from a guy in Manitoba

saw your post on the thread about shelters. Just thought I would mention that I have a product made by Eastman Outfitters called the "Ice Cube". It is a tent like model. It has stood up well and seems to be a quality item. We just used it Monday and Tuesday on a trout trip and it was left in the car trunk overnight Monday (- 38 C windchill). Tuesday no problems with setup. We use a Mr. Heater and normally don't go beyond the medium setting to keep it comfortable. As with most units it is advertised as a 4 man unit but more realistically it is ideal for 2 guys with heater, gear, etc. I bought it because at the time it was the only unit out there that would fit in my car trunk, was lightweight (22 lbs.), had easy set up/take down, came with an oversized bag to make put away easy (bag has straps so you can carry it like a backpack), has velcro attached windows. It also has a very good anchoring systems with straps on all 4 sides that you anchor to the ice with ice screws if needed. We normally only anchor 2 sides and haven't had a problem even in 30+ km winds. By the way, I think Eastman was the first out of the tent style manufacturers withthe anchoring system and the velcro windows. Eskimo came out later with a somewhat similar product.

Might not be what you're looking for but thought I'd mention it.

Randy H
Manitoba

Either way I don't believe you could go wrong with one ot the other for a tent model as both have replaceable windows and seem very sturdy. The only complaint I've heard on the Quick fish 3 is the tightness of opening or closing the door. A simple fix is to just relieve some of the pressure by pulling or pushing down the area above the door or pulling in on the side a little ways to ease the tension and it's that simple. If it were up to me it would depend on price and availability but I would buy either one because of what I have been told.


Brad

[JeepAlaska]

Thanks, that helps.  Ardisam just emailed me back and said that the quickfishes cannot zip together, thought it would be cool to have two quickfish 3 shelters,(my brother and I) and zip them together to make a quickfish 6.  I doubt the Ice cubes zip together either.  I will have to go to Sportman's next week and start sitting in them and checking them out.  My wife calls it "playing dress up" 

Thanks again
JeepAlaska
www.JeepAlaska.com

[akjw7]

I've got the eskimo and my brother-in-law has the ice cube. They're almost identical (same set up and take downwith only minor differences -

door - the plus goes to the ice cube as Brad mentioned - but the eskimo's is only a minor annoyance and after you get used to it even that goes away
windows - both are removable - eskimo's are smaller but there is one on each side - ice cube's are larger but there's only two
vents - I just remember they are different not a big deal
Pockets - can't remember if the ice-cube has pockets on the inside - eskimo has two mesh pockets inside
anchors - I think the eskimo anchors are better but they both have them which is the important part

I think you've got good advice already - price and availability are good decision makers. I'd also throw in warranty and construction as factors too and of course whatever you prefer after you play dress up!

My brother commented that looking around the inside of his ice-cube with the windows closed during daylight was like looking at a starry night sky due to all the sewing holes. Same applies to the eskimo, but the ice cube looked to have a bit more "stars" it looked like someone was planning to sew in a third window and then changed their minds - the complete outline of a non-existent window was needle punched into one side.

I thought about the zip together idea too. I bet a creative person could rig up a kind of vestibule (ala the cabelas alaskan guide tents that let you connect two together) that could more or less bungee or strap around the opening of each tent not zip in (kind of like the way these SUV tents just suck up around the back of the truck) with a new relocated door to the outside world in the middle...

I've been using my eskimo for a couple months now. It's wonderful by yourself! I've also fished it a couple of times with two guys, two holes each, heater, flasher, and comfy camp chairs and although it's not spacious it did fits all that junk plus a bag of tackle and bait and didn't require too many acrobatics to get out to take a leak. I also tried it out with kids (5 and 3) with one hole for each of us and it worked ok, but it's hard keeping young kids that still for any length of time!

It was much cheaper than the sled mounted models (I don't have a snow machine, so don't have much use for one anyway), it's quick to set up and take down, it heats well with a Mr. Heater, and I absolutely love being able to stand up in it. It doesn't have a floor - which could be an advantage or disadvantage depending on how you look at it, but good boots with good insulation in the soles are needed for spending much time in these no floor tents!

Good luck deciding - you'll enjoy either one. (did you see the eskimo quickfish 6? it's basically two 3's put together...I wish they'd have developed a way to link two 3's instead of building it into one unit so you had more flexibility (I don't see hauling that behemoth out for just yourself or even two guys), but for a family of fish chasers it would be pretty great!)

[catchumall]

Looks like you already have some good advice.  I have a quickfish3 and a frabil solo ranger, I like them both but the frabil material gets very "crackly" when temps go below zero.  The quickfish is fairly easy to set up by your self and comes with some good screw anchors.  My main concern with my quickfish is the door on very cold days, it can be hard to deal with and if you don't zip it closed slowly some of the teeth won't lock up.  I believe this is caused by the fabric being very tight.  That aside I really like it and would buy another one if I needed to.  Good fishing

[FrankAk]

 I have the quickfish three and I am very happy with it. I have fished in it from -20 to when it was raining a little bit. Its seems very dourable and I keep a little portable heater in it. I have also seen the ice cude 4 man tent and cal tell you for sure that your not going to be comfortable with 4 people in it. Same with the eskimo for that matter. 3 people is the max for both tents and I dont think you could go wrong with either one.

I know for sure the eskimo has a nice backpack style bag that doesent fight to put the tent back in. That really helps on long days when your whopped an jsut ready to leave.

I dont think you could go wrong with either. But when I went to go buy I went with the quickfish because it had a warranty at Sportsmans.

[nptrash]

i have the quickfish and i love it. its real easy to pack around and doesnt take much effort to set up. unless the wind is blowing about 300 mph, then it becomes a bit of a PITA. the ice screws it comes with work real well but in high winds youll need an extra hand or two to help hold things down while you stake it out. and if the winds are strong enough and you arent guyed out good, the tent will let you know!(i think i still have a bump on my head from when the wind tried to collapse it during setup.)other than my minor difficulties , i wouldnt trade it for anything. except maybe a King Crow shanty.but they dont look as easy to pack.

[Fishin Fireman]

nptrash, I think you would be out of your league to be in a King Crow up here. You would not be nptrash anymore  Not many people who ice fish up here could afford one of those and have it shipped here. I have been trying to gather some ideas from them as I plan to build one this year but I'm having a problem finding someone locally who can get those winch style axles that can collapse so the shanty will sit right on the ice without having to take the wheels off like a redneck house.

Sorry to hijack the thread  If you want you can always report me to the moderator
I would report myself but that's not allowed because it says "You can't report your own post to the moderator, that doesn't make sense!"

[nptrash]

a little elbow grease and some scrap im sure i could come up with something... although i have thought about just cutting some holes in the floor of the old subaru and lining them with some 10" plastic pipe that would telescope down when you get over you spot! although that might be a little too much southern engineering. even for me!

[akjw7]

It's not local, but a while ago I found this site http://www../traileraccessories.htm and they sell a drop down axle kit.

Be sure to document the build Brad - I'll be a few years behind you, but would love to do the same thing!

[JeepAlaska]

Thanks a bunch guys, will probably get which ever one I find cheper around Anchorage, sounds like they are both comparable.  I heard Sam's has the Ice cube for $150, I will check SW for the quickfish.  Thanks again

JeepAlaska
www.JeepAlaska.com

[JeepAlaska]

Well couldn't wait drove into Anchorage today and got the quickfish 3 from Sportsman's for $149.  It's standing up in the living room, so far I love it.  Will be testing it out at Knik Lake tomorrow.

JeepAlaska
www.JeepAlaska.com

[Fishin Fireman]

a little elbow grease and some scrap im sure i could come up with something... although i have thought about just cutting some holes in the floor of the old subaru and lining them with some 10" plastic pipe that would telescope down when you get over you spot! although that might be a little too much southern engineering. even for me!

Boy do I have the vehicle for you, I'll see if I can still find the link to it and I found it so here it is. http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=38140.0 Folloow the link in the thread. You would be the talk of the town with something like this this Like you said a little elbow grease, some duct tape and some paint and you could have your very own Alaskan "Red Green Possum Van" ice fishing mobile

The guy did say he found a good home for it so it's fishing days are not over yet.

[akjw7]

well how'd the fishin go???

[JeepAlaska]

Two little 10" rainbows.  I'm just amazed that you can see the fish swim around and nibble at the bait.  I had no idea, pretty cool.  Started ice fishing about a month ago for the first time ever and now have been 7 times, mostly Knik lake.  We haven't done that well at all, 4 fish total but we love it and are going to keep on it. 

[akjw7]

good for you - glad it worked well!