Your "honest" opinion on Otter portables vs others

[WANNAKETCHUM]

OK....This is gonna be my last post on IS for the year folks...SO...I want your honest opinion. I'm considering taking a chunk of the income tax money and buying a Otter portable. I have a Frabill Venture that's OK...but kind of a pain in the poop to set up and really catches the wind so I don't move around any once I set it up...just kinda use it as a "base" shack. I have been checking into Otter as I hear they are top of the line and I'm considering a medium size, at least 2 person as the wife likes to go with me and I want the option of mobility. Any comments on size, color (for the ability to draw heat) and whether or not to go with a bench seat or individual swivel style seats as well as their durability/reliability, ease of operation, and customer service would be very greatly appreciated. Thank you all and I will look forward to hearing from you. Good luck to all in the open water season..... ..WK

[C.C.]

I will say that I love mine. I have a medium cabin and its plenty big for 2 people. I even have had my entire family(2 kids & wife) all in mine but that gets a little cramped. For a big hut it pulls fairly easy but with all the room in the tub you can really load it down and thats not good. I am actually going to get an otter 1 man till next year so when I'm by myself it will be a little easier and on those really windy days I won't need to anchor it down. I fish with a guy that has one and I've been with him on days where the wind had to be blowing 20 to 30 mph and his hut just sets there without an anchor . As far as I'm concerned you were told right about them being "TOP OF THE LINE". I will say that neither of us have any of the seats that otter offers. We both have ones that we feel suit our needs better. Oh, on the color part, mine is purple and yellow so unless you can take alot of ribbing you should get the green and black one
        Jim

[Hardguy]

Do yourself a favor and look at the Clam family. They addressed every problem you can think of.

[NJ PIKER]

Do yourself a favor and look at the Clam family. They addressed every problem you can think of.

adressing problems also means your having problems
haven't had any with my medium so can't speak of otters CS
love my med cabin with bench it weights about 110# with bench & hyfax
just bought a den at end of season it weights about 50# with hyfax and no seat yet
been using my bucket seat that stores my vex but will make my own swivel seat
that flips up like the bench on the med for next season
the bench on the med is nice as you can fit 5 gal buckets under it
space it right on the sled and you can fit 6 put tall stuff behind the bench and short stuff under
the bench flips up for easy access and is removable with 2 pins
I have the green and it is warmer in side than my friends guide and taller also
i'm 5-11 and my head just touches when I stand
you can fish 2 very comforably and fit 2 more if you aren't fishing and they sit on buckets or small chairs
won't go bigger than med if pulling by hand as it can get heavy when fully loaded and pulling on deep snow or slush
the only thing close might be the new x sleds but haven't seen one yet

[NORRM]

I also have the medium green with hyfax runnuers and both seats. I bought the bench seat this year and love it. My son uses the single swivel in his small. You cannot buy a better setup than the otter family sleds period... The tow hitch is great so towing behind a machine of choice is no problem. You won't be sorry for this purchase.GREAT CHOICE.

[Bean]

I bought the Otter II small sled 4 years ago because I wanted a sled that would take a beating and be able to live through it. This year I bought the small den tent for it and am very happy I have. I really like how rigid it is when all the braces are in it. I had a fish trap guide, and it wasn't as rigid during windy days. The small den is only 4 inches shorter than the Fish Trap guide. I also find it easier to pull the otter through deeper snow than my guide. I didn't buy any of their seats as I use a plastic coleman cooler with a stadium style seat attached to the top. This way I can store my flasher, jig boxes, ice scoops, and polar tip-ups, in it. It makes it easier for me to load by myself as I can pull out the cooler and load the small den in my vehicle easily since it only weighs around 45 pounds like I have it. The otters will cost you more than other companies(for sled, tent, and seat combined), but they are built to take a beating and will last a long time. I found out how well it would take a beating when it was being pulled out by an atv on green bay this year and caught a rut and flipped(It was being towed by my drag rope and not a tow bar). Not one thing was damaged with it.
All shelter companies make nice products, I just found that the otters fit me better. JMO.

[WANNAKETCHUM]

Yea...I know....I said my last post would be the "last post"...but I lied . I like to start by saying thanks to all and your input has been very helpfull in my making a decision. I'm gonna go with the Otter medium cabin (Green) with a bench style seat. I don't know if I will buy a tow hitch initially, as here in Pa. we can't use ATV's, Snowmobiles, etc on State owned lakes. I do fish N.Y. as well and when we have a good ice season, I get out on some of the bigger lakes where I could use my ATV so I could always get one later. What I would like to know is...what the hype is with the "Hyfax" runners?...Are they designed more to protect the sled base or to help them pull easier or both? I can't see where they would lift the sled up much so they apparently wouldn't help much in deep snow...especially if pulling by hand. I see that Otter offers a "package" deal at $626.95 without shipping for the sled, a medium cabin with 2 swivel style seats, a cover, and no Hyfax kit or hitch. Thorne Bros. offers the same thing for $669.99 shipping included. I'm thinking it would be better to go directly through Otter as I could probably get them to substitute the bench seat for the 2 swivel seats as the swivel seats bought individually are actually a few dollars more. Depending on what the whole thing came to with Hyfax, hitch, etc. all shipped at the same time....it may be less in the long run..... ..WK 

[Bean]

. What I would like to know is...what the hype is with the "Hyfax" runners?...Are they designed more to protect the sled base or to help them pull easier or both? I can't see where they would lift the sled up much so they apparently wouldn't help much in deep snow...especially if pulling by hand. 

They're mostly to protect the sled bottom. Last year I installed UHMW plastic on the bottom of my otter sled. It ran me around $26(with shipping) for 4 bars of it. With those runners, you'll have to cut them yourself(hacksaw) and supply your own fastening hardware. I bought the 1/4" x 1". Here's a link to a post I made last year about it-->  UHMW

[Hardguy]

adressing problems also means your having problems
haven't had any with my medium so can't speak of otters CS
love my med cabin with bench it weights about 110# with bench & hyfax
just bought a den at end of season it weights about 50# with hyfax and no seat yet
been using my bucket seat that stores my vex but will make my own swivel seat
that flips up like the bench on the med for next season
the bench on the med is nice as you can fit 5 gal buckets under it
space it right on the sled and you can fit 6 put tall stuff behind the bench and short stuff under
the bench flips up for easy access and is removable with 2 pins
I have the green and it is warmer in side than my friends guide and taller also
i'm 5-11 and my head just touches when I stand
you can fish 2 very comforably and fit 2 more if you aren't fishing and they sit on buckets or small chairs
won't go bigger than med if pulling by hand as it can get heavy when fully loaded and pulling on deep snow or slush
the only thing close might be the new x sleds but haven't seen one yet

NJP maybe you did not understand what I was trying to get across. I did not mean there were problems that required Customer service. What I meant was anything you could possibly think of to improve a model, they would make the change the next year. That is not saying you did not like the old way, just there was a better way. I like that since I can not leave anything alone. I am always thinking how I can improve by making it lighter, quicker, stronger, or smarter. I like knowing I buy from a company that thinks the same way.

JMO