Topic: The Best Ice Fishing Shelters of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (Read 35 times)
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Topic: The Best Ice Fishing Shelters of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (Read 35 times)
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Like its kid brother, the Eskimo QuickFish 2i, the QuickFish 3i can be set up in under a minute and fits easily into the included carrying bag with attached cinch straps. It is constructed of the same durable, Eskimo IQ (Insulated Quilted) material but features an increased 34 square feet of fishable space—enough room for two to three anglers. Plus, it’s lightweight and affordable.
This would be my choice for a basic hub if it was just one kid and me (and probably the dog). Realistically, it’s probably a better shelter for two adult anglers sitting back to back, each fishing a side with 2 or 3 holes. It was easy to carry on my back and walk out on a local lake to fish with my youngest daughter. And it co*es at a very affordable price.
A two-person hub shelter should have enough room for each angler to fish two holes, with space to acco*modate electronics, tackle, and a portable heater. Insulation will help keep the heat inside, but it should be well-ventilated and breathable to ensure that moisture and condensation can escape. Look for robust zippers or other closures to facilitate getting into and out of the shelter.
I didn’t have the chance to test this shelter personally but it co*es on the reco*mendation of Northern Minnesota ice fishing guide, Brian “Bro” Brosdahl. According to Brosdahl, “The Otter Vortex Pro Cabin is an incredibly high-quality hub at a reasonable price—and it’s super lightweight and easy to transport.” The Vortex Pro Cabin features Otter’s patented THERMALTEC 600 denier triple-layer fabric layer system for durability, warmth, and reduced condensation.
Brosdahl says it has storage for your tackle boxes and enough rod holders to hold your one-two-three punch right on the wall. You also get an overhead storage net for keeping gloves and jackets warm. “I also like the propane hole for running larger tanks; plus it’s got a hook and loop, so you don’t get a draft through it,” he says. “The big, wide door is fantastic for carrying gear in and out.”
He also says the double strap on the ice anchors in the corners allow you to screw it down and then pinch the top tightly, so you don’t get any slack in the house corners. And all the straps fit into the provided storage pocket.
“I really put shacks through the wringer using them every day of the winter, and when it co*es to poles, a lot of ’em break over time. Not Otter’s. The other thing: Otter shacks are super warm with 600 denier fabric, a big deal up here in Northern Minnesota where we routinely get sub-zero temperatures. The double-layer of heavier denier also prevents frost build up on the inside, a problem with some shacks,” Brosdahl says.
The Clam X-600 Thermal Hub provides plenty of space for a big group. It is a great choice for those holiday trips when all of your friends and relatives want to go fishing or when you want to use your shelter as a base camp for a multi-day, hard-water adventure. This large, hub-style shelters offer abundant fishable space for larger groups, or allow you to use a portion of the shelter as a field kitchen or even a designated sleeping area equipped with cots and bags.
Insulated and well-ventilated, the Clam X-600 shelter offers 94 square feet of interior fishing space, yet weighs only 60 pounds—all qualities to look for in the best ice fishing shelters for a large group.
This is another shelter I didn’t have the chance to test, but took on the reco*mendation of expert ice angler Pat Kalmerton, who works with young anglers through Take Them Kids Outdoors (TTKO). Suffice to say, he’s used to taking out large groups.
“Heat-pressed seams keep all the insulation in place so it won’t slip or bunch up over time. Secondly, the heavier-duty 11mm poles flex, so they’ll last years. You also have Velcro along the entire perimeter for the insulated floor option, and the corners are well stitched,” he says.
Kalmerton also mentioned the cinch-down anchor straps can withstand strong, Wisconsin winds. He likes that you can add lots of accessories, cup-holders, LED lights, fans, cell phone holders, rod holders, rattle reels, coolers, etc., via Clam Lock Plates. “I’ve had my three kids, a buddy’s two kids, and three adults in it at once with six holes along the walls and one in the center,” says Kalmerton.
His go to setup for the backwaters of the Mississippi River is to put drop-shot rigs on rattle reels in all the corners, and then jig in the middle of the hub. He says once you fire up one or two fish, all the lines go crazy.
My mission this last fall was to purchase the largest hub-style shelter made. I’m an ice angler who’s always trying to find smarter (and more spacious) ways to ice camp with friends and family. My must-have list includes enough room for cots and an inter-lockable and customizable 1-inch foam exercise-mat style floor over the ice. Sleeping and fishing in a portable shelter through weekend-long forays on the ice can reduce the cost of lodging or hard house rental and provide nighttime fishing action.
My research led me to Otter Outdoors’ Vortex Pro Monster Lodge, which was redesigned for the 2022-2023 ice season. The major difference is a full-size, pole-stabilized door on one end rather than a triangular door you had to crouch through. Featuring an expansive 132 square feet of fishable space, the Vortex Pro Monster Lodge will acco*modate six to eight anglers without bunks and gear.
The Vortex Pro Monster Lodge is also easy for one person to set up (simply drill in one corner ice anchor and proceed to pop open the sides and tops). It doesn’t weigh much at 73 pounds; you can transport it in a sled with a harness or in a sled behind a snowmobile or ATV, and easiest is in the back of the truck. Otter’s Monster Lodge has enough room for two to three cots with mattresses. It’d fit even more cots if you purchased bunk-style cots.
For this ice season, I used clamp-on rattle reels in the shack corners. To keep the massive area toasty, I ran an 18,000 BTU Heat Hog propane heater with low-oxygen shut-off but also keep two carbon monoxide detectors on at all times. I run the heater on low to bring the ambient temperature inside the hub to between 55 and 60 degrees, although you could easily raise the temp even higher.
I first started ice camping using one side of the hub for a kitchen, but have since decided to use a small hub for just cooking, leaving more room for cots and holes to fish—and less smell and carbon monoxide build-up. I also use a separate shelter as an outhouse. The lightweight Ice Runner 1-man flip-over Escape makes a very convenient (and inexpensive) outhouse placed behind the larger hub. Outfitted with a sturdy Stansport portable toilet (300-pound person capacity), we were good to go. Literally.
There are a few issues with this otherwise excellent ice shelter. The Otter Vortex Monster Lodge only co*es with one packing strap. While the strap is great with its high co*pression quick-release buckle, I ordered two more sets of two straps each because you need to cinch the shack down in four to five spots to get it into the bag. I also would prefer two full-size doors instead of one plus a partial door. Lastly, I had a door frame pole splinter, which required some Gorilla tape.
There are a lot of new anglers ice fishing solo, and many don’t own an ATV, snowmobile, or have enough ice to support full-size vehicles. Especially on metropolitan fisheries, a lot of anglers still hump their gear by hand to fishable spots. This necessitates a lightweight ice fishing shelter like the Ice Runner Ice House Escape.
I really appreciate the rear door versus a front or side door. This prevents tripping over gear or stepping in a hole: smart design. One thing I immediately noticed in testing the Ice House Escape was the lack of a built-in chair, presumably to cut weight and keep the cost down. Personally, I didn’t find this to be a big deal. I simply brought my favorite collapsible folding chair and set it up inside the sled.
The house is also extremely warm thanks to the added heat from the black fabric. You can run your stove on low or not at all on warmer days. The Escape features 10.4 feet of fishable space and a sled (with included cover) that holds necessary ice fishing gear. It’s definitely my top choice for fishing on foot or hole hopping when weight is a huge priority. A lot of co*petitive ice panfish anglers have turned to this house to get out of the elements but still maintain the mobility they need to hole-hop and stay on fish.
The house features long, vertical windows in the front for monitoring tip-ups and a skylight window, a design feature most portable fish houses lack. As I mentioned earlier, this shack makes a great affordable outhouse for use with larger hubs or hard houses.
The shack’s push-button pole system needs some lubrication for easier set-up and tear-down. I simply sprayed the joints and buttons with PAM canola oil spray, which I also use to keep my rod eyelets free of ice when fishing outside.
For years I ran the