Ice shanty - What to buy?

[Madd Matt]

Thanks Matt, so where is the best place to purchase from? So tell me more on how you fish your flip up? When you want out, do you go through door or flip up? Does the skirting sit flat to keep wind from cooling things down. What stabelizes the sled/shanty when two guys are sitting on the one side of it? Do you set heater in front of or behind you? What is best price on the 3 man eskimo flip?

Mike,

Sorry, I haven't been on here for a week... There are plenty of windows in the Eskimo (or any good shanty), you enter through a door. Yes, there is a skirt that completely surrounds the shanty (as any good brand shanty will have) that lays on the ice and stops the wind. The seats are bolted into the sled and when you are sitting in the shanty "you" are weighing the shanty down. When you set up a shanty they are designed to have their "back" to the wind. In 35 -40 MPH I wouldn't think twice about walking away from the shanty and leaving it by itself. There are shanties that require anchors and tie downs... A good shanty with a sled should not require tiedowns. Keep in mind that the shanty is connected to the sled, and the sled has all of your gear in it. My sled probably has 75 lbs or more of gear... all of that weight is holding the shanty in place.

The heater I use is massive! I have a ton of room inside (this is something that you need to consider heavily when looking at shanties), I use a radiant heater on top of a 20lb propane cylinder... most people use a "Buddy Heater" that uses the small propane cylinders... Many shanties do not have room for my heater, and most guys would tell you that my heater is WAY overkill... I keep it on low, and 2 weeks ago when it was -18 degrees and blowing my shanty was 65 degrees and we were fishing in our t-shirts. The "Buddy Heaters" will keep it plenty warm and most guys want to be a little cold anyway... isn't that kinda what ice fishing is all about?

The Eskimo FlipMo 2 Inferno is insulated and runs about $600 + You should be able to find an Eskimo 2 man or 3 man for under $500. Mine is not insulated, but I don't need it insulated as I heat mine.

-Matt

[PirateMike]

Thanks guys, I ended up buying the Otter 650 Lodge, initially wanted the Cabin but found late season price for same as I could have picked up Cabin so went with Lodge, just hope it isn't too large/heavy. Didn't see Time4one or I might have looked at yours........oh well, day late and dollar short.