Small ice shelter choice

[bowdude]

I have 4 tents. I have a single that hasn't been used for several years. I don't fish alone so that is the reason. We had a group of 4 of us that would fish together, and each of us had a solo tent. We found it was much more fun to fish together, so I purchased a flip tent. It was heavy, nearly 150 lbs. I dragged it a good distance a couple of times when I was much younger. It was way to much of a workout, but the comfort was really nice. I sold it and purchased an Eskimo 3 man popup. Much lighter and easier to pull on a sleigh. Finally got my wife interested in going with me so we purchased a large double pop up and snow mobile. Plenty of room and so the smaller tent never got used. I finally sold it to a friend who wanted to get into ice fishing with his son. The next tent we picked up was a large 6 sided Eskimo insulated tent. I am grateful we have a snow mobile to pull it and our gear. Once setup, we do not move. But with the fish finders, we have found that there are always fish around, you just have to be patient and keep tempting them until they bite. I turn on the 15,0000 btu heater and we stay very comfortable. Last Friday, we went to Strawberry and fished from sundown until 10:30 p.m. It was cold, but thanks to the tent and heater, we were comfortable. However, for the two of us, the tent is too big. Great when we take the grandkids. We had 5 of us in the tent a couple of weeks ago and had plenty of room. Today, we picked up a two man Eskimo Crossover. It is a combination between a popup and a flip over. This one will be just right for the two of us and should we want to move, we grab the rope and pull it to the new location. No where near as permanent. We will be taking it out on its maiden voyage next Friday night.
We always take a tent and heater with us, and when it is sunny, sometimes don't set it up. But... when the wife says she is cold, up goes the tent and heater and we stay and fish longer rather than call it quits and go home. Same is true with the grandkids. Comfort is everything with not so hardcore fishing partners.
[signature]