Looking in to buy a fishing tent sometime. Wondering what is the best one? i have seen alot of the cabela brand tents for cheaper, but didn’t have a good review. Don’t necessarily want to be spending a lot of money, but want something worth the price.
eastmans ice cubes are great, ive heard the cabelas ones sometimes have poles brake in the pop out style and i think thats why i dont see alot of them on the ice.
i have a couple different eskimos and i cant complain about really any part execpt the bag on the quick fish 3
i would recomend eskimo
they are really good if you have a question or need somthing yyou can call directly and talk to a tech,
just my 2 cents
Are the frabill brands good as well? As far as price goes they seemed pretty hand in hand. I’m leaning toward the Eskimo brand in general just making sure what I buy I won’t regret
I’ve got a couple clam flip over single man sleds with bench, work great if you’re by yourself. Also a Quickfish 3 flipover sled with built in bench, great tent but takes up a lot of space. I started using a AP Outdoor Extreme Ice 6 man this year that my 5 year old decided to buy at auction for me…with my money of course. Awesome tent, love everything about it, it is a little heavy but I’m sure the smaller ones aren’t that bad. By the way, if you’re going to let your kids bid for you at auction you actually have to tell them when to stop.[;)] Just FYI if anyone gets into a similar situation.
I bought a 6 X 12 manufactured in Minnesota, built more solid than the others, I’ve had Frabil and several Eskimos and wouldn’t go back. I got it at Glenns outdoor on line, when I bought it last year it included free shipping and no tax. I’ve had several people look at it on the ice and they were impressed. A bit heavier than the others as it is made more heavy duty. You can find these at Glen’soutdoors.com I was just on his site and he has a bunch of factory 2nd’s he is selling for $149.00 as is. Good reviews as well. I’ve enclosed a picture of mine last year at Pelican . Another thing I like about his shelters are the zippers in the doors, they are heavy duty and has two zippers on each door that zip from the outside to the center, not the usual 1/2 moon type that go all the way around outside of door from top to bottom and eventually screw up on you. You can call them on the phone and they are great people to talk to if you have questions. I also bought my StrikeMaster lazer auger from them last season.
I bought the 6x12 Cabelas pop out last year. Second time out pole broke. Cabelas returned it no problem and have had it out numerous times since I got the new one and no problems. They are on sale right now too and ship to Cabelas for free. It’s been a greAt tent and the fact it’s black helps draw heat from any sun there is and keep things warm. I couldn’t spend over 200$ at the time and it’s been great for the price.
Gotta keep an eye on those kids when they’re online, no?! Reminds me of some of my episodes of “Auction Hunters” - Yuuuuuup!
I picked up a used Frabil with the built in sled. Simple to setup - roomy enough to stand, but you sit IN the sled so no wet feet. But it doesn’t fold - so requires I keep a seat down in my rig to transport. Great for a pickup bed I’m sure. I do fancy some of them Pop-Up style clamshells and such - the Fat one looks very roomy and tall enough. Wouldn’t mind the option to use it or not. Though likewise - once mine is setup - I can drag it around without breaking down.
I liked the look of the bench-pop over style, though I’ve heard they are heavy to drag w/o a wheeler, or snowmachine. But I do like the option of a windbreak, OR a cover.
Check KSL, the For Sale board - there’s lots of turnover. I don’t get it - I guess some folks burn out on ice-fishing - and just give up, unload a whole kit of goods!
For $150 or less - you can probably get a pretty nice setup, new or used.
Many days you wouldn’t even “need” it - but some snow falling, wind blowing - yeah - it can be a GOOD thing to have available!
I will say - having a black tent - even w/o the heater - gets warm. And for the camera - dark is good for visibility!
For a 6’ X 12’tent. I have a 3 year old and it is pretty good. I did return the first one as the inside coating and A LOT of pin holes in it that you could see in the light come through. Broke 2 poles when it was -25 and putting it away in the dark with others helping me. The new poles seem about 20% bigger in diameter.
My brother has had no problems with his 6x12. A relative had a zipper break. With his new one this year one or two of the bottom corners had the stiching tear almost all the way off in wind that was maybe 10-15 mph with it staked well. They are on sale now with a 6’ x 6’ at $149. Repair parts are easy to get from Clam Corp.
Bump.
Funny…this was at a live auction and not online though. I am going to start using the Yuuuuup! Or I’ll let the kids continue to bid but only if they say it like that and check with me first each time. Got another auction coming up in a few weeks, lets see how many Yuuuuup’s I can bust out in one night without going broke 
[;)] I have had many different set ups over the years, Frabil, Cabellas, cheap brands etc. I prefer the eskimo’s. I currently have a Quick Flip III for sale at 1/2 price of what they are going for. It is an excellent unit, but I usually use my larger tent because I have a handfull of kids that will still be going fishing with me for a few more years. Rather than have it collect dust for years I have decided to sell it.