The -18 degrees last week convinced me that I need to get more serious about an ice Shelter. I am considering the Cabela’s offering, but would like to look further. I am looking for a 2-man unit that has enough room for big guys, 6’2", etc. Any thoughts, ideas, first-hand experience? What about the Glacier X-Treme III Ice Shelter. It seems pretty roomy for the price and very light weight.
I have the Frabil Ranger XL Twin. It is a fantastic, easy to set up shack. It ran me $399+ tax. The only problem that I have come across, so far with it, is that it gets a bit hard to pull in deep snow! But, I am working on rigging it up to make it pull easier.[:|]
I can set this shack up in about 4 minutes by myself. Less time if the son is out with me. It has room for 5 fairly close holes. You can put 2 in front of you, one further out, in the middle, and 2 back by the door. To fish the 2 by the door, I have to lean forward a bit, and I use a 28" ice rod. So, there is alot of room compared to some shacks. I can also stand up straight in this shack.( by the seats). It has 3 windows that you can look through, or close off. One door in front. I have had this for 3 years now. The design on the bottom of the new ones look like it is easier to pull in deep snow.
I used to own a Snowboat shack. That is another one that is easy to set up, but you need to supply your own seats. That one will run you about $275 for a 3 man. You can put 3 closely spaced holes in a straight line in that one. It has about a 5 1/2 foot ceiling.
Thanks for the insight. Mr. J.
I’ve got a Frabill Venture. It’s supposed to fit 3 people, but that’d be pushing things. It fits 2 just fine, and the ceiling is plenty tall. I’m 6’1" and it’s nice to be able to stretch. I picked it up for 159 on sale, but I’ve seen it around for 179 regular price.
How wide is this unit and how long does it take to set up?
These are the dimensions that frabill advertises at www.frabill.com. - Sets up to:
72"L x 48"W x 78"H - Folds down:
48" L x 34"W x 6"H
I haven’t timed myself setting it up , but it takes less than 5 minutes by myself.