Thermal ice shelters; does the thermal lining make a BIG difference?

[Bobby B.]

My non-thermal Clam shelter produces alot of condensation whenever heated to a comfortable temperature. I'm thinking of purchasing either the Clam X1 Thermal or the Clam Legend Thermal to avoid condensation issues. Can anyone with experience comment on the advantages of thermal shelters.

Bobby

[bwackwabbit]

Huge difference! I have the Eskimo Wide 1 Inferno. The other 1 man flips I have owned (Frabill Recon and Commando Maxx) sweat like crazy and were difficult to get comfortable heat in (always too hot or too cold).

The thermal lets me heat it comfortably w/a little buddy no matter how cold outside.

However the bigger difference in reducing condensation comes from putting matting on the floor.

[The Fisherman Guy]

I agree, putting mats down makes a big difference. Not needed to cover the entire floor of the tent, but under the heater. Open the vents up and let the airflow increase, even on cold days, especially if using a heater.

If you fish windy lakes, the insulation will definitely be a benefit.

[Bobby B.]

Thanks, guys.

I appreciate the tip about 'matting', it'll definitely be on my list of things to do.

There are no Clam dealers in Edmonton so I guess I'll be making a trip down to Bass Pro outside of Calgary. As an aside, BP also carries Ice Armour so I'll be checking out their suits at the same time.

Does BP offer Clam products and Ice Armour products at sale prices around Christmas?

Bobby

[The Reel Deal]

X2 matting
I have enough matting for the entire floor and the condensation is gone even at -20

[The Fisherman Guy]

My experience with Clam and Bass Pro wasn't a good one. Be sure to read my second post in that thread, about Bass Pro's service.

http://outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=79890

For what it's worth, my Eskimo 9416 tent has been incredible. It comes in an insulated model as well, the 9416i. I know you are looking for a flip over, Eskimo makes insulated flip overs. I know you like to do your research before you purchase, and I'm sure you already have done plenty - but FWIW, Eskimo has impressed me more than Clam. It would seem that Clam used to be a great company, but in recent years has off shored their manufacturing and quality has dropped.

I could be wrong, but my experience with them was terrible.

Whatever the case, if I can answer any questions about my experience that may help, feel free to shoot me a pm.

[npauls]

If you have a flip over shelter I would just go buy a roll of that reflective material that they use for the front windshields of cars to keep the sun and heat away in the summer and install that instead of paying an extra few hundred bucks for thicker material. It folds up just as nice and costs way less.

Get a good size roll of it and some zip ties. Just slide it in between the tent and the poles. Then make sure there is a gap between the tent and reflective and cut a small slit on each side of the pole and thread a zip tie through there and do it up. Within an hour or 2 and like $35-50 you should be able to have an insulated hut.

[Uppercut]

If you really wanted the clam, cabela's sells the xl4000t. And all their cabelas brand ice shacks are made by clam. Exact same tent but in black.

[Hunter Trav]

As an aside, BP also carries Ice Armour so I'll be checking out their suits at the same time.


I have an Ice Armour suit from there and I love it. A bit pricey but worth every penny. I find I fish a lot more outside my shack now cause I just don't get cold in it. They say its like wearing your shelter and I have found that statement to be true so far...

[npauls]

I have an Ice Armour suit from there and I love it. A bit pricey but worth every penny. I find I fish a lot more outside my shack now cause I just don't get cold in it. They say its like wearing your shelter and I have found that statement to be true so far...

Which suit do you have Trav? Blue or grey?

I am thinking of selling my insulated guidewear suit to try one of the clam suits. My buddy has a couple of them and loves them.

I currently have a strikemaster suit and insulated guidewear.

[Hunter Trav]

Which suit do you have Trav? Blue or grey?

I am thinking of selling my insulated guidewear suit to try one of the clam suits. My buddy has a couple of them and loves them.

I currently have a strikemaster suit and insulated guidewear.

I have the grey suit, not sure if the blue and grey are different other then color though, you'd have to look in the store. I just bought the grey one cause I liked it better. Both the bibs and jacket were about $300 a piece...:cool:

[Bobby B.]

This afternoon, I drove over to Cabela's south and checked out the Frabill DLX Thermal. Seemed pretty good. Next, I drove over to TFH West to check out the Clam Nanook Thermal. The pole release mechanism on the Clam was far better than that on the Frabill. The seats on the Frabill were noticeably higher off the floor and more comfortable, but not great by any stretch of the imagination. The seats on the Clam were comfortable if you measure around 5 ft tall with a 26" inseam. I'm 6'2" and a 36" inseam. Yowsa! I couldn't imagine sitting in either the Fabill seat or the Clam seat for any length of time. And, I thought sitting in a Thomas Cook seat was torture. Ducking into either the Clam or the Frabill felt like a visit to a hobbit home.

Then, there was a delightful suprise. I stepped into a Eskimo 941I, a shelter for grown men. Brian at TFH demonstrated the ease of setup and takedown of the 941I and I began to wonder why in Hell I didn't want a pop up to begin with. LOTS of room. Super Easy to put up and take down. Head room enough to stand up in! Yeehaw! Now we're in business.

If I go with the 941I, I can still use my Big Buddy heater, I don't need to buy a new set of Ice Armour jacket and bibs, I can sit in an adult size chair, there's ample room for a folding table, .......... Oh yeah, and there's a price savings of about $270 bucks.

I NEVER make hasty decisions and ALWAYS take the time to weigh things out. However, I must say I'm leaning heavily towards the Eskimo 941I. Can anyone suggest a reason not to buy it?

Bobby

[Bobby B.]

HunterTrav,

Are these the pieces you are referring to?

http://clamoutdoors.com/store/icearmor/ultra-bibs.html
http://clamoutdoors.com/store/icearmor/ultra-parka.html

Bobby

[spinN'flyfish]

Hey, just a question but can you just not use a heater but to just use body heat trapped inside to have sufficient comfort? Thinkin' of a shack, enough of just waiting for above freezing point to ice fish

[Hunter Trav]

HunterTrav,

Are these the pieces you are referring to?

http://clamoutdoors.com/store/icearmor/ultra-bibs.html
http://clamoutdoors.com/store/icearmor/ultra-parka.html

Bobby

Yes I was looking at that a bit ago, and it is indeed the ultra parka and bibs that I got. They are awesome to say the least, and I have yet to get cold in them. I used them all last season, and I did have to return my first set of bibs due to the seam in the knee blowing out of them. They were not infact the ultra bibs but the x-treme line, and were probably a size to small for me which is why I had the blowout. I replaced them this year with the ultra bibs a size bigger and they are even better than the ones I had before...:cool:

[npauls]

I have the grey suit, not sure if the blue and grey are different other then color though, you'd have to look in the store. I just bought the grey one cause I liked it better. Both the bibs and jacket were about $300 a piece...:cool:

There is a difference in the 2 suits.

The blue suit is an uninsulated suit used for layering underneath and the grey suit is an insulated suit where you do need to layer as much.

My buddy has both and uses them at different times depending on the weather.

[curtz]

If you have a flip over shelter I would just go buy a roll of that reflective material that they use for the front windshields of cars to keep the sun and heat away in the summer and install that instead of paying an extra few hundred bucks for thicker material. It folds up just as nice and costs way less.

Get a good size roll of it and some zip ties. Just slide it in between the tent and the poles. Then make sure there is a gap between the tent and reflective and cut a small slit on each side of the pole and thread a zip tie through there and do it up. Within an hour or 2 and like $35-50 you should be able to have an insulated hut.

does that foil insulation stick to the ice

[WayneChristie]

does that foil insulation stick to the ice

may want to check the price of that foil insulation, cheaper to spend the extra to get a pre insulated tent, that stuff is quite expensive, I did my furnace ducts with it. I did have some left over and did the roof of my old tent with it and it kept the heat in the top, but it didnt help below that. a good fan would make a big difference bringing the heat down

[curtz]

may want to check the price of that foil insulation, cheaper to spend the extra to get a pre insulated tent, that stuff is quite expensive, I did my furnace ducts with it. I did have some left over and did the roof of my old tent with it and it kept the heat in the top, but it didnt help below that. a good fan would make a big difference bringing the heat down

Im think of upgrading my old ice cube to a new insulated Eskimo, just wondering about putting something down on the ice to keep a little warmer