THinking about an Otter or clam

[mankato2fargo]

I'm thinking about getting the medium cabin or the Clam yukon. Anyone have any thoughts on this or suggestions. will i be able to handle either of these by myself? I mainly fish with someone but do go out by myslef from time to time. if this has been posted perviously i appoligize in advance. jsut looking for some advice from some people that have used either of these.

Thanks

Neil

Neil

[iffwalleyes]

I am an otter guy but clam makes a nice house. If you aren't going to pull it behind a sled or wheeler the clam would be just fine. As a matter of fact it will be just fine even if you do pull it. But that is why most people get the otter they have a tougher and deeper sled then the clams and are more durable for dragging it across the ice behide a sled or wheeler. The clams would be lighter for you to pull by yourself although the otter isn't going to kill you either. Personally I like otters line of houses I feel they are tougher and able to take more abuse that I put on them. But others like clams. Best advice find one that you like the set up of and go with it.

[harvey lee]

Iam always a little lost when people say that a Otter is tougher.My Voyager with hyfax runners have been on for five years and I pull it alot across the lake,parking lots cement landings etc,and it shows next to no wear. How can anything be better than that? This is just what I personally have found.

[cjac]

Neil,

This is the classic Chevy vs Ford debate. Both are good products. You can do a search on this forum and the ice fishing forum and find many good chats about both.

I have the Voyager and am very pleased. I just wish I was getting out in it more!

cjac

[hanson]

My opinion, Otter has a "heavier duty" tub. I'm not sure if that means "tougher" or not.

My opinion is that if you were to pile a load of wood into both sleds and then go on a marathon race pulling them behind snowmobiles until one failed, the Fish Trap tub would fail first. That is how I see it.

Will you ever see this kind of use & abuse during general ice fishing duty? Probably not.

They are both great shacks.

I like my Otter.

[Team Otter]

Right on Hanson. Well said.

I'm an Otter guy as well. My user name doesn't give it away does it?

[ChuckN]

I've had an large Otter sled that is about 10 years old and it was used for a lot of fishing when I had a suitcase portable house that strapped onto the top of it. For the last few years it's been used to haul firewood out of the woods and hauling other gear around the lakes. It is the toughest sled I have ever seen. You could look at the bottom of it and never tell it's had so much use and abuse.

I also have a Otter Lodge that also is used in the worst of the worst conditions. From slow to high speeds, across the roughest terrain the Otter has never let me down. The house frame, mounts, poles, etc.. take the beating.

If you are going to pull your fishhouse behind a snowmobile on, Lake of the Woods for example, for up to a 30-40 mile round trip I would prefer the Otter. Just my .02 from owning a lot of stuff over the years.

[J Smith]

I bought the Otter Skin that's produced by Canvas Craft in Ramsey Mn. I liked the idea of Steel framework because it slides together easier than Aluminum. I also have the Quilted tent which is filled with Thinsulate making it extremely warm and quiet. The sled is a Otter Magnum Large with a hitch for a Wheeler or Sled. Check em out.

J.

[mankato2fargo]

thanks for all the posts i just dont know what to get. I guess i have a while to decide. i dont really like the poles on the clam they seem kindof chincy and cheap, they have alot more wobble than the older fish traps. i dont know im still researching

[PierBridge]

The price is dropping as we speak, Clam products are now 15 percent off and will continue to drop.

[who are those guy]

Never had an Otter, so no qualms against the outfit. Got a Clam in 97 when in college. Worked it hard since and not a complaint. Many a drunk fellow have tried to collapse the house - none have accomplished the goal. The price was right and I have not been disapointed. Easy up and easy down - not more could I ask. except a few more fish...

[mankato2fargo]

Do Otters ever go on sale towards the end of the season or do they pretty much stay the same all the time?

[cast_and_blast]

I just went through the same decision - wound up going with 2 Yukons. I can link them together with "trap-link" so I can take the whole family in one "big" house and still be able to move the thing.

They weigh about 100 pounds each with nothing else in them except seats.

The Otters were nice too - I like the square tubing. The Otters you wound up buying everything "ala carte" while the Yukon came with the seats. Seats are expensive if you want the manufacturer style! I think it's $129 for the bench or about $75 per individual seat. Plus, the Yukon seats are more adjustable (side-side and forward-back).

The kicker was the price - $399 right now at Gander for the Yukons. I paid a bit more a while back at Thorne but got the trap-link free, so it was about a push.

Either way - you're getting a quality unit.

Good Luck!

Scott

[cast_and_blast]

No wobble in my Yukons either - rock solid once if you put the support poles in. The support poles are almost NEVER in when you see them in the store. You can't flip the whole house when the support poles are in - but you don't do that when fishing anyway (on a house this size)- only when packing up. Support poles take about 1 minute total to install - then everything is tight.

I don't usually use mine unless there is a good wind - no need.

Scott

[tashit]

I went through the same decision and wound up with an Otter. A key part of that is I got a great deal on it at the ice show. I already had some chairs that I really like so I didn't need to spend the extra money on the Otter seats, or spend the money to get the Yukon with the seats. I think the Otter has a stronger sled and heavier canvas. Although you can argue that this makes it heavier. My Otter (with my light weight chairs) would be lighter than a Fish Trap with their standard seats. I really like the Trap Link and would love to use it but I don't know anyone with a Fish Trap so it would pretty much be useless to me. Really I think they are both great quality and it will come down to personal preference.

[dsje15]

I too am shopping for another portable. I've been looking at the Otter Resort and the Frabill model that is similar in size and price to the Resort. I'm not seeing the Frabill brand mentioned much. Is there something not right with them? I thought the Frabill seats were a bit better than the Otter's. Not true?

I didn't know there was an option for quilted canvas for the Otters. Is that an option from Otter or an aftermarket,and if it's aftermarket, what's the name of the manufacturer?

This may all be for not as I think the girlfriend has employed one of my buddies to pick up an Otter and a Vexlar for my birthday. Unless they're talking on the phone and spending time together for other reasons!

[Dave]

Quote:

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I didn't know there was an option for quilted canvas for the Otters. Is that an option from Otter or an aftermarket,and if it's aftermarket, what's the name of the manufacturer?

---

That is an aftermarket option by Canvas Craft, I believe. Quilted canvas is not available from Otter.

[92python]

In the past couple months I have owned the Fish Trap Voyageur, Otter Outdoors Purple Medium Cabin, the Otter by Canvas Craft Medium sled house with the steel tubes and black canvas, and have fished out of my friends Frabil XLT Twin and another friends Canvas Craft insulated Otter house.

Looking at quality, features, durability, and cost I rate them in the following order:

1) Otter Outdoor Medium Cabin

2) Fish Trap Voyageur

3) Frabil XLT Twin

4) Canvas Craft Otter Medium

5) Canvas Craft Insulated Otter

The Otter Outdoors Medium Cabin has a the square tubing that goes up the best (the pins always seem to pop through the holes on the square tubing much easier than on the round tubing) and it really does well in the wind when using all of the stabilizing bars. The canvas is very solid. It has the best sled.

Customer service is very good. It comes in Vikings purple as well as green for those less fortunate. The downside is that you need to figure out the seating yourself.

The Fish Trap Voyageur is a very nice house as I am sure the Guide is as well. The fabric is fine good not very dark to absorb sunlite and provide much heat. The sled is good enough for most situations. It comes with seats. The round poles are better that some other round poles on the market.

The Frabil is a nice shack somewhat like the Fish Trap stuff. Black colored fabric absorbs light, decent poles, comes with seats. Similiar to the Guide / Voyageur at a similiar price.

Otter by Canvas Craft has the Otter sled. Black light absorbing canvas, but lesser round poles without square tubing. Same price as the Otter Outdoors stuff for the standard version.

A friend has the insulated version that retains heat well and is more bulky. I dont know how repairable that insulated fabric is compared to the others. The insulated option is also much more expensive.

I would go with the Otter Outdoors products unless you can get Fish Trap or Frabil stuff for a good discount.

[Vikesfan]

I have also been looking at an Otter or Clam. My big question is if there is a big weight difference between the two? I will be pulling the sled out by hand. (especially this year) I want to have energy to fish after lugging the shack out on the ice.

[tashit]

I think the Otters are a little heavier in general, but I also think they are a little more heavy duty. Look at their respective websites to see the weight. Otter claims the Cabin weighs 60 lbs without seats, the Fish Trap Yukon is listed at 107 lbs with seats. Obviously it's a little tough to compare since the Yukon comes with seats but it will at least give you an idea. For me, the Otter is essentially lighter since I use my own chairs that hardly weight anything, whereas if I had the Yukon I would've used the seats that came with it. My Cabin loaded with wood mod insert, gear, auger, 20# propane, etc is a workout if there's some snow on the ice.

[mankato2fargo]

For anyone who cares i ended up getting the Otter Lodge.. I couldnt pass up the whore house deal on it anyone have advice for putting it together? thanks for all the help!! hopefully it will be better than my old frabill!!

Neil

[huntingislife]

I finally broke down and just bought the houses I wanted since the deals are so good. I bought an otter lodge(skin and sled) for $339 and an otter den(sled and skin) for $233. Of course I had to buy all the fixings : covers, seats, runners. Then I opened a gander card and got another 10% off. Can't beat a deal like that.

[PierBridge]

If anyone finds a good deal on a Lodge skin let me know, I would prefer purple but green is all I'm seeing lately.

Thanks Pier.