# One man shanty review



## jjpugh (Feb 6, 2007)

I sold my frabil recon at the end of last season. It lasted me 10 seasons and I sold it in good shape. Now in the market for a new one I’m curious is the otter xt hideout really worth the money$499? Comparing it to the frabill stroschein 1350 $250. The otter is slightly bigger with 1sq ft of fishing area more. Just curious if anyone has used both and thoughts.


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## Wally15 (Jan 12, 2010)

jjpugh said:


> I sold my frabil recon at the end of last season. It lasted me 10 seasons and I sold it in good shape. Now in the market for a new one I’m curious is the otter xt hideout really worth the money$499? Comparing it to the frabill stroschein 1350 $250. The otter is slightly bigger with 1sq ft of fishing area more. Just curious if anyone has used both and thoughts.


I have the shapelle off sportsman's guide I'm 6 ft 235 and have pretty decent room and couldn't beat the member price


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

jjpugh said:


> I sold my frabil recon at the end of last season. It lasted me 10 seasons and I sold it in good shape. Now in the market for a new one I’m curious is the otter xt hideout really worth the money$499? Comparing it to the frabill stroschein 1350 $250. The otter is slightly bigger with 1sq ft of fishing area more. Just curious if anyone has used both and thoughts.


Check out the Eskimo “wide one”.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Otter & Eskimo are considered "Top-Shelf"., You won't go wrong with either brand.


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## kit carson (Jan 24, 2016)

I have the otter cottage a bit heavy to pull but the nicest shanty I ever fished out of. Insane amount of room.for a one man


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

*SWEET*


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

At my age and shape it’s been all about weight and the drag for me. But man, I love the extra room of a 2 man flip. I’ve been using my shappel dx4000 with the skis option but I still have to put a good size shappel sled on top for all the gear. And I have an Eskimo hybrid 1


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> At my age and shape it’s been all about weight and the drag for me. But man, I love the extra room of a 2 man flip. I’ve been using my shappel dx4000 with the skis option but I still have to put a good size shappel sled on top for all the gear. And I have an Eskimo hybrid 1


EVO 1 which isn’t very mobile. So I played around with a smitty sled at the end of last season. Once I figure it out I think I’m going to get the lightest weight 2 man flip.


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## swone (Jan 24, 2007)

I have a 15 year old Frabill one man that cost $150. It's not particularly warm or comfortable but it will go through 8" of snow and almost can't tell I'm pulling anything behind me and the sled holds everything I want to take with me very easily.


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## kit carson (Jan 24, 2016)

The otter is as big as a two man flip, also will be using a smitty sled this year, getting to.old to pull all the weight


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

Got a wide one a few years ago. Nice shanty for a one man. I like the adjustable front end which gives me two feet more space in front. Big sled to carry all my toys too. Been using a smitty sled for three years now too. Really comfortable setup.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

chaunc said:


> Got a wide one a few years ago. Nice shanty for a one man. I like the adjustable front end which gives me two feet more space in front. Big sled to carry all my toys too. Been using a smitty sled for three years now too. Really comfortable setup.


Oh yea it’s a great shanty. Roomy as hell for a one man and I could sit all day in that seat. I just think it’s not as Mobil as a flip. Do you always use all of the anchors? I found that if not it flaps/sags somewhat especially in some wind.


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

Mine is a flip over.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

chaunc said:


> Mine is a flip over.


Sorry bout that, read your post wrong. Yours probably is the biggest one man per square fat of fishing space. That are nice.


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## Derbyfreak230 (Jan 29, 2014)

I have a clam scout xl thermal that I really like. Doesn't take much heat to keep warm and when I take the chair off it fits in the trunk of my Malibu. Only thing that sucks is pulling it through snow


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## tomb (Oct 9, 2004)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> EVO 1 which isn’t very mobile. So I played around with a smitty sled at the end of last season. Once I figure it out I think I’m going to get the lightest weight 2 man flip.


The slight weight difference in two man flips doesn't matter with a smitty sled. Just buy your shanty on other specs and features. Ignore weight.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


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## tomb (Oct 9, 2004)

My extremely heavy loaded two man flip on smitty sled. Pulls with one finger.









Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

All due respect, I could pull a fiat on that ice, its pretty much bare ice. A lot of the time we have 4-8” of snow. Do the skis still make a huge difference in that situation? The reason why I ask is that my shapell has the built in ski package and it was still a bear to pull in deeper snow. Granted the stock skis are much wider than yours.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Any type of shanty... Flip, Suitcase, Box or Pop-Up will handle in deep snows or slush tremendously easier on the ice with a SMITTY.


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## kit carson (Jan 24, 2016)

Just built one can't wait to try it out, those long pulls on mosquito where about to make this oldman stroke out. From what I researched you should use downhill skies instead of cross country skies.


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## Garyoutlaw77 (Feb 3, 2005)

I have an Eskimo wide 1 inferno & have been very pleased by nearly every aspect of this flip over. 
*Plenty of fishable room & storage even without spreading the front bars but is fantastic as a wind break when flipped into the up position.
*The thurmal material seem tightly stitched with very little light leaks & stays much warmer than other brands I've fished in - Also because of the thickness it seems to be considerably more quiet in the howling wind.
After fishing it in some punishing conditions was so impressed that I also decided to stick with Eskimo for my pop up.


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## jjpugh (Feb 6, 2007)

Thought this was a nice set up for a smitty. Light weight. Guy that built it says it doesn’t collect snow like skis do


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## jjpugh (Feb 6, 2007)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> Check out the Eskimo “wide one”.


Wasn’t a fan of the extendable poles. Used a friends before, had issues with freezing


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## RStock521 (Jul 17, 2008)

jjpugh said:


> Thought this was a nice set up for a smitty. Light weight. Guy that built it says it doesn’t collect snow like skis do


 Doesn't look like it breaks down like a true Smitty Sled does though. And you want the skis to float on top of the snow. Those rails will sink right through. That sled would be fine for glare ice, but I'll take a standard Smitty Sled any day. I do like the idea of the aluminum to keep it lightweight though.


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