Over the holidays I aquired myself a portable ice shelter. I chose the Gorilla Ice Cube, 4 man shelter. I researched and looked at a few different ice pet shelters and I chose the Ice Cube. Which means this is the review after trying it out ice fishing on a river.
First off, the price was right! It was available black cube for sale for $100 off the regular price so that was an additional! After using the Ice Cube out I think paying regular price would not have been an issue for me. It is a good size, I can stand up in it without a problem and it can and will seat 4 people. I tried it out first with 2 people and had lots of room to move and have some gear inside. The second time I used it was with 2 adults and 1 child and there was still enough room. For a 91″x91″x80″ hub height, it has a lot of room, because looking at it you wouldn’t think so.
The Ice Cube comes in a nice carry bag, with connectors for behind the trunk carrying. Hard to think that this shelter is is this bag! So after getting to my just right the river, I unpacked the shelter and started the simple 1-2-3 setup. At first I tried setting it up in my garage so i knew what I was getting into and glad Used to do. Setting it up is easy but at first you have to get accustomed to it. The instructions are sel-explanatory but took a little being employed to. You think your going to break this thing setting it up but the rods are very strong and can take a lot when you arrange it.
First is to happen it with the top piece on top, pull hard on the eye, then go to each side and “pop” out all sides. Also, first you should spine down one corner with the prop in ice spine to make sure it doesn’t get away giving you. This is done in windy conditions but I didn’t should do this as i just step on one corner and pull up, then go laterally, pull the sides out, because it was not windy out at the time.
After the Ice Cube is up just now input it where you want it. Once this is done, install it down and now spine it to the ice on all 4 sides with the adjustable connectors and ice anchors. You just prop the ice anchors into the ice and place the band around the spine. It holds the shelter down very well. Now your a-ok ice fishing!
Once the Ice Cube is up and anchored, now you can unzip the 2 windows to get some light in. Now I auger my holes, clean out the slush, set up my gear and chair and started fishing. It was -20 degrees out so i started up my portable heater which made it quite comfortable after about 20 minutes. There’s a air vent out on the top to make sure there’s enough air obtaining it with the lp heater going. Plus the black color attracts the sun’s rays as well giving you more heat i always liked.
Now I fished approximately 4 hours and it was great! Me and my wife the first time out and then us and our grand-daughter next time. There was plenty of room for all of us and the Ice Cube endured up to the Manitoba winter. I’m impressed with the Ice Cube and I will have purchased one long time ago as it also allows you to move to where the fishing is hot!
The remove went very easy and on the first try I managed to get the shelter in the storage bag. After a few more times setting this up and taking it down is easy. All in all, I couldn’t have gone wrong with buying the Ice Cube. It is a very good product and withstands the Canadian winters!