I'm looking to get a new portable this year. I've been stuck between a Fishtrapx and an otter.

I just got word of the new Quickfish 6 from eskimo. A sledless 'tent' like system.

Does anyone have any experience with these? Or the model before it (3)?

Thanks

I have had the quick fish 6 for over three years ( I tested the original one) If you fish with a couple guys all the time it is nice. If you plan on going out alone it is not a great idea. Even though it is cheaper then a flip over you are still going to want a sled to pull all your stuff like chairs and I have a 8 foot by 8 foot carpet I set in the middle to keep it a little warmer. I do like it for all day fishing with a group of guys. you can comfortably fish 4 guys (4 holes at each end) and have a card table in the middle for passing the time. I bought a cot this year and am going to try and spend some overnights in there. I have a sunflower heater and I can fish in a t-shirt inside so it stays fairly warm. If you have any other questions let me know.

Yeah that's kinda what I was going for. I will be going solo a lot but I will have another go with me about half the time.

I plan on doing "long term" sessions of like Friday morning to Sunday morning etc

I'm really interested in it because of the weight. I have an otter sled already so I can transport everything fairly easy.

Are there any other drawbacks for going solo with it? (I do like the idea of putting a cot in there.. its the first thing I thought of too lol!)

How easy is it to setup for 1 guy? They claim in under a minute... that true? Are the anchors easy to work with?

I have a quikfish III and, after a little practice,it's fairly easy to set up alone. You can set up the actual tent in a minute or so, but I usaully spend another 10 minutes banking the edges, maybe setting ice screws (they are easy to set and are rock solid) if it's windy, moving gear into the house, set up chairs, clearing holes, etc..

Overall, I like the Quikfish III a lot. It packs down well, lightwieght, easy to store, handles the wind well. I use it for spearing, taking my bro-in-law, nephew, and niece fishing, lake trout fishing, and last year as a ground blind deer hunting.

The rest of the time I use a 1 person flip over fish house. That is better if you want to move around a lot.

Does anyone by any chance have a picture of the inside of one of these? or even the quickfish 3?

Sledless tent designs are usually not very good in any wind and you will need a sled to haul it and your gear in anyways. I would get a flip over style house. Unless your packing into some remote lakes and then I wouldnt go quite so big.

I have learned to stake one corner before I pop it out. Once it is in they do not go anywhere. I use a 3/4" socket and notched out a slot in it. I then attach the socket to a drill and screw in the stakes that way. It goes 1,000 times faster then hand turning them in. Once they are staked they do not go anywhere.

I have an otter lodge and Fish Trap Voyager. They are both great flipovers. Check out the otter website for the closeout on the otter lodge closeout. You can find some great deals tent/poles alone or package with seats and cover. The Fish Trap Xs are some nice looking units also. Great pole design.

thats a good tip with the notched socket...

I don't have a picture but the inside is a dark fabric, just like the outside, there are a couple mesh pockets sewn to the sides to hold small junk, four windows, 2 mesh vents, 1 door, and of course no floor.

Actually they do just a fine a job in the wind as sled flipovers. The handling of each is different. There's no full flat side so the wind easily goes around it.

As long as one doesn't parachute their portable to the wind, and anchor it down properly they'll be okay.

Set up in the wind sucks on these sledless designs. Ya once you get set up, anchored down and your stuff inside your ok like with any house. I found that in the wind you will need at least 1 other guy if not 2 to hold things down as you anchor corners. Too much hassle for me especially when I fish alone a lot.

Take down has been the biggest challenge for me in the wind and cold -- contending with things freezing up instead of sheltering and warming up.