Clam Six Pack 1660 MAG Ice Shelter, 5-7 Anglers

Comments about Clam Six Pack 1660 MAG Ice Shelter, 5-7 Anglers:

I purchased my shanty from an online store from Minnesota, at first I didn't think that I could find it in local stores, but a week after I purchased it, it was available in a local store for the exact same price that I purchased online.
I bought the 1660, the one with 90+ square feet and used it for the first time this past weekend. I am not the average ice fisherman and I believe that an ice shanty has to fit the fisherman for the intended use and the same shanty that I love may be the wrong one for someone else. I am not an advanced ice fisherman, however, I have been involved in this sport for about 15 years.

First of all this is the "cadillac escalade" of hub style ice shanties. I have a lot of experience with these as I have owned two prior hub style shanties. I really love the ease of set up and how compact they fold down. I also like not having a floor, as the previous "floored" shanties are so big, get so water logged and are so hard to maneuver. The first hub shanty that I had, I actually "lost" in the first year that I owned it, in that it was black and one night when I was packing my gear up in a state park parking lot, I set the thing down, folded up on the side of the lot and left it there. I immediately bought another one the next week.

So my review I can compared what it is like to have a the smaller hub style (square 6'x'6' 36 sq feet) versus this one (hexagon 12 foot diameter, 96 Sq ft),
I also live on a lake and I "entertain" on the ice, so when I saw the availability of one this size, I did not hesitate to purchase.
1. Size: This thing is massive, it feels like an Igloo when inside, I had 3 full adults plus myself and we had room to spare, there is no doubt that this is the number one advantage to this thing. We had all of our gear, our cameras and we even pulled our equipment sleds inside and still felt like we had too much space. The walls "bulge out" in the center and this gives substantial more space than you realize. The ceiling height is at least 72" on the side and close to 96" in the center, and it is unbelievable to stand up and walk around, there was even one guy who did nothing but pace the other day when we used it
2. Material: very high quality, again this the third hub shanty I have owned and I have owned at least 3-4 other types of portable shanties. the canvas, the poles, the seams, the pockets everything is the highest quality
3.Setup: this is where things can be slightly difficult, It definitely helps to have more than one guy, but definitely doable alone. I won't go into to much details, but it took me about 15 minutes start to finish, Now hub styles in general are not as "movable" once set up, and this one a little bigger, I use a small 20 volt drill to predrill my anchor screws.

4. Customer service 11/10 rating.. When I first received my shanty, I set the think up in my basement and there was one pole that was cracked, I can't see how the pole cracked, these poles are the strongest carbon fiber poles I have ever seen, however, I do believe that I received a shanty that was returned and probably damaged by someone else who purchased it, It did not appear used, however, i suspect that someone inexperienced try to set it up wrong or possibly that it was damaged in transit (the cardboard box was mangled), however, I was extremely disappointed, as I knew that this would not be an easy return. I emailed Clam and took a few pictures and not even 4 DAYS later, they shipped a replacement set of poles to my front door. The change took maybe 4 minutes and my shanty is perfect now.

Summary:
This shanty is the ultimate portable, collapsible structure for ice fishing. The floor space is immense and would easily accommodate a 6 people inside. Another advantage is it is pretty much a circle, so everyone is facing each other.

Comments about Clam Six Pack 1660 MAG Ice Shelter, 5-7 Anglers:

Maiden voyage of my Clam Six-Pack 1660 went very well. Overall product set-up was fast and easy, plenty of room, nice windows and vents. However, the plastic zipper pulls are not up to the quality I have come to expect from Clam. I broke one on the storage bag first thing. By the end of the day, three of the zipper pulls on the shelter broke as well. The temp was not extreme, only in the low 20's. Too much plastic and not enough rubber makes them snap off in the cold, even when you are trying to be careful. Love the unit, but I will have to come up with a better pull for the zippers or getting in and out of the shelter will be a pain. If not for the zipper pulls, this unit would score a 10. But opening zippers in the cold with gloves on is something that should be easy to do. Lowers my score to a 5.