Looking at getting an Otter vortex…

I am looking at getting an otter vortex lodge has anyone used this shelter and can offer an opinion on it versus other hub houses. I bought an Eskimo fat fish 949i two weeks ago but it has already shown lots of rust on all the metal parts of the house, the fabric that holds the poles have already started to wear from set up and take down and it did not seem to stay super warm with my buddy going on high for over an hour. I have used it 4-5 times in 2 weeks and haven’t been overly impressed I plan on using it a lot this year so I might end up returning it and paying 100 more for an Otter just because I have heard the quality is top of the line as far as hubs go.

I like my otter vortex hub. Stays plenty warm and sets up real easy. Don’t have experience with other hubs but don’t think I will need another for some time.

Can you even find one? Otter makes great hubs, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

I run an Otter Lodge Hub. This is my 2nd year with it. It does not get used a ton as I still pull a lightweight 1 man flip over for my solo river runs where I put on miles to get away from people. I’d wager I have used it probably 15-20 times. The Lodge size is a great compromise to having enough space for 2 guys and gear, but also still being able to carry the thing and move it easily. The next sizes up from here become monsters to haul anywhere by hand.

I’d give it a 9/10 overall rating. It’s warm and stays warm with the buddy heater on low or even without heat on days above ~20 degrees and without wind, super easy to set up and take down, the bag is nice and sturdy and has enough room to easily fit it in. The only reason I wouldn’t go the full 10/10 is that I wish some of the windows were placed a bit lower. I also did find a couple small specs where paint had come off poles and there was some corrosion starting. It’s nothing worrisome. If I bought today I’d hold out for whatever model of this Otter Hub that has the full doors in the corners though. That step out and in would be a lot easier.

Run the Resort hub, having come from Eskimo. Night and day difference, Bucky covered it above, it has everything you need, cargo netting, fabric rod holders, pouches, hose hole. The square corner door would be nice. Favorite feature is the over-sized bag and cinch strap after it’s all bundled up.

ganderpike wrote:

Run the Resort hub, having come from Eskimo. Night and day difference, Bucky covered it above, it has everything you need, cargo netting, fabric rod holders, pouches, hose hole. The square corner door would be nice. Favorite feature is the over-sized bag and cinch strap after it’s all bundled up.

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Aboxy17 wrote:

I am looking at getting an otter vortex lodge has anyone used this shelter and can offer an opinion on it versus other hub houses. I bought an Eskimo fat fish 949i two weeks ago but it has already shown lots of rust on all the metal parts of the house, the fabric that holds the poles have already started to wear from set up and take down and it did not seem to stay super warm with my buddy going on high for over an hour. I have used it 4-5 times in 2 weeks and haven’t been overly impressed I plan on using it a lot this year so I might end up returning it and paying 100 more for an Otter just because I have heard the quality is top of the line as far as hubs go.

You bought it NEW two weeks ago? I’d be contacting Eskimo and telling them what’s going on, they do come with a warranty. My buddy has had a 949i for years and its a good shack. I picked up an XD last month. Otter makes nice stuff also.

I’d be returning that hub immediately. I have the hub resort for my second season now and I like it.

To go a little further, I’d rank the hubs:

1. Otter – Seems to be the most durable and has the best bag and fit on the market. They’re warm and super easy to set-up or take down. They have tons of useful pockets. The only cons I’ve seen in various models is window placement being a bit high. They don’t really have lower end models to compare apples to apples with some other brands though. All their stuff is top of the line.

2. Eskimo – The newer Eskimo stuff could probably be ranked 1A as they are awfully similar to Otter. Their bags aren’t maybe quite as durable or spacious for packing. There are some well-known complaints about their fabric stitching maybe not being quite what Otters is. They were the first to market with the easy walk through door. Now that others have picked that feature up their advantage will be lost.

3. Clam – Clam has a wide range of hubs. Their cheaper older stuff was notorious for the poles breaking and the connecters where the poles meet cracking in the cold with use. If you buy some of their top of the line models the durability and quality is better. I was in one of the Jason Mitchel x5000 shacks a few weeks ago and it was nice. These models are only a fraction of what they sell though.

4. Frabill – I’ve admittedly only been in 1 Frabill hub recently. It doesn’t seem like they’re marketed well or as widely produced. The insulated fabric had a substantially different feel than the competitors…somewhat stiffer. This isn’t really a fair review, but I’d still give the other 3 a long look before Frabill.

Let me just start out by saying I am an Otter fan.
I have owned an XT Pro Lodge flip over, a Vortex Lodge Hub.
I currently own a Otter Rod Case, Otter Vortex Monster Lodge and an XT PRO X-Over Lodge with all the fixtures (lights, center console, rod holders, Hyfax, tow hitch, shovel and more. I bleed Otter!
However I went out and purchased a new Otter Vortex Pro Hub (the one with the walk through door) from fleet farm. I got it home, opened it up in the garage and was quite disappointed. It had issues with the sewing (loops for the netting were sewn out of place, stitching that was longer than 2″ hanging loose in multiple spots. I then went back to fleet farm and exchanged the Otter Vortex Pro Hub for a new one. I opened up the new one and had similar defects in the hub (stitching, pole won’t straighten out, etc.).
At this point I contacted Otter to notify them of the problem. I was told to take some pictures and submit a warranty claim. To Otters credit they did request the hub be sent back for investigation. Otter then sent me a replacement that appears to be in much better shape.
I’m not certain if Otter is using a different factory overseas but there is a difference in build quality from my original vortex, last years Monster Hub versus this years Pro Lodge. Someone at the St Paul show told me Otter might have encountered issues with their supplier of these hubs, hence the reason why Reeds and others didn’t have them in stock during the show. I don’t know if this is true or not but it made sense to me since I found 2 defective hubs.

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TheCrappieFisherman wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Austin Boxrud wrote:</div>
I am looking at getting an otter vortex lodge has anyone used this shelter and can offer an opinion on it versus other hub houses. I bought an Eskimo fat fish 949i two weeks ago but it has already shown lots of rust on all the metal parts of the house, the fabric that holds the poles have already started to wear from set up and take down and it did not seem to stay super warm with my buddy going on high for over an hour. I have used it 4-5 times in 2 weeks and haven’t been overly impressed I plan on using it a lot this year so I might end up returning it and paying 100 more for an Otter just because I have heard the quality is top of the line as far as hubs go.

You bought it NEW two weeks ago? I’d be contacting Eskimo and telling them what’s going on, they do come with a warranty. My buddy has had a 949i for years and its a good shack. I picked up an XD last month. Otter makes nice stuff also.

I bought it from Cabelas two weeks ago. like I said I plan on using it several times a week all winter and plan on taking it on some pretty serious trips where it might get beat up a little. I just want to make sure I have the best of the best. I have a buddy with a fatfish and it works great for his needs because he only gets out 6-7 times a winter. It seems that a lot of the guys that fish a ton and guide run an otter or one of the newer outbreak series from Eskimo.

New product or when it’s get’s mass production increase…hired help get’s sloppy at times.

If you can’t warm up a hub shelter with heater on high, then none of them will warm up. You need floor insulation.

That would be really disappointing if Eskimo quality on the hubs went down. First I’ve ever heard of it, many many 949i guys including myself love their hubs. Yeah the original bags sucked, but heard that was remedied.

Going off several posts not far back on otter hubs quality I wouldn’t touch em personally. Glad everyone likes theirs tho.

slipperybob wrote:

New product or when it’s get’s mass production increase…hired help get’s sloppy at times.

If you can’t warm up a hub shelter with heater on high, then none of them will warm up. You need floor insulation.

I do use some floor insulation I take four mats just to put my feet and my heater on. Not enough to cover the whole shack which I have done before and definitely helps. The first day out with it was -15 with wind chill so that may have affected my experience with it a bit. I got my buddy heater new last year so that shouldn’t be the problem. I don’t mind the cold much at all when I am by myself but nice to have a warmer shack when taking family etc out. The main concern I had was the rust it showed on all the metal hubs and the skirt gromets. I did set it up in my garage twice to dry and wonder if it could be from melting snow and ice mixing with salt residue on the floor from the truck. Don’t know for sure how that would affect the hubs because they are not even touching the ground.

ganderpike wrote:

Run the Resort hub, having come from Eskimo. Night and day difference, Bucky covered it above, it has everything you need, cargo netting, fabric rod holders, pouches, hose hole. The square corner door would be nice. Favorite feature is the over-sized bag and cinch strap after it’s all bundled up.

Sounds like otter encorporated all the ideas that polar bird implemented 5 years ago. Would be interesting to see the fabric rod holders

5 years ago you would never hear me say anything good about Clam shelters. I think Clam heard that message from their customers as their products have improved greatly. I own both the X400 hub and the Legend XL one man. High quality insulated fabric on both. The X400 hub now has reinforced pole support material where the poles touch the ice. Previous version poles would poke through in these areas. Eskimo also had this issue. Problem was partially from people dragging hub from one spot to another. The new improved pole pockets will not routinely do this. The X400 is taller than Vortex and 949i. As for the full door on new hubs I’m not a fan in high winds.

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So I ended up getting the otter and returning my 949i. I got a full refund at Cabelas and they also priced matched their Otter Hub to Thorne Bros deal which was $100 off. So I ended up only having to pay 10 bucks to upgrade to the Otter, great deal. What I can say about the Otter versus the 949i just by using it once is that first of all it is extremely easy to get in the bag it only takes one person seconds to get in the bag. Where the 949i when frozen took a lot more effort for one person to get in the bag. I will say I think the 949i got upgraded bags after all the complaints they were getting about them. My 949i uses the same bag as the XD series and the fabric of that bag actually seems more durable than the otter bag’s fabric. The one thing I loved about it is that it stayed so much warmer than the 949i. It is incredible how well it holds heat. It also had much less condensation build-up and frost on the walls. Overall definitely glad I switched.