Scholarship table
Anyone ice fishing yet?
Wow, I'm very concerned for Benny. Being able to mimic Myron Medcalf's writing so closely implies an oncoming case of dementia.
What's the phenomenon that allows the ice to be that clear? I know that ice sculptors create clear blocks of ice by freezing artificially turbulent water (basically an aquarium pump), but I doubt someone has an aerator running 20 miles off-shore.I'm glad that wasn't you Hards. That would have become your Scoop meme from which there would be no escape.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DohOJVc2j6s&app=desktopnot me, but I thought I'd share this because it is really neat.
Wife and FIL started an ice shack business.Www.fatotteroutdoors.comLet me know what you guys think!
Love the light weight, portability, and ease of storage.Do they plan on displaying at any sport shows? First Friday in December, huge one focused exclusively on ice fishing in St. Paul at convention center. I did a booth there a couple of years ago for a non-profit ice tournament. Tons of press, pro anglers, and huge volume of traffic. St. Paul Ice Show. http://www.gsevents.com/shows/display.cfm?showID=56&showtypeid=3&src=345&sfid=73Any distributors yet?
The photos on the website are great for perspective, but it needs a page showing dimensions and specs (don't forget the storage footprint). A time-lapse video of set-up would be a nice touch; the competitive advantage here is the lightweight, easy-setup construction/materials... emphasize it.
Price point looks good. Not sure what went into that as far as research, but $3K seems about right considering the high end soft-sides will run upwards of a grand and a you could buy a new Prius for the cost of a crank-down.
One drawback - mostly because I'm a pansy who preferred to ice fish exclusively when the air temp is sub-zero (less likely the deputies will be out knocking on doors) - is that it appears to lack integration for heat source (e.g. exhaust/fresh air exchange ports), although I think I know why this feature was omitted (something that rhymes with "bastard class-action, money-grubbing product liability schmattorneys"). I know a lot of people forgo the heat, but I like being able to hold a can of beer with my bare hand while I fish.
I'd like to see a cross-section of the aluminum walls/roof. Again, pansy here, but if design/specs would permit, a nice option would be to fill the cavities with closed-cell spray foam, especially with the lack of heat source integration. What's the point of t-pane windows if the other 95% of the surface area is a heatsink? Depending on the cavity size, the additional weight would be negligible and you could increase the r-value by 400-600%. Not to mention, it would give the aluminum construction a much more durable feel both in setup and in holding up to the wind (resist bending/warping). If not feasible in the walls, I would at least try to offer this in the roof since that's where the majority of heat loss is going to occur. Again, depending on cavity size, you're probably not looking not much more than 200-250 board feet of cured foam, which even at retail cost of $1/bd-ft plus markup, you're only adding 10% to the retail cost.
The one thing I think is a bit shortsighted is the nickle-and-diming for the four-holer. If you were selling these to a bunch of FIBs and east-coasters, sure, up-charge the $149; but your wife & FIL are going to turn off a lot of Minnies and Sconnies by trying to get that extra buck-fifty when the customer knows damn well that you know damn well that everyone wants the four-holer. I would bet that 95% of those who do end up ordering the two-holer are going to cut two more holes on their own and spend $40 for some Catch Covers, so I'd simply make the four-holer standard and upcharge for a premium hole-cover/sleeve/safety cover instead.
1 inch extruded foam R5 for the sandwich.
Are there any of these in Wiconsin?http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/15/28-pound-rainbow-trout-caught-in-northern-idaho-would-have-been-record-breaker/?intcmp=latestnews
Top water fishing in early May on Lake Superior outside of Superior can yield monster trout and huge walleyes. Especially outside the mouth of the St. Louis and the Brule river.
You should have nailed them in front of the storm. Were you using 'lectronics?