Ice Fishing Tents

What an ice fishing tent is

An ice fishing tent is a closed-in shelter you sit in to fish through the cold, made to go up quickly on ice or frozen ground and keep the wind off for hours while you fish through a hole in the ice. In Britain they are just as useful on the bank in winter: one here says it is for the bank or the ice. They are warmer and heavier than a summer fishing shelter.

Pop-up, thickened cotton or a chimney tent

• Pop-up ice fishing tents for one or two spring open on a steel frame. They measure 150 by 150cm, 190cm high, and weigh about 3kg.
• Thickened cotton quick-open tents are much warmer. One is five layers of cotton and Oxford cloth, 220 by 220cm and 165cm high, about 13kg.
• A chimney tent has an opening for a stove pipe and flame-retardant Oxford fabric, for three or four people. See hot tents with a stove jack.
• A large hexagonal cotton-padded tent gives room for more than one angler and their kit.

Warmth against weight

The thin pop-up tents are coated polyester: they stop the wind and keep the rain and sun off, and they fold flat to 62 by 62cm, so they are easy to carry out. The cotton tents hold warmth far better, but weigh several times as much and pack long. If you walk a long way to your spot, take the pop-up and dress warmly; if you fish near the car, the cotton is far more comfortable.

Fixing it down on ice and frozen ground

Normal pegs will not go into ice. The thickened cotton tent comes with four ice nails and four wind ropes, and the pop-up tents with eight ground nails. Tie out every rope: a closed tent catches wind like a sail. In Britain, stay on the bank: the Royal Life Saving Society UK advises never going onto ice, because ice here rarely freezes thick enough to stand on safely. Abroad, follow the local rules for the water.

Questions people ask about ice fishing tents

Which ice fishing tents are for winter?

A 4-season tent: stronger poles, and a snow skirt round the bottom of the flysheet to stop wind and snow blowing underneath. See 4-season tents, and hot tents with a stove jack for tents that take a stove. Never take a barbecue or a stove without a flue into a tent: carbon monoxide kills. With a hot tent, use its own kind of stove and a carbon monoxide alarm.

How many people fit in an ice fishing tent?

The pop-ups take one or two, the chimney tent three or four. Each product page gives the size of each option.

How long does delivery take?

Delivery is included in every price and tracked to your door. Each product page says when that tent usually arrives, so check it before ordering for a set date.

More to look at

• Fishing tents
• Winter and snow tents
• Hot tents with a stove jack
• Canvas and cotton tents
• 4-season tents
• Guy lines
• Guide: Fishing and ice-fishing tents
• Guide: Single, double and triple layer tents