Grand shelters icebox tool

Web browser based cookies allow us to customize our site for you, save items in your cart, and provide you with a great experience when shopping CampSaver. Your privacy is important to us, and any personal information you supply to us is kept strictly confidential. If you cannot enable cookies in your browser, please contact us — we are always here to help!

Unfortunately we are unable to offer our excellent shopping experience without JavaScript. Please add " campsaver. Grand Shelters Icebox ,. Grand Shelters Icebox Similar Products. Grand Shelters Icebox. After a final 10 minute wait, we tested the platform. It had sintered fairly well, but we still found spots where we would sink in if we walked on them.

All of our stomping around had made us work up a sweat and we were quickly cooling down during the breaks. I had spent a fair amount of time reviewing the manual before I left and the assembly went very smoothly. We located our center point, inserted the stake, and began constructing a 9 ft 2. The first few blocks seemed to go fairly well.

We had some difficulty keeping the form in proper alignment at times, but eventually got the hang of it. Being our first time, the block construction was taking significantly longer than I expected. After 45 minutes of building, we only had half of the first layer completed. The combination of our slow speed, cold temperatures, and crawling around in the snow was beginning to take its toll on us.

Both of us were getting uncomfortably cold. We decided to retreat to the car just before we finished the first row. Given our construction pace, we were looking at an unreasonable amount of time before we would finish the igloo.. My second attempt went better, but I still didn't complete an igloo. I wasn't able to find anyone else willing or able to help with my construction, so I set off to build a 7 ft 2. In doing so, I ignored the statement in the instruction manual that says "an inexperienced individual should not expect to be able to take the ICEBOX out into the backcountry and singlehandedly construct an adequate snow shelter.

Like the first attempt, I parked at a winter trailhead, skied over a large snowbank and found a clearing not far from my car. I immediately started stomping out a platform on my skis. This site featured 6 in 15 cm of new powder on top of a 9 in 23 cm crust. Below the crust layer was 28 in 71 cm of depth hoar. It took me approximately 45 minutes to stomp out this platform.

Again, I was too impatient during this attempt and began construction before the platform was completely sintered. As a result, the center stake was able to shift slightly during construction. This caused significant problems later in the construction. Construction of this igloo started out on the wrong foot. My third block fractured as soon as I moved the form.

I was able to brush it away and reset the form without too much of a hassle. I also discovered how difficult it is to position the form at the proper angle when building an igloo by myself. The construction of the rest of the first layer through the third layer went very well. As I began the fourth layer, I began to see the results of my early mistakes. The shifting of the center stake combined with the improper form tilt during the first row resulted in some upper blocks being poorly supported.

The form was sitting approximately 3 in 8 cm too far towards the center of the igloo. This caused a ledge on the exterior of the igloo and a gap on the interior.

This gap prevented me from forming a complete block. I would have to use chunks of snow which is not recommended by the manufacturer to fill the gap. When I attempted to move the form, the entire block would collapse, sloughing off a layer of the interior wall of the igloo in the process. This, in turn, left me with a larger gap to fill. These errors culminated at the third block of the fourth layer.

I spent 45 minutes trying to complete this block. After a lot of yelling, swearing, and kicking snow, I gave up. All in all, I spent 3 hours during actual construction of this igloo.

A side view of my second attempt. While I haven't been able to complete an igloo, I have learned valuable lessons. I've learned how vital it is to let the platform fully sinter before one begins construction. That is truly an exercise in patience given the low density of Colorado snow. According to the Grand Shelters forums, the inventor of the ICEBOX identifies a prime platform site early in the season and stomps out a platform every time he passes through the area.

Given my work schedule, this isn't a realistic approach for me. I need to stomp out a platform, go for a short ski tour, return to the site, and continue construction.

I have also learned how important it is to be meticulous during the first layer. While I was able to make up for my mistakes early on, they caught up with my in the end.

One thing that surprised me was how little I had to work during construction. I expected to be working much harder, sweating more, and staying warmer.

I'm excited for my next igloo attempt. I'm still having a difficult time trying to find others to help me, but I feel that I will have better success with a solo attempt next time. I have picked up many useful solo building tips from the Grand Shelters forum and intend to consult it again before my next trip..

Long Term Report. Two of these attempts took place in essentially the same location; an easily accessible trailhead near Hoosier Pass, Colorado. The elevation at this trailhead is approximately 10, ft 3, m. The first of these two attempts was after a long dry spell. As a result, I encountered no powder snow but lots of sugar snow.

My site was a clearing in an area heavily treed with pines, so I rarely felt the sun when it managed to pop through the trees. The second of the two attempts at this location had slightly more favorable conditions.

After another week without snow, the mountains received approximately 6 in 15 cm of snow the day before my attempt. The powder snow sat on top of a thin crust which, in turn, covered a significant amount of sugar snow. My third and final attempt took place in a clearing near Monarch Pass, Colorado at an elevation of 11, ft 3, m.

The week preceding this attempt was quite warm. In many mountainous locations, the snowpack below 11, ft 3, m was not even freezing at night! I have only completed one of the five igloos I have attempted to build during the entire testing session.

All three of the igloos attempted during the Long Term Report phase were 7 ft 2. After feeling that I had learned several lessons during my two Field Report attempts, I struck out on my next attempt quite optimistic.

I realized that one of the most time-consuming parts of construction at least in the typical Colorado snowpack was stomping out a platform and waiting for it to sinter. To give myself an edge, I parked at the trailhead an hour before sunset, found a suitable location not far from the car, and began stomping with my skis on.

After 20 minutes, I was satisfied with the platform size I had created. I headed back towards the car, set up a tent, read for a while, and went to bed. The next morning I returned to my platform and was very pleased to find that I could walk on it in my boots without sinking at all.

I was able to complete the first layer with only moderate troubles. Once I began the second layer, I discovered how difficult it is to construct an igloo with sugar snow. The snow poured through any open spaces between the form and previous layer. I tried plugging these spaces with chunks of snow as advised in the instruction manual, but I found that these blocks made the wall unstable.

I had countless blocks fail on me at the border of the snow plugs and loose sugar snow. After spending three hours completing only the first two layers, I quit in disgust. The blocks were fracturing more and more often and I was getting more and more angry.. The second Long Term Report phase test didn't go much better.

As I mentioned in my "Field Conditions" section, I had more powder snow, but it was also quite warm. Given the success of my "show up a day early and stomp out a platform" idea, I did the same before this attempt. Like before, I awoke to find a perfect and solid platform. I began shoveling snow into the form and also began sweating quickly. Approximately one quarter of my site was shaded and three quarters were in the sun.

Initially, construction went well. While I had a couple of first layer blocks fracture, I was able to quickly and easily replace them. I realized that the platform I stomped out this time was too large and forced me to take a couple of steps to gather a shovelful of snow.

This may seem minor, but it added up quickly. I was forced to do a lot more kneeling, standing, walking, and scooping than I had done in previous igloo attempts and it slowed me down noticeably. Shortly after beginning the second layer, I realized that I was too lax in setting the first layer alignment. Many blocks did not line up well and the sugar snow I was using would again slide through the opening between the form and first layer.

I made a conscious effort to use powder snow to fill these gaps and that seemed to work fairly well. Winter camping can be another fun activity but it is even more enjoyable in an igloo. We are also happy you have become part of the Grand Shelters family. Henceforth, we invite you to give us feedback on your experiences with our products. Adobe Reader can be downloaded from the link below. Open PDF and select to print.

When the print page comes up for the igloo instruction manual, select to print in landscape mode.