I dislike the idea of reviewing new kit, as even some well-worn equipment I have still surprises me with newly noticed (good and bad) design details. For new gear I don't want to do a checklist of the specs and then a rough guess as to how it might work, I want to know it intimately. So any views on the Icebox should wait until I've played with it more, but sadly we don't live in a perfect utopian never-ending-winter world. Winter is finite, and I think everyone lucky enough to live in a beautiful magical snowy land (Nordic lands represent!) should take advantage of what remains of it, and go order an Icebox right now, so I will just write down a few reasons of why this box-onna-stick is so fun.
- What the hell is an Icebox, and how the hell does it work?
It assembles into a big black box, that sticks onto a pole, a different combination of poles for each differently sized igloo (2.13, 2.44, 2.74, 3.05 and 3.35 m base diameter for a 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 man igloo respectively).
The yellow handle and the U-bar can be lifted to open the box a little.
To build an igloo a site is selected, and the snow is trampled down into a flat, solid base. The pole is stuck into the centre of the base with a spike.
The box on the outer end of the pole is filled with shovelfuls of snow, which are firmly patted down with around 30 N of force (roughly what you need to lift 3 kg, or crush a hen egg). When the box is full, the U-bar and toggle are opened and the sides of the box fall away a little, leaving a perfectly solid snow-block behind.
The box is pulled away from the block, following the course of a circle centred around where the pole is spiked into the base.
A second block is made bordering the first. The Icebox is open on the side facing the previous block, so the new snow is packed into the previous block, leaving no gaps between the blocks. This continues until the first row of blocks is made. Then the pole length is adjusted for the second row, and these blocks are built on top of the first row, which by now is rock solid. The rows continue on to the third and fourth and so on.
As the igloo nears completion the pole ends up pointing vertically up, the sides of the box are removed so it is more of a flat plate, and the roof is built upon it.
Two people are needed to use the Icebox properly, one works on the inside of the igloo, moving the Icebox along and packing the snow in, while the other stays on the outside, mixing and shovelling in the snow. The person on the inside is slowly entombed (groaning and begging, Cask of Amontillado style) in the igloo as the work goes on, so make sure you have something to piss in. The person on the outside has to reach high to finish the roof, and so needs to be tall, have a long shovel, or preferably both. Nobody has to work their ass off, so getting sweaty is not a problem. Only the gloves of the form handler have to get physical with the snow, so getting wet from the snow isn't a problem. And nobody is in any danger of getting buried in snow, as the roof is open until the last couple of blocks, and at that point the structure is as solid as it gets.
The Icebox weights around 2.2 kg, comparing well to a solid two person 5-season tent, the Hilleberg Tarra for example, which weights in at 4.1 kg. A shovel is also needed, but this is a normal piece of Winter gear to bring into snowy territory. I use an Ortovox Kodiak, which weights 770 g but has the longest reach of any compact shovel I could find (88 cm).
- Why do you need a tool to make an igloo?
Firstly an igloo with a perfect self supporting catenary arch is made every time, making the structure stable, as can be seen throughout the building process. Blocks on the 5th, 6th and 7th rows hang at crazy angles in the air, defying gravity in the most obscene way. Newton would shit himself.
Secondly the quality of the snow is not as important a factor as when making an igloo without such a tool. In the instructional DVD the shelter is made with some incredibly dry 'sugar snow' in order to show how snow conditions aren't so important when using the Icebox. This was the type of snow we had to hand when making the 3.05 m igloo, and it wasn't a problem. Mixing up the snow before shovelling it into the form and patting it down in a firm, consistent way makes up for the shitty snow.
Thirdly, the snow is compressed heavily in the box, forming much more solid blocks than those cut from windblown snow, such as with a traditional Nanook igloo, and a more tough and resiliant structure than with the lightly compressed snow of a quinzhee. This higher density of the blocks confers great durability, on the second day of living in the 3.05 metre igloo, a whole days worth of 2 ºC rain fell while we sheltered inside. The landscape outside changed completely, all the snow on the trees melted away, the snow depth on the lake was cut in half, and everywhere it was soft slush underfoot. Inside the igloo however not much was affected, the hard-packed base and blocks became a little softer, but retained their shape and kept us sheltered. Rain that fell on the igloo just flowed down through the walls and there was no dripping inside.
Finally, the shelter provided by the igloo really is dynamite. Inside it's calm, roomy, quiet, cozy and (relatively) warm. Outside, it could be anything. It doesn't seem to matter if it's raining, snowing or blowing a storm. This is revealed right from the first time you use the tool, as the shelter starts to be completed and snow for the roof is shovelled into place, noises from the outside become fainter and more distant. Even after a door is cut into place the weather has to be checked by poking your head outside, almost no noise, wind or precipitation make their way inside. All you have inside is a calm, relaxing, glacial blue glow, it's hard to describe how tranquil and serene the inside of an igloo can be.
The igloo blow tents and tarps away in terms of the quality of shelter they provide. No flapping flysheets keeping you awake for hours, no sagging walls from banks of snow building up, no noises from howling wind or pouring rain. No breezes cutting through every ventilation hole, no condensation dripping down onto your gear, no snow brought in by your shoes half-melting and then freezing again on your groundsheet, peeling off the PVC. No need to worry about bringing in snow on your boots, no need to even take your boots off. No need to spend your time inside stooped over or squatted/kneeling on the floor. No possibility of cutting a big gash in your shelter with the steel edge on your skis, and if you did somehow poke a hole, just pick up some snow and patch it in seconds. No need to keep extra layers on inside, or to have massive down sleeping bags, or to have your boots/clothes/water wrapped up with you in your bag. Water in the igloo remains liquid and boots remained comfortably unfrozen. No worries about lighting up candles, lanterns or stoves inside. The ventilation holes in the igloo can be many when cooking and are easily stopped up when cooking is over, they are almost 20 cm long, so no ingress of precipitation is risked. And finally, no rolling up an ice-caked, crackling, frozen-hard fly in to a bag that suddenly doesn't seem big enough.
The Icebox also forces you to study snow. Michi joked that we would become 'snow whisperers', and that isn't far from the truth. I know what's powdery and what's skare and what's kramsnö, but i've never intimately played with snow like this before. With the Icebox you start to realise how the force used to compact the snow determines how the blocks turn out. Then you start to see and feel how and when the snow starts to bind, depending on what quality the snow is, how much is packed together and how often or hard the force is applied. I've reread that paragraph and it sounds so incredibly nerdy, but remains true.
Snow is deep, man.
- What are the disadvantages?
The instructions become clearer and clearer as experience is built up. Every detail and sentence at some point "clicks", and its importance realised.
A fair amount of snow is required, and you need two people that know what to do, and there's not much work for more than 3 people, so many hands don't make light work. These are small issues, but there is one major disadvantage that has stubbornly persisted. Time. This takes a lot of time to use, the 3.05 m igloo took around 7 hours, and the smaller 2.13 m igloo took at least 4 hours of work. Admittedly this has been a learning experience, and I am relatively sure that after a few more builds the time taken will be down to a couple of hours. Just don't expect that you can buy the tool and instantly leave your tent at home, unless you've planned to spend every available daylight hour (and maybe some of the night) building an igloo.
- So what's the bottom line?
On the other hand, fuck that warning. Buy this thing. It is the most fun I've had in winter camping, and winter camping is my number one favourite legal thing to do. If you've got a friend and a shovel, you will have a total blast with this. Putting up a tent is quick and easy, but it's boring. It's a bare minimum of shelter with no joy. To adapt the environment to suit our needs, to build a shelter from the detritus of Winter, and then sleep soundly within its solid walls, is absolutely primal. It's rewarding on a very basic human level. What kind of satisfaction can you get from putting up a tent or a tarp? To make it drum-tight and plop it down in a sheltered spot? It's a big plastic bag that you take ten minutes to prop up on some sticks. The igloos you make with the Icebox are sanctuaries, you can rush a small igloo out in a hurry and shelter in it in the worst kind of weather, or you could spend a relaxed day with friends carefully building a masterpiece to bookmark in your GPS and enjoy all Winter. I personally don't see my tent coming out in Winter anymore, at most I'll bring a light tarp as a roof for worst-case scenarios where the igloo doesn't get finished.
That's why I had to write this mini-review without having yet mastered the Icebox. I think it will take a long time to master it, but already I love it, it's fun. There's still a few months left of good winter weather left if we're lucky, and I cannot recommend enough that everyone rush to buy an Icebox. It is the most exciting toy I've had in decades, it brings back that Christmas morning excitement I used to get as a kid. Skip whatever new minutely improved sleeping bag/tent/rucksack you've been planning to add to your collection. Grab your best mate, grab an Icebox, grab some warm gloves and get iglooing.
(Caveat: Despite my enthusiasm, I don't work for Grandshelters and did pay for this thing :)
