How thick do u call safe ice? Where haveing it get down real cold and the pond has froze over about2in.

Safe enough for you to walk on is 3 inches and i think something like 8 or 10 inches to drive on.GOne on 2 1/2 inches and didnt fall in but there was alot of cracking under the feet goin on, little scary.

You check it by walking out with a long pole and a life jacket, I usually wait for 4 inches but I see guys going out on their 4 wheeler when there is about 3 inches. But they are insane.

This year I felt safe on 1 3/4" of very strong ice. I usually wait for 2 1/2". The ice this year is very weird. Not much of it, but good ice.

Depends. One resivoir I fish, I would go on about 6 inches, no problem. Another resivoir I have been on 10" of very soft ice and have gotten kinda nervous. I don't like the idea of falling through. Around here, we have problems with freeze/thaw cycles. It can get down to -5 and then warm up to 30+ in some instances, and then not get real cold for a couple days, and then drop down to -5 again, and then warm back up. There is plenty of ice, but it is very soft, and really not safe, IMO. I like a good solid, one time freeze, and then the temp stay low enough to keep it there.

Later,

Marcial

I never feel 100% comfortable on ice.... this year we brought my '06 silverado crew cab out 4 miles onto the lake.... creaked and moaned a bit.... lots of vehicles infront of us... and between 16-23" of ice solid hard ice... but still nervous.. when the big moans and cracks go by you when your sittin on a pail.... EEEEEE.... a little bit of pee comes out everytime....[]

as long as it doesnt crack when I walk on it then I am good.

3" of clear ice.

I think it all depends on how crazy you are! Here 4 inches of black ice is good to walk on, anything less and you are looking for trouble. I was fishing on 4 inches and was walking along and goty to see the ice cracking under my feet! Needless to say I very slowly backed up. You see 4 inches is plenty strong enough but, how about 10 feet away when unknowingly the ice might be 2 inches thick? That happens here alot with the cold water springs we have coming up from the lake bottoms. So for the most part becarefull on the ice!