I use a DX portable to keep my hands/feet warm anytime it's real windy or below about 20°, but I haul it in the back of a hatchback car, and I use Schooleys for most of my gill fishing. Picture from last season in January.

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

I agree, though... in general the amount of gear people haul onto the ice has seems to have increased at an exponential rate since I was a kid.

No ice here atm, but we have a big long cold snap forecast starting Friday, so I should be pond hopping by the middle of next week.