OC Shopping for a HotTub? Here's some things to consider

Copying/Pasting some content I've typed before on the subject that might help others when shopping for a spa in North America:

• Current industry average lifespan of a mid-grade spa is currently 7-14 years depending on care/maintenance. Budget-grade spas might not even see a decade lifespan, while some of the top-tier spas from the top brands are built to last 20-30+ years.

• Care/maintenance plays a big role in product lifespan. Hot tubs have best lifespan when kept filled with water and balanced/maintained/refilled as needed. Rubber seals like to stay warm and supple - draining/winterizing a spa is the worst thing you can do to a hot tub.

• Water chemistry also plays a role in product lifespan. Excessive chlorine or bromine can degrade internal components and even cause chemical blisters on the shell surface under the worst-case scenarios.

• A good chunk of the $$ paid for a name-brand spa is the dealer's warranty. Dealers are independent authorized retailers - each of them operates on different profit margins based on business model and location, etc. You'll be stuck with this dealer for the duration of the warranty - be sure to research thoroughly. Ask questions about techs (on payroll or outsourced, years experience, etc), especially ask about "call-out" dispatch fees for warranty service. Some dealers/brands include 6-12 months free dispatch before charging $150+ for warranty service. Other dealers include 3-5+ years.

• Not all dealers are created equal - even if you want XYZ brand of hot tubs but get a bad vibe about the dealer, walk away and find a different dealer or brand to buy from. Don't settle for a shady dealer.

• Most big brands sell multiple product tiers to fit every budget. Sometimes these are bells/whistle changes, other times it's material and design changes to increase performance or product durability. Don't expect the same product lifespan from a mid-range Jacuzzi compared to a top-tier flagship model. If max lifespan is desired, always consider the flagship tier.

• Wet testing is critical when shopping for a spa. Some brands cram a bunch of tiny "bullet jets" into the spa to increase jet-count numbers (because many people think more jets = better spa, right?? lol). The reality is some tiny jets can cause the skin to "itch" due to the jet stream and pressure. Also know that Jet-pump horsepower ratings can also be heavily inflated using higher voltage for testing on the bench. Back in my car-stereo days we called that the "ILS standard" - If Lightning Strikes - because that's the only way you'd get enough voltage to see those numbers. You don't need to test the exact make/model you're buying, but you should try to test something from the same product tier/collection as they should all have similar seat-comfort and performance.

• Sitting in an empty tub is pointless - buoyancy plays a big role in seat comfort. You won't know anything about how comfortable a spa really is until you sit in one filled with water.

• Average hot tub owner hosts guests in their spa 3-4 times a year. You'll find that water chemistry can become a mess when letting guests in the spa (who may be coated in moisturizers/lotions or soapy bathing suits which can cause water chemistry issues if they don't rinse off before using the tub). I don't know about you but I personally prefer a smaller luxury spa with enough space for only the people living at home, instead of buying the largest spa your budget can afford. I thought I was going to buy a 5+ seater, but ended up with a small 3-seater spa (one lounger and two seats), and it's the perfect size for my needs - not too big to take up a lot of space, but more cost-effective

As an engineer who waited decades to buy a luxury, I ended my hunt with a Hotspring Highlife spa which is built to compete with Jacuzzi's top-tier spas. It's extremely energy efficient and the fancy motomassager jets are proprietary to Hotspring - you won't find those jets on any other spa in the industry. I love closing other jets and sending full pressure to the lounger seat for a nice massage after working out.

That said, there are other brands worth considering. Jacuzzi is obviously great - but you pay for the "brand name tax" having that logo on the side of the spa. Jacuzzi's sister brand is Sundance which is built in the same factory and share many components under the hood. Sundance is high on my list of quality spas at a "fair" price (more reasonable than Jacuzzi lol).

Caldera is Hotspring's sister brand - they are built in Mexico in the same factory as the Hotspring hotspot and Hotspring limelight collection of spas and share many of the same components. The Hotspring Highlife spas are built in a different factory in Vista California using a lot of different materials (synthetics and composites to increase product lifespan and energy efficiency)

The problem with Jacuzzi/Sundance and Hotspring/Caldera is that they use proprietary components. There are some DIY repairs you can do yourself, but in general it's best to hire the local dealer when these tubs need service - both because they have access to the parts, and the technical service docs issued by the manufacturer on common parts to fix and such. If you are a DIY weekend warrior, you probably want to avoid these four brands. Many other brands use industry standard off-the-shelf components (electronics control sets, jet parts, pumps, plumbing, etc) - this can make DIY repairs a bit easier and less painful since the information is widely available online. There are pros and cons to having proprietary components in this industry - sometimes it's done for performance or reliability reasons.

Nordic is the brand I advise for the best bang for the buck - they skimp on fancy features like excessive LED's, speakers, waterfalls, etc to offer decent mid-grade models using off-the-shelf parts. Marquis is another brand which has many different styles and options (I like their Vector class of spas, they were a runner up for me when looking for similar styling to the Hotspring Highlife spas). Some other brands worth considering would be Artesian, Cal Spas, Beachcomber.

There is a brand which makes VERY low-grade overpriced tubs. They bought up many other brand names over the years as other companies went out of business so they can sell the same junk under multiple brands to spread out the negative reviews. This company is called LPI Inc. Here's a list of some of their brands which you should avoid at all costs: https://lpiinc.com/shops/

I also would avoid those shady "hot tub expos" which pop up all over the country - they're known as the traveling circus of spas. They sell one brand of spas: Master Spas which are (in my opinion) overpriced for what you get (they try to toss in BS like magnets glued to the shell and call it "magnet therapy" and charge extra as a premium upgrade lol). The traveling circus however uses high pressure act-now sales tactics to get you to buy a tub from them before they move on to the next location, leaving you hanging with minimal customer service and post-purchase warranty support. Basically it becomes a big run-around and expensive call-out dispatch fees for servicing the spa under warranty. I know some people disagree with me on the MasterSpas brand, but I've never been impressed with the brand or their sales tactics.

Just my $0.02 as a hot tub enthusiast