WET TESTS & MSRPs

[TEA POT]

Okay... Eliminating the Gleam    bc nobody has one to WET TEST   
One HS dealer told me they can give me a great price but not WET TEST, the other HS dealer told me it will be 4-6 weeks till they have one available 

So it comes down to Jacuzzi & Sundance...
Just to recap, we really liked the Aspen.
Here's how it scored on my WET TESTs:
Aspen -
Layout:     7, you loose 2 seats on the longer side bc of the filters and then another without any jet therapy bc of the Cool Off Seat

Seats:       9.5, almost no float at all

Jets:         9.5, nice and strong but can be toned down, good variation

Footwell:   9, didn't feel cramped

Footjets:   9, strong but not piercing

Unfortunately, when we WET TESTed the j-470 it felt cramped and the jets were not as strong. Now I really hope the j-495 is going to be a step up??? 
It has 3 pumps instead of 2 (and a circ pump, it's not the same) It also has more space for legroom so it should be VERY similar to the Aspen if not identical.

Can someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this; The Aspen only lists 2 pumps and a circ pump? The j-495 lists 3 pumps and a circ pump?  Aren't they mechanically  mirrors of each other more or less?   

Hoping to WET TEST the j-495 to tip the scales one way or the other by the weekend. Want to love the jacuzzi  but we will see.. Aspen is pretty damn sweet if that is the choice, just hate that the filters take a whole side away 

[Thisismyname]

We wet tested a J 470 today also and didn't really care for it.  1 seat was pretty good but the rest had little to no real feeling of power with the diverter and air on full.

The foot dome was decent on the 470 but overall the tub just isnt what we are going for.

[TEA POT]

I know you originally considered the Cantabria and then moved away from that size...
My point, you should not discount a Big Tub until you try them out. This is going to be a long term purchase, you'll probably go thru 2 or 3 cars before you switch tubs. WET TEST will tell you everything the internet cannot.

I've only tried the Cantabria and the Aspen in that catagory so far but couldn't see going into a non XL tub anymore. If Bullfrog had one I'd probably be done shopping. In any case, whatever Big TUB it is, the higher cost will mean less in the end when I break it out over life of the tub...

[Thisismyname]

We are limited by size now that we've changed the location of the tub.  Before it was just out on a patio so size wasn't a factor...now we are under a deck built into the side of a hill so about 94" is our max

[buba]

We are limited by size now that we've changed the location of the tub.  Before it was just out on a patio so size wasn't a factor...now we are under a deck built into the side of a hill so about 94" is our max

Sounds like you need to build a bigger deck overhead 

[TEA POT]

Can someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this; The Aspen only lists 2 pumps and a circ pump? The j-495 lists 3 pumps and a circ pump?  Aren't they mechanically  mirrors of each other more or less?   

Answering my own question from doing a little more research and talking to another dealer; just in case someone else has the same question in the future....

ASPEN:
3 TheraMax high-flow pumps and Dynamic Flow Circulation System
Pump 1/ North America: 1-speed/2.5 hp continuous
Pump 2/ North America: 1-speed/2.5 hp continuous
Pump 3/ North America: 1-speed/2.5 hp continuous

j-495:
Pump 1: North America 1 speed, 2.5 continuous hp (5.1 brake hp)
Pump 2: North America 1 speed, 2.5 continuous hp (5.1 brake hp)
Pump 3: North America 1 speed, 2.5 continuous hp (5.1 brake hp)
Circulation Pump: Yes

Hoping to WET TEST the j-495 to tip the scales one way or the other by the weekend. Want to love the jacuzzi  but we will see; (IT HAS THE BETTER SEATING LAYOUT).. Aspen is pretty damn sweet if that is the choice, just hate that the filters take a whole side away 
[/quote]

[TEA POT]

HaHaaHHH, guess who's Doing their FINAL WET TEST tomorrow? 

Some water, BIG tub and some great jets = decision between ASPEN or j-495??? 

I'l post results and final quote once I sign and leave deposit to order; didn't want to speculate rather than provide valid info on my experience. 

Current Score:
ASPEN:                                                      j-495:
Layout -   7                                     Layout -      9

Floating - 9.5                                  Floating -    ?

Jets -       9.5                                  Jets -         ?   

Footwell - 9                                    Footwell -   ?

Footjets - 8.5                                 Footjets -   ?

[Jacuzzi Jim]

Apples to apples, both nice spas.     

[TEA POT]

Last installment of "Life of a Hot Tub Shopper" 

Going to try to tie this whole thread up with a nice bow.
Was intitially looking for advice on WET TESTing hot tubs and got a few helpful hints and a little bit of freshmen hazing to boot. Here's what I think my answer would be to me:

SPACE        - space between legs and feet of at least 3 or 4 persons in the tub, even if your single or a only a couple; you may want to have guests eventually. Also how well thought out placement of filters & hotseats take away overall space

JETS           - different massage styles, strength of jets, are they placed well for what you want to hit?? Don't get overly concerned on the number of jets but moreso on how they feel and how much power the pumps supply the given number. Make sure you open the jets all the way when WET TESTing or you may get a false impression of what they can really do; I think this happened to me when I first started.

SEATING     - comfort, fit, molded/designed to hold you from floating away?

FEETWELL   - size of wells, space to get around them, jetted or not, strength and comfort of Foot jets

I tested alot of different tubs, more than I do when I buy a car to be honest 
Looked at exclusively BIG TUBS at the end, felt they justified their premium prices in most cases and provided perks other tubs just can't.

For full sized tubs I really liked the Sundance Optima, Bulfrog A8 and the Jacuzzi 470 best of the bunch. Don't think I had all the jets all the way open on the j-470 to be honest, which very well would have placed it higher on the list but I corrected this potential error with my final tests of BIG TUBS.

For the XL/BIG TUBS the Jacuzzi was the winner  , then Sundance Aspen a close 2nd and lastly the Caldera Cantabria; never got to test the Hot Spring GLEAM.    but really wasn't set on getting a lounger bc you loose a seat and may have floating issues. I may still go test one out to just to satisfy my curiousity. 

Pricing: Have heard some speak of rebates while other dealers say there is no rebate???     Also had some try to push territorial rights, MSRPs they pull out of a hat and sell on reputation instead of discounting at all..

Final Scores of Top 2:
ASPEN:                                                      j-495:
Layout -   7                                     Layout -      9.5

Floating - 9.5                                  Floating -    9

Jets -       8.5                                     Jets -         9.5   

Footwell - 9                                    Footwell -   9

Footjets - 9                                    Footjets -   9