Caldera vs coast vs maax

[Miffy]

Hi,
I thought I was set on a Caldera cantambria and then I went to a home shoe and saw Coast mirage and Maax 982.  I have already tried and crossed off my list hot springs, master spa, Jacuzzi, sundance and tropic seas.
How does Coast and Mass compare to Caldera?  Is there another large tub I should look at?

[castletonia]

I don't really think they do. 

I currently sell Hot Spring and Caldera, sold Coast from 2009 - 2011 and dealt with Maax for service on Coleman and LA Spas after they bought them.  Manufacturer support is, in my opinion, horrible from Maax and my last dealings with Coast was not good.  That may not matter to you, but from a dealers perspective, it's hugely important.  I cannot support my customers if the manufacturer doesn't support me.

From a build quality perspective, I still think Caldera is superior.  Maax is a middle of the road spa.  Not a huge fan of steel frames, they have never been an energy efficient spa, and I think their insulation method leaves the spa susceptible to leaks down the road since the plumbing is not supported.  Coast is not as well known, but my experience with what I sold was pretty positive.  Energy efficiency is fine if you get full foam (it was not standard when I sold them), though the energy guide on their website I think is very inaccurate.  I really liked their filtration system but wish they had a 24 hr circulation pump. 

You will have to research the dealer and wet test to see which is for you.  My order would be Caldera, Coast and then Maax.

As for other spas, you have already crossed off a lot of good spas.  If you have the local presence, D1, Artesian, and Arctic could be others to look at. 

[Livefast]

Heading to wet test arctic summit and a maax 480 tomorrow.  Really like the fact maax has 2 two speed pumps. Comes standard with WiFi. Guess a wet test will be the deciding factor

[castletonia]

Wet test will tell you as much if not more than anyone on here can.

I used to think that 2spd pumps were really important, but found that I didn't use low speed for much of anything, but to each their own.  Unless it has changed within the last year or so, and if Maax is using Balboa controls, their wifi module was flaky.  I stopped offering it shortly after I started selling Marquis in 2014 when I couldn't regularly connect to my floor model spa from within the showroom.  There are also a few threads on this forum also indicating the issues.

[Tman122]

Heading to wet test arctic summit and a maax 480 tomorrow.  Really like the fact maax has 2 two speed pumps. Comes standard with WiFi. Guess a wet test will be the deciding factor

Make sure you look inside the equipment bay on both these. You WILL see a difference on how they are put together.

[Sam]

Yeah, Caldera is a much better spa than a maax.  Coast is decent but not upper echelon like Caldera.  As said above, see if you have Artesian and Arctic.  D1 are great but very expensive.  Bullfrog is another. 

Good luck