Strong Brand Opinions

[Alixer]

Hi all, I’m working on purchasing my first hot tub. I looked at several different brands recently and one of them is Strong. I really liked the tub (E90L model) but am having a very difficult time finding much info about them online. Seems like it may not be a very popular brand. It doesn’t help that “strong” is not an easily searchable term.

Anyway, anyone out there with experience with Strong tubs I would greatly appreciate your thoughts.

My biggest concern is that I liked the Strong tub more than the Hot Springs Aria and yet the Strong tub is only $12,000 while the Aria is $18,000. I’m worried that the Strong tub might be “crappy” to be so much cheaper.

Thank you

[Sammi]

Did you ask the HS dealer for their best price or was it the price listed on the marketing sign next to the spa? As the dealers on here will tell you the price depends on location and other factors but I think most have been seeing the Aria priced at around $13,000. At my local dealer you have to ask for the price as the sticker price is around $19,000.

I've never heard of Strong brand.

[Tman122]

Poorly constructed lower middle of the road tub. It's cheaper for a reason.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

Poorly constructed lower middle of the road tub. It's cheaper for a reason.

pretty much this...also your Aria is overpriced by about 4k, that's just their 'fake' retail number they have posted I assume

[Alixer]

I think most have been seeing the Aria priced at around $13,000. At my local dealer you have to ask for the price as the sticker price is around $19,000.

Thanks that’s good to know. I live in California and with Covid it seems as though everyone is buying a hot tub so was not sure how much they could come down on the price but that definitely sounds like they have a lot of room to work.

[Alixer]

Poorly constructed lower middle of the road tub. It's cheaper for a reason.

Thank you. If there were no prices posted on the 2 tubs and no brand names on the outside I would say I liked the Strong tub better. But I don’t want a tub that turns into a maintenance nightmare.

[CanadianSpaTech]

Strong sell through Costco under the Evolution Spa brand name as well.

[Spatech_tuo]

Poorly constructed lower middle of the road tub. It's cheaper for a reason.

Thank you. If there were no prices posted on the 2 tubs and no brand names on the outside I would say I liked the Strong tub better. But I don’t want a tub that turns into a maintenance nightmare.

Do you mean you like the look of the Strong model better or the fact it had more jets or was there something else that caught your eye? You don't need to explain your reasoning really, everyone has their own opinions, it just helps if we know what you're seeing and how you're evaluating your choices.

[Tman122]

Poorly constructed lower middle of the road tub. It's cheaper for a reason.

Thank you. If there were no prices posted on the 2 tubs and no brand names on the outside I would say I liked the Strong tub better. But I don’t want a tub that turns into a maintenance nightmare.

Yea, did you look at stuff like fit and finish, inside the equipment bay, where the shell meets the cabinet? Or did price steer you right away?

[Alixer]

Do you mean you like the look of the Strong model better or the fact it had more jets or was there something else that caught your eye? You don't need to explain your reasoning really, everyone has their own opinions, it just helps if we know what you're seeing and how you're evaluating your choices.

I really liked the seat layout of the Strong. It was super comfy in just about every seat. The lounge seat was a bit different than other loungers and I enjoyed it. I don’t typically like lounge seats. I liked the fact that every single jet was adjustable and could be turned off. I loved that it had shoulder jets. It had 3 jet pumps instead of 2 and it was a bit bigger than both the Envoy and Aria. It wasn’t quite as pretty as the Hot Springs tubs but I don’t care much about that. I also care zero about speakers, waterfalls, touch screens and similar add-ons.

The Hot Springs tubs felt just like every other tub I’ve been in. Not that that is a bad thing but I was expecting more for the price. The one thing that I really like about the Hot Springs is the salt water system, Strong does not offer that. Having said all of this I have yet to wet test either of them, still trying to schedule that. They were all empty when I sat in them.

I honestly care very little about price EXCEPT that I don’t want to feel ripped off. I will gladly pay $20k if I get a good deal on an amazing tub but I don’t want to pay $20k for a tub that is no better than a $12k tub. I am planning to check out Marquis and D1 next.

[Tman122]

Do you mean you like the look of the Strong model better or the fact it had more jets or was there something else that caught your eye? You don't need to explain your reasoning really, everyone has their own opinions, it just helps if we know what you're seeing and how you're evaluating your choices.

I really liked the seat layout of the Strong. It was super comfy in just about every seat. The lounge seat was a bit different than other loungers and I enjoyed it. I don’t typically like lounge seats. I liked the fact that every single jet was adjustable and could be turned off. I loved that it had shoulder jets. It had 3 jet pumps instead of 2 and it was a bit bigger than both the Envoy and Aria. It wasn’t quite as pretty as the Hot Springs tubs but I don’t care much about that. I also care zero about speakers, waterfalls, touch screens and similar add-ons.

The Hot Springs tubs felt just like every other tub I’ve been in. Not that that is a bad thing but I was expecting more for the price. The one thing that I really like about the Hot Springs is the salt water system, Strong does not offer that. Having said all of this I have yet to wet test either of them, still trying to schedule that. They were all empty when I sat in them.

I honestly care very little about price EXCEPT that I don’t want to feel ripped off. I will gladly pay $20k if I get a good deal on an amazing tub but I don’t want to pay $20k for a tub that is no better than a $12k tub. I am planning to check out Marquis and D1 next.

So you didn't look at build quality?

[Alixer]

So you didn't look at build quality?

No, not really. I’m not an expert on hot tub construction so what really am I looking for? The only thing that I can imagine is really going to matter is insulation. I do care about energy efficiency to a point. But the difference between using 160 watts versus 230 watts isn’t worth thousands of dollars.

Really though they all make the same marketing claims; “built in the USA”, “energy efficient”, “superior water quality technology”, etc.

It’s difficult to really know what to look for specifically so was hoping to hear from some people that have Strong tubs but it doesn’t seem like there are many out there which is not a great sign.

[Spatech_tuo]

Do you mean you like the look of the Strong model better or the fact it had more jets or was there something else that caught your eye? You don't need to explain your reasoning really, everyone has their own opinions, it just helps if we know what you're seeing and how you're evaluating your choices.

I really liked the seat layout of the Strong. It was super comfy in just about every seat. The lounge seat was a bit different than other loungers and I enjoyed it. I don’t typically like lounge seats. I liked the fact that every single jet was adjustable and could be turned off. I loved that it had shoulder jets. It had 3 jet pumps instead of 2 and it was a bit bigger than both the Envoy and Aria. It wasn’t quite as pretty as the Hot Springs tubs but I don’t care much about that. I also care zero about speakers, waterfalls, touch screens and similar add-ons.

The Hot Springs tubs felt just like every other tub I’ve been in. Not that that is a bad thing but I was expecting more for the price. The one thing that I really like about the Hot Springs is the salt water system, Strong does not offer that. Having said all of this I have yet to wet test either of them, still trying to schedule that. They were all empty when I sat in them.

I honestly care very little about price EXCEPT that I don’t want to feel ripped off. I will gladly pay $20k if I get a good deal on an amazing tub but I don’t want to pay $20k for a tub that is no better than a $12k tub. I am planning to check out Marquis and D1 next.

So you didn't look at build quality?

TMan's comment about quality is huge and something not every customer can evaluate easily but I think that along with proper design, real energy efficiency and strength of warranty (not just what is written on paper) are key elements missing in many evaluations as they're not the obvious thing a customer sees or even looks for. Beyond that I'll just make a couple simple comments regarding your last post:

1) A dry test is fine and has some value certainly but don't put too much stock in it. Its very common for a wet test to totally revise a person's rankings on the tubs they are reviewing and a few spa owners here can probably attest to that.

2) Be careful with that 3 pumps vs 2 pumps statement. If you dig further you'll probably find that's a Marketing spin and really they mean 2 Jet pumps and 1 recirculating pump (or even 1 air pump which would be even more ridiculous). The Hot Springs will have 2 jet pumps and 1 recirculating pump but that dealer apparently is properly calling it a "2 pump spa" referring to the jet pumps in that description which is the more open/honest way to describe it. Its kind of shameful to just generically call it a 3 pump spa when they know its fooling the customer to think its 3 jet pumps but a few dealers/manufactures will still do that.

3) Be straight with each dealer and let them know you're shopping around and looking for their best deal so you can make a decision. Its a supply/demand business which has seriously flipped to the point where dealers don't have to bargain as much in today's world where its difficult to even find a hot tub on a showroom floor but negotiating is still something you want to do as it gets you to their true best price. Don't be shy to ask until they say "no, that's really our best offer".