Wet test.....Part II as message was too long....LOL
LOT OF FUN! We had them set the spa to 99 degrees. Both my wife and I are very hot blooded and there is NO way that we could survive a 100+ degree stew..LOL.
(future tests will be at 98 degrees for us)
We tested the 2005 Optima. We both found that no matter which seat we sit in we can make ourselves float. We are not fat folks by any means but we are floaters...LOL.....this was not a distraction because of the foot mound in the center of the spa. We could use our feet to keep us in any position that we liked.
Each corner seat is situated at a slightly different height. In between the seats opposite the filter side is a cooldown type seat that is slightly higher than the rest so that your shoulders and chest are out but your bottom is in with a jet on your lower back.
The adjustability of the jets was a bit confusing and will take some time to get used to but by using the air/diverters/jets themselves we could get every range of pressure that we liked. (DONT RUN ON 100% all the time or you will kill yourself....) We liked running the jets from medium to low as 100% for any length of time is just tooooooo much pressure for us. They are good for brief times I am sure but for us we liked them from midway to low pressure. All ranges achievable for us.
You can run the whirlpool jets as well without the seats for a different experience...aka...no jets for hydrotherapy massage stuff but you do get circulating water...nice change of pace.
They also have a nice blower. This shoots air through the blower holes in the spa. Not through the jets mind you but through the dedicated blower air holes. This was cool just to run without jets....the air that comes in is ambient temperature so you will feel that it is cooler than the water that you are sitting in. Nice for us hot blooded folks as it cooled it down slightly and felt a bit refreshing with the cool bubbles on us. You can also run this with the jets running and we did so as well.
There is a nice water feature called an "aquaterrace". Water feature big deal....well actually it was pretty cool. Same principle as others Im sure. It has a piece you can remove to change the sound from brook to rainlike and you can also adjust the flow of it too. It is backlit with LED's that either cycle through the colors or you can freeze them (the same color is in the tub on the main light as well). We liked it when all the jets and blowers were off it was just like a nice warm soak with relaxing sound....nice touch.
The foot mound has many foot jets on it so everyone can get a chance on it. The mound also has a big whirlpool jet that faces up. You can get intense foot massage from the smaller jets then just kick your feet into the top of the water column that the whirlpool shoots and it feels very nice. (nice touch for two types of foot therapy from ALL seats....you dont get this if you have a lounger as in the Cameo).
You can run the aromatherapy in it as well. Instead of adding scent to the water it goes in a little plastic cage that is inserted into the tub. Only air passes by this while the blower is on so you are not adding oils/chems to the water for scent. They claim it lasts about 4 to 6 weeks per little basket. If you like scent you may like this option...for us it is not a player as we dont care one way or the other.
The control panel is very easy to understand and we like the large numbers on it. There is a separate control on the opposite side for lighting as well.
The jets...well you have to feel them....I like the side to side action that they produce on some of the types...very nice feeling. The only downfall for some may be the neck jets. They are not extremely powerfull and for me 5'10" and fairly broad shoulders they didnt blow my socks off. My wife on the other hand liked them...but she likes gentle pressure not force.
Overall we got something out of every seat in the tub! There was not an area that I did not like...big plus in our book. I also think that a lounger for us may be right out. The wife would just float away and I believe I would as well. Couple that with the fact she would not be able to keep down in the tub because she could not brace her feet make us move our thoughts to the Optima as opposed to the Cameo with the lounger. Some may require a lounger but we dont as we can just reposition the butt and float up a little to be lounging from the seats.
For those wet/dry testing. The feel of this spa was very different from dry testing. DO not rule a spa out because you dont like the dry testing....give it a shot in the water if you can.
Overall I would rate this a very high quality spa from a dealer that knows their stuff and is very friendly and helpful.
My questions for others...any experience with the NEW filtration??? Pros/Cons?
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I hope this review of our wet test was helpful to you all and remember YOU HAVE TO WET TEST!!!!!
Overall Rating by us......Very good!
Price quoted..................$8850.00 no tax
Included in price.............Delivery, startup chem, cover lifter, cover, steps, ozonator
Regards!!!!