Best tub for tall person? Are leg/foot jets important?

[CCC]

I appreciate the insight. There are a lot of Bullfrog fans on here. With Jim's observation about Jacuzzi, I can cross that one off my list. The Marquis I tried was a Wish. Is the Epic any deeper? Bummer for me is that I cannot drive and am not going to be able to try anymore for awhile. I was hoping to have one up and running so I can use it to rehab my injury. So Jim, that customer with the Grandee that had problems, was this typical of that particular product or was his bad experience an anomaly? As you know, you can find unhappy customers of any brand so it's hard to sort out.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

  He really didn't go into details, he just had quite a few problems with it.  He mentioned a couple of topsids for one, and I believe a pump or two if I remember right and some other small stuff in 10 years.   But that can be all it takes in not buying another.    HS builds a nice spa for sure and any brand can have problems.  It's how the dealer takes care of it which can make a world of difference.   Also it's after the warranty that things can get expensive.  Not sure you should axe out Jacuzzi until you sit in one.  Every "body" is different.   

  As far as Bullfrog not everyone here likes them.  Least I know of one. :wink: Tman. But they are really taking hold as a top quality spa in the last 2 years.  They were hardly ever mentioned around here say 3 years ago.  We let Jacuzzi and they let us go after 14 years of selling a few thousand+ of their spas.  Heck they won't even let us order parts or a filter from them anymore.  They are kind of butt-hurt as Bullfrog really hit a sore spot with them as well as Sundance.   Pick what fits you but I would give Bullfrog a decent shot.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

Dry testing a spa is like test driving a car...without starting the engine.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

Dry testing a spa is like test driving a car...without starting the engine.

  For how many people that buy a spa without wet testing though, there has got be a lot of cars out there without engines. But yes I agree with you!

[CCC]

From what I can gather, the VAST majority of people don't wet test, right? The only dealer that I visited that didn't make wet testing seem like a pain in the ass was the Marquis factory store. They would cheerfully fill any tub I wanted if I was serious. The Hot Springs dealer (seems like a bigger operation to me, Oregon Hot Tub) cannot fill a Grandee for me. I don't understand why you wouldn't want your flagship product to be shown in all of its glory. They were happy to let me test the Vanguard that they had filled. I guess that's supposed to give you a good enough approximation. If I went to a Ford dealer and wanted to try out a Focus and they said "the only demo we have is a Fiesta but that should be close enough", I would think that would be ridiculous.  The Jacuzzi dealer is the same company as Hot Spring, but just calling them on the phone turned me off with the high pressure buy it now attitude, and they were badmouthing the Hot Spring, and the Hot Spring guy was bashing the Jacuzzi, and they're the same company! Way back many years ago I sold cars for awhile. This hot tub business is just as bad if not worse than anything I saw in the car business 20 years ago. Makes me want to say f-- it and just buy one from Costco, but I know better.

[Tman122]

From what I can gather, the VAST majority of people don't wet test, right? The only dealer that I visited that didn't make wet testing seem like a pain in the ass was the Marquis factory store. They would cheerfully fill any tub I wanted if I was serious. The Hot Springs dealer (seems like a bigger operation to me, Oregon Hot Tub) cannot fill a Grandee for me. I don't understand why you wouldn't want your flagship product to be shown in all of its glory. They were happy to let me test the Vanguard that they had filled. I guess that's supposed to give you a good enough approximation. If I went to a Ford dealer and wanted to try out a Focus and they said "the only demo we have is a Fiesta but that should be close enough", I would think that would be ridiculous.  The Jacuzzi dealer is the same company as Hot Spring, but just calling them on the phone turned me off with the high pressure buy it now attitude, and they were badmouthing the Hot Spring, and the Hot Spring guy was bashing the Jacuzzi, and they're the same company! Way back many years ago I sold cars for awhile. This hot tub business is just as bad if not worse than anything I saw in the car business 20 years ago. Makes me want to say f-- it and just buy one from Costco, but I know better.

Walk right up to the sales person and tell them NOT to tell you whats wrong with the other guy but whats right with your product.

[Muddytyres]

The Jacuzzi dealer is the same company as Hot Spring, but just calling them on the phone turned me off with the high pressure buy it now attitude, and they were badmouthing the Hot Spring, and the Hot Spring guy was bashing the Jacuzzi, and they're the same company!

Interesting isn't it? reviews like yours make me very happy to go to the showroom my local store where he has several models of four companies and seems pretty darn honest about them for a sales person.
Hot springs has the little nozzles on the jets so they seem to feel a little stronger but Jacuzzi's foot basin is a different... Order to deliver time is a 3 weeks +on all hot springs but some jacuzzis are sooner... that sort of thing.

I try to keep in mind the motivation of a sales person that has a hard sell. MONEY, MONEY, and MONEY. Maybe you could ask the sales person to direct you to the person with the most 'repeat' sales. Hopefully they see your purchase as an investment and when you come back to upgrade in a few years, you'll come see them. Might be worth a shot.

[Spatech_tuo]

I appreciate the insight. There are a lot of Bullfrog fans on here. With Jim's observation about Jacuzzi, I can cross that one off my list. The Marquis I tried was a Wish. Is the Epic any deeper? Bummer for me is that I cannot drive and am not going to be able to try anymore for awhile. I was hoping to have one up and running so I can use it to rehab my injury. So Jim, that customer with the Grandee that had problems, was this typical of that particular product or was his bad experience an anomaly? As you know, you can find unhappy customers of any brand so it's hard to sort out.

Jim is a certainly a great source of insight and information but I'm not sure I'd summarily cross Jacuzzi off my list altogether, you may find different results. I also wouldn't cross an option off my list because of a report that someone had a problem with a certain model, these main brands build thousands of spas and any brand/model you mention someone with enough experience can give you a true story of a customer having issue with that particular one. As far as the Wish/Epic depth goes all you have to do is go to the manufacturer website and it'll list spa height for each model (they are both listed as 35" BTW) but again its the inside that matters though being from the same brand they're probably similar in that manner but just ask to sit in the one you're wondering.

[Tman122]

If it's not filled you can get an idea where the water will end up by sitting next to the water line and using that as a reference.

And 2 guys standing 6'5 will likely find 2 different tubs that feel good to them.

[CCC]

Muddytyres: Yes, it would be nice to have a one-stop-shop.

Looking at the Jacuzzi J-480 online it says it has a 39-44 inch depth? It looks like a nice unit. Haven't seen any of those in person yet.

Anyone have any thoughts about whether lower body jets are worth worrying about too much? They seem like an afterthought on most. The Bullfrog, especially, seems to have nothing going on in that department.

[Topline Mike]

I wouldn't base my decision on which hot tub is going to sooth your broken foot.  Your foot is going to be better in 6 months or so, right?  Base your decision on overall comfort in the tub.  I have a Jacuzzi J375 and our family loves it.  The recliner seat has jets that hit your calves and feet, and to me they are about useless.  I do love relaxing in that seat though, very comfortable.  If I want a good blast of jets in one seat, just turn the diverter valve to that seat only. 

It's -2 degrees out tonight, and my oldest son went in the tub.  There's something about cold air and hot water.  Love it.

Our second choice was a Marquis Epic.  Loved the layout. 

We bought ours used (about 6 months old I think) for half price.  .

It will be 2 years this coming April, I believe, since we got ours.  For some people, hot tubbing gets old.  Not happening in my house!  Get one, and you'll wonder why you waited so long. 

[MarKee]

The Marquis Wish is definitely more of a cramped layout that would suit a smaller person better. The Epic seats are deeper and the spa is bigger and roomier on the interior.

The Jacuzzis have a raised lip on one side of some of their models, that's why it will say 39-44". Just keep in mind there is a cover that goes on top of that lip which will add 4-5", so you're going to have a 4 ft tall tub in your yard.  We get some customers complaining about our 35" tubs being too tall, so that tub will he nearly 1 foot taller on one side, just keep that in mind.

[wmccall]

I was sitting in my tub all alone last night since it was 2F, but I thought about this thread. One thing a tall person can do in many tubs is sit on the floor and use the  foot jets as back jets.  That is hard to do with others in the tub.

[Grateful11]

I'm sorta in the same boat so to speak. We've looked at so many tubs it's mind boggling. I'm 6'1" and wear pants with a 30" inseam so my upper body is pretty dang long. I wet tested 3 tubs last Fall, the biggest Dreammaker(decent looking tub, very short and very low on jet power), next was a Jacuzzi but can't remember which model, shoulders still weren't underwater and I thought it was a tad underpowered and last was a Bullfrog I think it was an A6L, it was deep enough and I thought the jet power was a bit better than the rest but can't stand the dealer, high pressure, makes you feel bad if you walk out without buying something, been in there about 4 times only because they carry 6 brands. Right now we're leaning real hard towards a Nordic Warrior XL or Crown XL. I like the whirlpool action and the depth. Dealer says he'll be glad to fill one and let us wet test it. Trying to stay under $6K and we can do that with the Nordic's. This dealer, just south of Charlotte, has been selling Nordic for 19 years and been in the business for I believe he said for 30 years. He's been the lowest pressure sales person we've dealt with yet. He also sells Sundance. They service what they sell and they rebuild tubs to sell. The only really close dealer we have will not even service what they sell.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

I'm sorta in the same boat so to speak. We've looked at so many tubs it's mind boggling. I'm 6'1" and wear pants with a 30" inseam so my upper body is pretty dang long. I wet tested 3 tubs last Fall, the biggest Dreammaker(decent looking tub, very short and very low on jet power), next was a Jacuzzi but can't remember which model, shoulders still weren't underwater and I thought it was a tad underpowered and last was a Bullfrog I think it was an A6L, it was deep enough and I thought the jet power was a bit better than the rest but can't stand the dealer, high pressure, makes you feel bad if you walk out without buying something, been in there about 4 times only because they carry 6 brands. Right now we're leaning real hard towards a Nordic Warrior XL or Crown XL. I like the whirlpool action and the depth. Dealer says he'll be glad to fill one and let us wet test it. Trying to stay under $6K and we can do that with the Nordic's. This dealer, just south of Charlotte, has been selling Nordic for 19 years and been in the business for I believe he said for 30 years. He's been the lowest pressure sales person we've dealt with yet. He also sells Sundance. They service what they sell and they rebuild tubs to sell. The only really close dealer we have will not even service what they sell.

I sold Nordic for a couple years and they are not a bad spa for the money, no question I'd buy a Crown XL over any of similarly priced roto-molded spas on the market, its got a 2.5hp pump, nice and deep, cool down seat/entry step, and any of the parts on a Nordic are easily available after the warranty period and if you are "handy" at all they are super easy to work on imo.