Review of Bullfrog R7 Lounge Spa
September 2105
DESCRIPTION
We purchased a R7 Bullfrog Spa several months ago. Snow interior, Driftwood (gray) exterior, Graphite cover, Snow JetPaks, stainless steel jets, ozone purifier, circulation pump, cover lifter. We sunk the spa half way into a deck for ease of entry and aesthetics.
OVERALL
Sliding into our Bullfrog spa at the end of the day is always a little slice of heaven. It exceeds our expectations on appearance, performance, and hydrotherapy.
The Spa was well packaged/protected and delivered in flawless condition. The fit and finish of the spa is outstanding. We love the lounge seat, it’s more relaxing than the other seats and we have no issues floating out of it. The other positions and seats in the spa are about perfect and offer a good variety of positions and seating depths.
So far, it has just been the wife and I using the spa and the spa size feels about right. Bullfrog (using industry standards) rates it for six people but that’s laughable. With the lounge taking up real estate, even four people would be playing footsies.
The heater raised the water temperature to 100 degrees surprisingly quickly and it holds the temperature very constant however we have not experienced a winter yet. But, since northern California only gets cool, and never bitter cold, I don’t expect any issues other than higher energy bills.
The built in lighting is very nice and I find it enhances soaking (except for the ridiculous “disco” modes). Being able the change the color of the light allows us to mix it up once in a while although I prefer the steady dark blue hue. The built-in waterfall looks a little chintzy on a tub approaching the cost of a decent used car. However it works fine and at night looks kind’a cool. I’ll add that when it’s adjusted to low flow the sound to me is soothing but my wife thinks it’s just extra, unwanted noise. Most of the time we leave it off. I prefer to be able to rest my arm/hand on the side where the spout pops up.
The location of the jets, not in a JetPak, are well thought out and seem to hit the right spots whether that is feet, wrists, calf muscles or the back.
One thing I have noticed is that the corner seat on the same “circuit” as the lounger gets noticeably less water pressure for the JetPak. For me, it is not an issue but users probably want to avoid putting a JetPak in that spot that’s enhanced with maximum flow/pressure.
I research the heck out of most purchases I make and I was very impressed with Bullfrog’s approach to spa design. There are still hoses and plumbing to the individual jets scattered across the spa but there are dozens and dozens less than a traditional spa. Time will tell, but it seems to me there is simply less to go wrong and break with the Bullfrog design. Plus, the overall quality of materials and construction is very high. It is a small thing but, we do wish there was a way to turn off, or dim, the blue exterior light. I will probably pull the wiring out next time the service panel is taken off.
Lastly, and this is no small thing, Bullfrog Spas are made in the USA. That WAS a factor in our decision of what to buy. Many other spas are made in Mexico.
JETPAKS
We really like the idea of modular JetPaks. It allowed us to customize the type of hydrotherapy we wanted upon purchase and we ended up with two extra JetPaks to give us even more flexibility. I will say it takes plenty of experimenting to figure out which JetPaks work best in which seats. The deep corner seat, NOT on the lounge circuit, we found best for the NeckMasseuse or NeckBlaster. I am six feet, with a long torso, and the two deep corner seats are the only ones where I can comfortably get my shoulders under the shoulder jets. Wife and I both greatly prefer the NeckMasseuse to the NeckBlaster. The Masseuse has fewer jets for the shoulders but they are much stronger and the single pulse jets also message the upper back/shoulders with a kneading circular motion versus simple pressure/friction from the firm relief jets on the Blaster. There are so many shoulder jets on the Blaster it just doesn’t massage much (more a gentle rinsing really) and this is contrasted with the firm relief jets, targeting the back, which are very strong. It feels unbalanced. The shoulder jets along the top can be turned off and then the six firm relief jets become so strong they half push you out of the seat. However, for those times your back needs something that feels like a masseur pushing hard into your back with their palms – this is the prescription.
The Oscillator I tried in every spot but I like it best in the middle seat that sits a bit higher. This means the massage is targeting lower on the back, where it does a stellar job. The information on the web and on Bullfrog’s site is frustratingly terrible at describing the feeling and differences between the JetPaks. The Oscillator almost feels like a very light person might be walking gently on the your lower back. Very powerful and wonderful sensation. The Oscillator, combined with the NeckMasseuse right next to it, gets the upper and lower parts of the back separately. I move back and forth between them a couple times to get my whole back, shoulders and neck loosened up.
The RainShower. So soothing. Not much massage action but very relaxing. It offers a warm tingling sensation across every inch of your back. I still have not quite figured out the best location for this JetPak. I am leaning towards having it in the lounge seat. The lounge to me is about relaxation, soaking without distractions, letting go and drifting away. The RainShower and the Pulsator work best to complement the array of other jets working your legs, feet and lower sides in the lounge seat, this resulting in a total body experience.
The Pulsator. OK, this dual pulse six jet to me has a bit of a dual personality. When I very first sit in front of it I don’t like it as much as the very similar Gyrossage. The action is not quite as strong, deep and deliberate as the Gyrossage. It feels very much like a couple masseuses doing karate chops all over your back. The funny thing is after a couple minutes the specifics of the action fade away and it just feels like the entire surface of you back is being revitalized. One of the few descriptions Bullfrog gets right on their web site: It is hypnotic. I like this JetPak in either the lounge position or the deep seat in the circuit with the lounge. This JetPak feels great with more or less water pressure—in the lounge seat it has more pressure, in the deep seat on the lounge circuit it has less but is still wonderful.
And for the final JetPak, ta-dah, the Gyrossage. If I could have only one JetPak I would pick this one. It gives an amazing deep kneading all over massage, covering both the upper and lower back. The kneading action is similar to the Oscillator but this one feels like four hands giving a whole back massage instead of some tiny feet concentrated on the lower back. But here is the rub for me. The top part of this JetPak feels very similar to the NeckMasseuse upper back action. This makes total sense since they use the same two single pulsejets across the top (and both have one in the middle albeit the middle jet is higher in the Gyrossage). The Gyrossage’s excellent kneading across the lower back is similar to the Oscillator, feeling just a tad more contracted. It feels somewhat similar to the kneading massage in a high-end massage chair. The Gyrossage has some of the Pulsator's dual personality too but in an almost opposite way. The Gyrossage fells absolutely amazing for the first several minutes. But after maybe five minutes it is almost too aggressive. It pushes so hard across your whole back that while being soothing and releasing tension it is hard to let go and just relax. You are always aware you are getting a massage with this JetPak. It never disappears like the RainShower, or Pulsator even. But for a total strong back work over, this is the ticket. By default, this JetPak ends up in the corner deep seat on the lounge circuit. If I want a stronger massage I turn off whichever JetPak is in the lounge seat and it increases the flow to the corner.
Our dealer did not have all the JetPaks but we did try a few others. I wanted to like the DeepRelief JetPak but decided, after a few wet tests, that I do not. The jets on it can be so focused it’s almost painful. Opposite the name (like the NeckBlaster which doesn’t Blast the neck) it felt like the action was mainly on the skin surface and not much deeper. Might just be me one this one?
WEB SITE
For such an amazing spa and company the site is a huge let down. Basic information is there but that’s it. Just try and figure out the differences between the R series and A series on the site. I dare you. Even double dare you. It’s very buggy. Especially the design my spa module. Try and build a R7 and it goes to a page to build an A8.
For a newbie, there is very little information provided, especially about selecting your first spa—size, tradeoffs on spa depth, lounge or not, textured versus smooth shell, etc. There is an abbreviated FAQ section, that’s about it.
The site is not very deep and simply doesn’t include much content. The JetPak section is extremely frustrating. Every description sounds the same … Relax in complete harmony as stress and muscle tension wash fade away courtesy of the unique bio-engineered soothing therapy massage action of blah blah blah. The next description is the same words and ideas in a different order. Not helpful.
We had several occasions to call/contact Bullfrog directly and the folks that work there are extremely knowledgable and helpful. They also worked with us to resolve an “ordering” issue we had.
MANUAL
OK this is so bad it is embarrassing. Where to even start. It’s full of typos and mistakes. To this day I still don’t know how to set up an ideal filtration cycle. There is one very confusing page dedicated to Adjusting Filtration but there are no recommendations included at all. You read that correctly, zero recommendations. Why on earth would someone want recommendations on the all-important filtering? That’s what the pool boy is for. Kidding. My comment and the lack of information are both jokes. Not funny ones either.
What’s the CLN-UP cycle and why do I need that if there are filtration cycles happening? There is not minimal info about this stuff. There is NONE! Inexcusable. How do I know if the circulation pump we paid extra for even works. I don’t. There seems to be cycles one and two. How is that supposed to work? Pump one, pump two, neither but the circulation pump, both????? Absolutely no telling. Oh yeah right, ask you dealer. Funny that one. The same guy that knows zero about CYA levels of the water and that Canada and many states either ban or limit CYA levels. That guy? Rest or Ready mode? Who knows. Poor, poor and poorer.
CATEGORY
The category is bush league. First there are many excellent manufactures and some superb dealers but mostly it’s just really schlocky marketing BS. Some comments in a few areas:
ENERGY
The idea that the tub will use only pennies of electricity per day is flat out a lie. Maybe in Texas mid-summer and not using the jets while soaking but Vermont in the winter. I get that Nevada’s electricity costs are low but anyone look at California’s. Nothing is cheap in California. Let’s get real. Be honest with us please. We are grownups and with the Interwebs the truth is out there.
 
WATER CHEMISTRY
When shopping for a spa they all say all you have to do is put half a capful of bottle “X” in after each use, use a test strip every once in a while and change the water every four months or so. Oh, if it was only that easy. Bottom line, you have to measure and adjust the chemicals nearly everyday if you want to use the most effective and least costly sanitizer—chlorine. Read a web blog about TA and PH and how to change one and not the other and make you head spin. How does one balance the correct level of CYA and are borates needed? And then throw in the ozone purifier that helps sanitize but at the same time uses up your sanitizing chlorine faster. I should have paid more attention in Chem 103 in college. Change one variable and the other four important levels all change. I am getting the hang of it but it took lots of reading and lots of practice to get it figured out. And no one tells you that if you go away longer than a week better have that “pool boy” over or your water will be a mess when you get back. Or switch over to Bromine and have different but similar issues.
WRAP UP
Number of jets, horsepower, which chemicals to use, it’s all based on what the dealer is familiar with and what makes them the most money, few facts anywhere except for a couple of excellent forums: Pool and Spa Forum and What’s The Best Hot Tub forum.
For something that easily can cost $10K plus, the state of the category is depressing. Maybe Consumer Reports will do a piece on spas and force some honesty and professionalism into the category. Or maybe a manufacturer or two will step up and lead with honesty, transparency, facts (not fluff), and relevant content. I hope so.
Date Purchased: 06/2015
Price Paid: $1
Recommend: Yes |
Pros:
Quality of build
Interchangeable JetPaks--amazing hydrotherapy
Made in U.S.A.
Help and friendliness of Bullfrog headquarters
Cons:
Manual is terrible
Waterfall is chintzy
Keypad is not intuitive
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