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Vita (Maax)/HotSpot/Caldera?? Need to decide! Help!

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Spatech_tuo:

--- Quote from: jtd1216 on May 05, 2018, 03:26:19 am ---Thanks guys. So, I wet tested a Caldera Marino yesterday. Liked it, especially the price, but liked the Vita better. I'm so torn. Help!

Caldera Marino ($6400 + tax)
Hot Spot Relay ($6400 + tax)
Vita Monarque ($7200 + tax) 

I like the Vita Monarch the best for comfort, features, and price is good too. It's got a lot more "bells and whistles" but I'm trying to not let that get in my head. It has more jets (50 vs 35), BT speakers, ozone AND UV (as opposed to just ozone), lighting looks great. My ONLY concern is the lack of feedback I can find on Vita (owned by Maax). The dealer is wonderful and they say they've had great luck with them since bringing them on in 2012. Again, that's only 6 years though

--- End quote ---

If you like Vita best then maybe you should go that way BUT please do yourself a favor and get the 50 jets vs 35 jets thinking our of your mind. Taking jet # into account is a old time error and some companies play into it by using a bunch of less effective jets to get the jet count up vs another that uses fewer but gets the same or better results.

You really want to close your eyes when wet testing and just go by feel. If two seats feel equally good why would you care if one had more jets than the other. Plus I could argue that if two seats feel equal I'll take the 6 jet seat over the 9 jet seat ALL day long (fewer jet parts, fewer holes in the shell, fewer hoses ...).

jtd1216:
You all bring up some great points. Yes the number of jets thing, I get. The 35 jet tub actually feels just about as good as the 50 jet. In the end, I'm trying to get feedback on Vita or Maax as a brand for reliability. Watkins (Hotspring/Caldera) continuously comes up a rock solid manufacturer and tough to say no to that. I was a little more comfortable in the Vita, but I don't see a long proven track record on them.

castletonia:
Vita's history is a little fragmented.  They were owned by DM Industries out of Florida until a bankruptcy in 2007/2008 almost ended the company.  Maax then bought Vita out of bankruptcy.  So pre-2008 Vita are different than Maax Vita (name and shell molds are the only similarities).  Maax has been around awhile.  They used the Coleman name until 2007, then they used the Maax name and now as of this year use the American Whirlpool name.  While I doubt there is any issue of Maax going out of business or anything like that, I am curious why the name change for this year.  You would think that if the name was worth building on, you would keep it and grow the brand.  I'm not going to say buying a Vita is a bad choice, because it is not, but if I am looking at purchasing a brand that is not considered one of the premium ones, I want a strong, reputable dealer that can be there to take care of me if there ever is an issue.

Sam:
I'm not a big fan of maxx and the way the build and insulate their spas or support their dealers (2nd hand info on that part) , but if it felt best in the wet test maybe that's the way to go. 

jtd1216:
Thanks guys for the helpful feedback. Sam, can you elaborate a bit more about "the way they build and insulate their spas"? Thanks!

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