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Hydropool Aquatrainer or Marquis ATV Swimspa Opinions/Experience

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michaelz:
Thanks in advance if anyone can answer this. Does anyone have a Hydropool Aquatrainer, Executive Trainer or a Marquis ATV Swimspa and could you tell me about the experiences you have had with it, for instance if you had to repair anything how smoothly did that go, how is the swimming experience in it, how is the maintenance, how long have you had it?

Also any opinions on them even if you don't own them either brand wise or because you took a test swim?

MarKee:
In my opinion the Marquis ATV is built quite a bit stronger and will hold up better over time.  The Marquis uses a fiberglass gusset frame, which makes it so about 90% of the frame is fiberglass which is impervious to rotting or rusting.  The Hydropool uses a thin gauge metal frame that I’ve seen flex when lifted with a fork lift.  Last time I saw a Hydropool being craned in to place, they had a wide open bottom that exposes the insulation and internals to moisture, the Marquis ATV has a sealed bottom.  The bonded polymer shell of the Marquis ATV is also superior in my opinion.  I’ve never swam in the Hydropool, but swimming in the Marquis ATV is very easy as soon as you get the hang of swimming against a current.  The tether that comes with the swim spa is a good training tool for getting used to the current. It’s also important to buy some goggles so that you can open your eyes underwater, and I prefer to swim with the air off, so that you’re only swimming against water.

michaelz:
Thank you for the information.

I have another question that maybe you can help me with.  I took a test swim in the marquis kona.  I actually thought it was pretty strong out of the jetted models I have tried(tidal fit pro-15, cal spa commander).  I however forgot to check if the atv can be incrementally dialed up or down.  Most of the newer models like the tidal fit have variable speed pumps with an electronic control to dial between 0 and 100.  Does the kona have a diverter to do that with?

Also just for anybody else that might ever read this thread I can give you some of my experiences so far.

Cal Spa Commander
Tested an older Commander felt that the current was weaker than the tidal fit Pro EP-15.  The newer model has more gpm so it's possible the newer model is better.  I felt the current at max was very uneven and tossed the swimmer around a lot.

Tidal Fit Pro EP-15
Great current but a step below the Marquis Kona.  For the price/value its a very good model.  It had the best massage seats between the Cal Spa and Marquis.  It also had some great features including a combination of physical buttons and touchscreen.  With all the more used functions as physical buttons. Also an electronically controlled variable swim current that didn't use diverters.

Endless Pool E550
Overall the swim was fantastic very smooth and certainly in a different league from all the jetted swims we tried.  The massage seats were standing only.  The E700 has actual seats but the E550 did not.  The massage was ok better than Marquis but awkward since you have to stand.

Marquis Kona
Had a pretty smooth swim for a jetted model.  Very powerful and you felt the current throughout the pool.  The massage seats were lacking but they were at different heights to accommodate multiple sizes of people.  I like this current 2nd to the Endless Pool at least so far.

It's also worth noting that even though I haven't tried these they could possibly be good on paper as well.
Hydropool AquaTrainer 17 fX
The gpm for the AquaTrainer is supposed to be 1400 where as the Marquis Kona is only 1000 so it's possible if you are a strong swimmer the Hydropool might be worth trying.

The Endless pool for a comparison puts out 5000 gpm in the current, but the pricing is up there so for anyone trying them it might be about the best value for you.

MarKee:
You will have 6 different pump speed settings (2 speeds per each pump) with the Marquis ATV, and 3 air control settings.  You also have a diverter that gives you the ability to take power from the therapy seats and add it to the swim jets.

michaelz:
I noticed on the Marquis ATV Kona, that I tested the composite boards that made up the cabinet, on the outside were warping and didn't sit flush is that something you have ever seen?

  It might have just been they moved it around a lot which was true because I asked them before bringing up the warping.

It's also worth noting that it's put together using composite boards and are not a full panel which might be why it would bend and twist if the unit was moved in the wrong way. 

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