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Vortex Swim Spa Help!


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Hello everyone!

I'm in the market for a swim spa. After doing weeks of internet research I came across The Vortex company. They seem to have a very good product. Does anyone have any experience with this brand?!? I did own a Hotspring spa and we loved it! I would stick with them if they made a swim spa but they don't. I would really appreciate any sound advice that some of you may have. Thanks much!!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dan, thank you so much for your reply! I am in the process of making a final descion between the Catalina freestyle gold and the Vortex aqua gym Extreme. I really like both and I would really save a lot of money with Vortex. Could you please give me some advise on this as I have become very frustrated trying to figure out if buying from my local retailer or factory direct sales is going to have an I pact on warranty service etc. believe it or not I have to decide by this Monday as I have started having construction done in my back yard for a deck to surround the swim spa and I need to give the contractor all the measurements. Again, thanks and I look forward to your advice!!!

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No problem. Catalina swim spas are superior to the Vortex units (In my opinion, and as I noted, I am a Catalina dealer and am thus biased). The two brands are not on equal footing as it pertains to quality, action, etc, hence- the variation in price. However, the bigger issue is the dealer vs factory conundrum. As me and others on this site have championed: Half of all sales is about the unit/brand, but the other half is about the local dealer. Factory-direct sales in most cases may save you money in the front end, but you have no guarantees regarding warranty work or if something goes wrong, you cannot walk into a brick & mortar establishment and get immediate help. Even if the factory-direct sale offers warranty, who's doing the work? Likely someone who is outsourced/subcontracted. If your local Catalina dealer has been in business for at least 5 years and has carried the product for a while, then you know you're able to get the support you may/will need. Back to the differences in the units: Vortex carries round jets whereas Catalina carries the broad river-water jets. In the industry, one may debate the quality of propulsion jets (ala, say, Master Spas' Michael Phelps units) vs river-water jets (ala Catalina Spas), but most agree that either of those two options are superior to the circle jets that Vortex and other brands use. Thus- If you are into training and will be getting stronger, the circle jets will not offer the increase in resistance and overall MPH that the river-water jets will. Then you can look at overall construction, quality of shell (Catalina is so good at making shells that they are the only company that makes shells for competitors!), that Catalina is still American-made, uses Balboa & Waterway jets, motors, and components, and so on, so forth. But ultimately the decision is yours and I completely understand that money is a huge factor in any economy, let alone today's economy. I hope that this helps in your decision making process going forward.

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Dan, thank you so very much for your advice I really appreciate it! I think I have made up my mind and I'm. Going to go with the Catalina Freestyle gold. I'm very excited about it. I know you are a Catalina dealer. Do you have any advice and or commentary about the Freestyle?!? Again, thank you for your help. It made a world of difference!

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The good thing about all of their units is there is not much movement by means of quality. The deciding factor is size and number of resistance jets. Quality is universal, so a smaller unit or lessor priced unit is in now way inferior. Wet test one and see if the sizing is right for you. If you like the 14' length and the GOLD package (3 resistance river water jets), then your decision is already made. Good luck and congrats on your purchase.

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