Arctic Spas Lounger or not? And what about jets under your bum?

[Sam Dunk]

Hi everyone,

Great community! First-time buyer and have my eye on a Kodiak from Arctic Spa because of the lounger, that or a Summit or a Tundra, which has 4 shuttle seats (captain seats?).  I intend to buy in Quebec City.

I could only wet-test the Summit, which is their most popular. Great pressure from the SDS pump and the foot jet is also really powerful. I didn't find this when I tried the Bullfrog A7. Is it me or only Arctic has such a strong, single foot jet? 

So I've never tried a lounger and am wondering if you grow tired of it at some point. I guess it's like taking a bath, only much better? Any Arctic Loungers out here?

My wife pointed out to me that there are often jets under your bum. Does that get uncomfortable after a while, since the surface isn't flat?

Thanks!

 

[CanadianSpaTech]

Where in Quebec? Are you close to Ottawa? As a Canadian Manufacturer I would love to promote them but I am always on the fence with them. If you are looking at a cedar sided spa they look great in the show room but they require maintenance to keep them looking nice. Expect to sand and stain every other year to keep it looking good.  

[ratchett]

14 hours ago, Sam Dunk said:

So I've never tried a lounger and am wondering if you grow tired of it at some point. I guess it's like taking a bath, only much better? Any Arctic Loungers out here?

First, not all loungers are built the same.  Also buoyancy changes in this lounging position - From what I understand here in America, most loungers are built for the average height (around 5'10") and average BMI (20-30).  If you're too short or have a higher BMI you might have trouble staying in the lounger without floating out when the jets are running. 

Some would say if you like to recline on a couch/chair, you'll like lounging.  But lots of dealers will claim that many second-time buyers who had a lounger in their first tub skip it on their next tub because it was unused wasted space.

I personally had never had used a lounger in a hot tub but knew I had to have it because I enjoy lounging on a recliner in general.  I was torn between two models - a three seater with a lounger, or a four seater without the lounger around the same price price and glad I opted for the lounger because it's our favorite seat it he spa.  I use the lounger 95% of the time I'm in my spa.

That said, it's generally advised to wet-test a lounger from the brand you're interested in before buying (all loungers from the same product tier/class should have the same design and shape profile).  Because if you have buoyancy problems, you're going to hate the lounger haha.  People suggest that if you can't wet-test a lounger, you should skip it because the last thing you want is a large unused lounger taking up one side of the hot tub.

 

[Sam Dunk]

5 hours ago, CanadianSpaTech said:

Where in Quebec? Are you close to Ottawa? As a Canadian Manufacturer I would love to promote them but I am always on the fence with them. If you are looking at a cedar sided spa they look great in the show room but they require maintenance to keep them looking nice. Expect to sand and stain every other year to keep it looking good.  

Hi I'm in Laval but moving to Quebec City. Thanks for the tip about the cedar. Might go for the non-cedar option, although more expensive. 

[Sam Dunk]

19 minutes ago, ratchett said:

First, not all loungers are built the same.  Also buoyancy changes in this lounging position - From what I understand here in America, most loungers are built for the average height (around 5'10") and average BMI (20-30).  If you're too short or have a higher BMI you might have trouble staying in the lounger without floating out when the jets are running. 

Some would say if you like to recline on a couch/chair, you'll like lounging.  But lots of dealers will claim that many second-time buyers who had a lounger in their first tub skip it on their next tub because it was unused wasted space.

I personally had never had used a lounger in a hot tub but knew I had to have it because I enjoy lounging on a recliner in general.  I was torn between two models - a three seater with a lounger, or a four seater without the lounger around the same price price and glad I opted for the lounger because it's our favorite seat it he spa.  I use the lounger 95% of the time I'm in my spa.

That said, it's generally advised to wet-test a lounger from the brand you're interested in before buying (all loungers from the same product tier/class should have the same design and shape profile).  Because if you have buoyancy problems, you're going to hate the lounger haha.  People suggest that if you can't wet-test a lounger, you should skip it because the last thing you want is a large unused lounger taking up one side of the hot tub.

 

Thanks for your input! My wife and I just tried a Trevi spa today with a lounger but were underwhelmed by the overall lack of power it. But she loves the lounger and I might too if it's powerful enough! Cheers

[ratchett]

9 minutes ago, Sam Dunk said:

Thanks for your input! My wife and I just tried a Trevi spa today with a lounger but were underwhelmed by the overall lack of power it. But she loves the lounger and I might too if it's powerful enough! Cheers

That's why wet-testing is always so important - jet count numbers can be inflated using tiny bullet jets and horsepower ratings can be faked using higher voltage on the testing bench making it basically an irrelevant number these days.

Wet testing is the only way you can know for sure if you'll enjoy the therapeutic spa experience of those jets. I'm a huge Hotspring Highlife fanboy, but you might also want to try wet-testing some Sundance/Jacuzzi, Caldera/Hotspring spas to see if you find anything you enjoy.   

I'm glad I had a chance to wet test some spas in 2019 before the dang pandemic ruined things for everyone lol. Dealers only recently started allowing customers to wet-test spas again

[north_of_boston]

We have an Arctic Yukon -- opted for the Yukon (no lounger) over the Cub (lounger) because we can fit more people in the tub,  and you can STILL lounge,  although not the same without the lounger if it's one or two people.

[The_Penguin]

On 4/13/2022 at 5:11 PM, north_of_boston said:

We have an Arctic Yukon -- opted for the Yukon (no lounger) over the Cub (lounger) because we can fit more people in the tub,  and you can STILL lounge,  although not the same without the lounger if it's one or two people.

We had a Cub, replaced under warranty with a Yukon. Don't miss the lounger at all.