Hillbilly Hot Tub Review (Coleman Inflatable Spa)
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A few days before the big 2021 Valentine’s/President’s day long weekend I thought to myself, “Self, let’s see about going away for a long weekend”.
But it was too late to get a room anywhere with a hot tub. And since I already have a comfy bed and a pretty view at home, I’m not interested in paying to sleep somewhere else unless it’s better than home, which in winter, means it NEEDS a hot tub. Especially since the polar vortex was bearing down on us with it’s 12 degree BS. (I know, some of you have had it way worse, for whatever reason the polar vortex always goes pretty easy on WA).
So google, in it’s extreme helpfulness, was stalking my search history for “lodgings with hot tub”, “Are hotel hot tubs open during covid?” and “How to spend the long weekend if you can’t get a room with a hot tub” and provided a lovely sidebar ad featuring 4 grown adults smiling real big while sitting in what appeared to be an oddly shaped life raft. (More about the four adults later.)
Lightbulb! Buying an inflatable hot tub would cost about the same as a weekend away!
I swerved over to Amazon and after a tiny bit of hesitation I plopped down a bunch of my hardest-earned dollars. (I’ve heard that price went way up during covid…tasteless, Coleman, I’m disappointed in you! But I’d pay it again.)
Y’all. I have no regrets.
The spa arrived just in time for the weekend, so I cleared some space in the shed and set it up in there.
The directions were fairly worthless, so I found myself a Youtube video and got started. Once you have everything set out and lined up it takes maybe 15 minutes to set up, and another half hour or so to fill. I filled the spa about half way with the garden hose, then topped it off with hot water from the washing machine bib (no adaptor needed, your garden hose will hook right up to it!).
Since it was going to be 12 degrees that night I wrapped it in that mylar bubble wrap insulation, topped it with some styrofoam insulation panels, and covered it all with a tarp.
It did take a good 36 hours to get up to temp but we were able to enjoy it after dinner on Valentine’s Day. By “We” I mean me and the kids. Hubby didn’t get in for a good week or two. He’s not a fan of getting warm. Weird.
We’ve been enjoying this thing for over a year now. It’s working like a champ and I have zero regrets. In summer we move it outside, turn the heat off and use it as a cold plunge/kiddie pool.
Overall I love it, but here’s a few things to know:
1) As for the four smiling adults in the manufacturer’s photo, unless you have an unusual romantic arrangement there is zero chance four adults can be comfy in this thing. The only reason my husband and I can get in together is that we are extremely in love and don’t mind our legs and stuff mingling.
2) The bubble jets will cool the tub down super fast. I only use them to stir in chemicals.
3) Speaking of chemicals, the tablet holder on the pump outlet is fairly sucky. I feel like the water doesn’t really flow past the tablets, so they take forever to dissolve. Spend a few extra dollars and get yourself a floater.
4) If you happen to get an older model there is an automatic shut-off that will turn the heat off after three days of no activity on the keypad. This hasn’t happened with my 2020 model, but check your manufacture date.
All in all, I feel like this thing was money very well spent, and I’ve been enjoying it so, so much!
Happy Hillbilly Hot Tubbing!