Swimming upstream?

January 4, 2008 11:23 AM

Anyone have experience with "treadpools"/swim-in-place pools?

I'm considering installing a swim-in-place pool. I swam competitively for many years and still like swimming for fitness a lot, but the lap pools nearby either aren't near enough to get me out of the house consistently or don't have free-swim times that work for me. Plus: five months of winter. I spent years with frozen hair in high school and I'm not too keen on it. Mr. Cocoa also does the odd triathlon so he'd use it, too. But, it's a lot of money. Does anyone have experiences installing and--more importantly--using and maintaining one over time? Do you use it as much as you thought you would? What do you like or not like compared to regular pool swimming? And what swayed you to choose the one you did (Endless Pool, SwimEx, other)?

posted by cocoagirl to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

You can't go wrong with an Endless Pool. I read one triathlete's blog about installing it, and it didn't seem all that complicated. I don't have any experience maintaining them, but if I had one I'd definitely use it all the time. I can't imagine it's more complicated than owning a hot tub.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 11:45 AM on January 4, 2008

You sound like a good candidate for this, but it might be good to go somewhere and try it out. They have them in some fitness centers. Also, unless you're likely to stay in your current house many more years, consider whether adding this thing will get in the way of selling the place some day.
posted by beagle at 12:32 PM on January 4, 2008

Definitely find a place to try it out first. You really have to manage to regulate your speed or you'll keep hitting the edges, from what I've heard. For the price, don't buy before you try.

(I'd guess that if you call installers in your area, they might be able to give you references of folks they've done similar work for.)
posted by quinoa at 6:58 PM on January 4, 2008

I have two relatives (a couple) who have one. They live in the San Francisco area. They are both psychiatrists and do well financially. They've had to stop using it, or wear a wetsuit when using it, because the heating bills starting reaching upwards of $600/month. This is an issue they're currently trying to resolve, because they like to use it, but the heating bills are exorbitant.
posted by FlyByDay at 7:08 PM on January 4, 2008

Google has a couple, and while I was always too nervous to try them when I worked there, I saw people in them almost every time I walked by, including one of my managers. He seemed pretty positive about the experience although I think the general consensus was that they took some getting used to.

FlyByDay, do they cover it when they're not using it? That keeps a shocking amount of heat in at a very low cost.
posted by crinklebat at 9:12 PM on January 4, 2008

Hmmm, not sure. I will ask.
posted by FlyByDay at 7:32 AM on January 5, 2008

We're moving soon and this is something that I thought about but a little preliminary googling suggested upwards of $20,000 which is waaaay to rich for my blood.
posted by dmt at 4:41 AM on May 7, 2008