First time pool shopper - opinions on brands

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PoolBoyNH

Member
Mar 9, 2022
22
New Hampshire
Pool Size
10391
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-9)
Hello,

Been doing some research and getting quotes on our first above ground pool today. Use is family of 4 with 2 kids under 4. Thinking of a 21’ round - does the feel like the right size? I was also considering an 18’.

Called all the pool companies in my area and of course nobody uses the same brands so it’s difficult to compare. The companies ai liked most offered:
  • Quest (touted as all resin but I think the walls may actually be aluminum. I need to call and confirm tomorrow. )
  • Morada - was told it was a step down from Quest material wise but otherwise same model. Resin coated steel.
  • Manhattan
  • Carvin (looking at the blackrock (steel wall) and downtown (aluminum wall) models
  • Doughboy
Installed with comparable packages these are all roughly within $1000 of eachother. I think I was leaning towards the Quest as I think it has the most resin. The Carvin models aesthetically look the best imo.

Anyone familiar or have any suggestions? I appreciate any tips.
 
Hey PB and Welcome !!! For a while there, having resin posts and rails was 'all resin'. Then about 2 years ago they came out with resisn walls, redifing it. Many of the pools that are no longer considered all resin are still claming to be so. Any resin parts will likely be found by archeologists one day. No metal parts will be. With rust being the #1 enemy, the more resin you get, the better your long term chances.

Your kids will get several years before they can even touch bottom so any pool will seem HUGE to them for a long time. And that's awesome. For your sake, i'd go as big as you can afford. I've rarely (if ever) heard or read 'I wish i got a smaller pool'. I put a 20X40 in and it was huge. For a week. After that it was just the normal-to-me sized pool in the backyard.

I don't know about the specific models, they seem to change every other year, but Doughboy has been a high quality product for decades. Nothing is what it once was anymore. Heck, even a Caddilac doesn't stand head and shoulders above the rest of the fleet. But a Caddilac still ain't no slouch, either. Ya know ?

Hang tight for more thoughts.
 
Newdude said:
Hey PB and Welcome !!! For a while there, having resin posts and rails was 'all resin'. Then about 2 years ago they came out with resisn walls, redifing it. Many of the pools that are no longer considered all resin are still claming to be so. Any resin parts will likely be found by archeologists one day. No metal parts will be. With rust being the #1 enemy, the more resin you get, the better your long term chances.

Your kids will get several years before they can even touch bottom so any pool will seem HUGE to them for a long time. And that's awesome. For your sake, i'd go as big as you can afford. I've rarely (if ever) heard or read 'I wish i got a smaller pool'. I put a 20X40 in and it was huge. For a week. After that it was just the normal-to-me sized pool in the backyard.

I don't know about the specific models, they seem to change every other year, but Doughboy has been a high quality product for decades. Nothing is what it once was anymore. Heck, even a Caddilac doesn't stand head and shoulders above the rest of the fleet. But a Caddilac still ain't no slouch, either. Ya know ?

Hang tight for more thoughts.
Click to expand...
Appreciate the reply. I keep reading Doughboy is one of the better brands. But i think that is the least expensive on my list. And i need to confirm the model but think it has the most steel of all these. Comparing them all has be confused.
 
I'd kind of go towards Doughboy my self as well if I was hiring someone to install it. I've just gotten the impression that their product is very good and it seems like their dealers are generally good as well.

However, I ended up with a Wilbur pool from the pool factory. it was cheap, the pool factory is fantastic to deal with, and the instructions from the pool are mediocre. But, I'd probably do it again when it's time. I even had my boss buy one a year ago. We installed ours, and my bosses. The 2nd time around it was much easier.

That being said, Wilbur also makes an all aluminum, or close to, all aluminum pool which isn't cheap and I believe is actually considered quite good. I think it uses extruded aluminum panels.
Such a pool may be worth considering from any brand if it lasting is your top priority., but it's going to hurt to buy. Regardless of claims, and insane looking warranties which really are too good to be true, I think all of the current steel wall pools are very temporary, meaning 5 to 10 years.
 
If thats the case, optimum is a cousin / sister / clone, so check them out too.
 
Also, when i was in your shoes, the Mrs wanted an oval above ground. By the time i decked it and fenced it, i was looking at the cost of a small in ground pool. I refused to spend inground money on an above ground project. Once i had that logic, i spent a little more on a bigger inground pool. In the greatest miscalculation of my life, i neglected to realize that not only did the inground pool need its own deck/patio and fence, they would be that much larger than the small inground pool's, which was larger than the original oval AB footprint. It was too late to undo, once the wife and kids were on board. I won the battle and had an epic fail in the war.
 
Newdude said:
Also, when i was in your shoes, the Mrs wanted an oval above ground. By the time i decked it and fenced it, i was looking at the cost of a small in ground pool. I refused to spend inground money on an above ground project. Once i had that logic, i spent a little more on a bigger inground pool. In the greatest miscalculation of my life, i neglected to realize that not only did the inground pool need its own deck/patio and fence, they would be that much larger than the small inground pool's, which was larger than the original oval AB footprint. It was too late to undo, once the wife and kids were on board. I won the battle and had an epic fail in the war.
Click to expand...
Im hoping i can get a 21 round installed inground with patio/fence for ~25k. The small true ingrounds i was quoted were 40+ before deck and fence. Those were fiberglass. I guess I should have priced vinyl too but I still think itd be significantly more. I don’t want anything too big.
 
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