I have only had my new DuraTherm cover for 76 days, so cannot attest to what its longevity will be, but here are my thoughts thus far.
I have owned three spas along with about five or six covers over a period of more than 25 years. I live on the WA coast, so my spas are subjected to some pretty harsh weather. My spa is under a roof on a deck, so somewhat protected, although the rain has no problem blowing in sideways here.
Initially I am quite pleased with my new DuraTherm cover and also the WeatherShield fabric it is made of. My covers have all been made of the traditional vinyl up until now, so this is quite a change. I really like the look of the fabric over the vinyl as it gives the spa a much more upscale look. The cover appears to be well-constructed with good quality materials. The sewing is done in a professional and neat manner. The thing I would like to see changed would be for the skirt to be somehow made to be more weighted and heavy-duty. The skirt is basically decorative in my opinion and just blows open at the slits in the big winds we get here. On my last vinyl cover, I had the option of ordering a continuous skirt over one with slits, and I felt this gave the cover a higher degree of insulation around the edge as it fit the spa well and kept the wind from affecting the spa shell-to-cover junction. I understand that a well-fitting cover should seal this space adequately, but the addition of the continuous skirt I had before gave me great peace of mind that the cover was sealing itself to the spa in the best way possible.
Also, my new DuraTherm cover came with four labels sewn into the seam on one end of the cover. (See photos) The labels are all white, while the cover is coffee brown. I personally do not like this look at all and feel it cheapens the overall look of the cover quite a bit. I don't believe any of the other covers I've owned have had even one label displayed in such a manner on the cover. Worst of all, the label that is under the "Risk of Drowning" label is a paper sticker adhered to a non-stick paper base. It says on it: "Warranty Voided if Removed." As you can see in the photo, it is already starting to curl and deteriorate, so not sure how this will look in a year or two. The one label that can void the warranty if destroyed is made of paper! My point is that this flurry of white labels on my beautiful new coffee cover is very detracting. If a label is truly necessary, like perhaps the drowning risk label, why not have it sewn on the inside of the skirt or somewhere else out of view. If it weren't for these labels, this would be a 5-star review.
It's too soon to say how I will like this cover over time. If there are any negatives to add, I will update my review in the future. I am hoping that my over $800 investment will turn out to have been a wise one. So far, so good.
I would like to add that the staff at SpaDepot was very helpful and easy to work with.
