Swim Spa Tether System: How to Choose the Right Setup for Your Spa

A swim spa is already a significant investment in your health and fitness. A tether system is what makes it a real training tool. Without one, you're limited to water walking, jets, and whatever resistance the current provides. With one, you can swim at full effort, hold position indefinitely, and get a genuine cardiovascular and strength workout — in a 12- to 19-foot spa.

This guide covers everything you need to choose the right tether setup for your swim spa: how mounting works, which pole fits your training goals, and how to select the right cord length for your spa's size.

How Swim Spa Mounting Works

This is the first question most swim spa owners have, and it's important to get right. Unlike pool installations where you can drill a base directly into a concrete or wood deck yourself, swim spa installations require more care.

Drilling directly into the spa shell is not recommended — it can void your manufacturer's warranty and risk cracking the acrylic. Instead, there are three legitimate ways to mount a tether system on a swim spa:

Factory-installed base. Some swim spa manufacturers offer a Swim Tether base as a factory option or dealer-installed accessory. If you're purchasing a new spa, ask your dealer about this before delivery — it's by far the cleanest installation.

Dealer-installed base in surrounding deck. If your spa is set into a surrounding deck — wood, composite, or concrete — a Swim Tether base can be installed into that deck by an authorized dealer. This is the most common approach for existing spa owners and results in a permanent, solid mount that doesn't touch the spa itself.

Arctic Spa Adapter. If you own an Arctic Spa, there's a third option that requires no drilling at all. Arctic Spas build a threaded accessory port directly into the top rail of their swim spas. The Swim Tether Arctic Spa Adapter threads into that port by hand in under a minute. No tools, no modifications, no warranty concerns.

If you're unsure which mounting situation applies to your spa, contact your spa dealer first. They'll know whether a factory base is available for your model or whether a deck installation makes more sense for your setup.

Choosing the Right Pole

Once you have a mounting solution sorted, the next decision is pole selection. Swim Tether makes three pole models, and the differences matter for swim spa use.

The ST1 is the shortest and most rigid pole in the lineup — 23.75 inches tall with 6.5 inches of flex at the tip. It's designed for water aerobics, therapy, and swim spa use where a lower attachment point and firmer feel are preferred. Because it sits closer to the water surface, the cord runs at a flatter angle, which suits shorter swim distances and lower-resistance applications well. Minimum recommended pool or spa length is 6 feet.

The ST2 is mid-height at 46.5 inches with 25 inches of flex. It's the most versatile pole in the range — suited for most pool and spa setups, families, and all-purpose fitness swimming. It works well in swim spas where the user wants more cord travel and a smoother resistance feel than the ST1 provides. Minimum recommended length is 8 feet.

The ST3 is the tallest pole at 69.38 inches with 39.5 inches of tip flex. It's designed for performance swimming and larger pools where maximum cord travel and the most natural swim feel matter most. In a swim spa, it works well when the spa is on the larger end (16 feet or more) and the swimmer wants full-effort lap-pace training. Minimum recommended length is 10 feet.

For most swim spa owners doing fitness swimming and cross-training, the ST2 is the most practical choice. If you're primarily doing water aerobics, therapy, or resistance drills rather than full swimming strokes, the ST1's shorter, firmer profile is often a better fit. The ST3 is best reserved for larger spas and swimmers who want the most performance-oriented feel.

Selecting Your Cord Length

Cord length is determined by your spa's length — specifically, the distance between the base and where you'll be swimming. Swim Tether cords are available in lengths from 4.5 feet to 20 feet.

The kit configurator at swimtether.com calculates the recommended cord length for you based on your spa size and pole selection. The general principle: a cord that's too short keeps you bunched up near the anchor with too much resistance to swim naturally; a cord that's too long won't load up properly and won't provide meaningful resistance. The configurator takes the guesswork out of it.

If your base is positioned further from the water's edge than the standard 6–8 inches — for example, if it's mounted several feet back on a surrounding deck — you'll need a longer cord to compensate. Custom lengths are available if your setup falls outside the standard range.

What You Can Do Once You're Set Up

A properly configured swim spa tether system opens up a much wider range of training than jets alone. Full freestyle and breaststroke swimming at any intensity, resistance cord drills for the upper and lower body, interval training, endurance sets — all of it becomes possible in a fraction of the space a lap pool requires.

If you want to add rowing to your swim spa training, the Swim Tether Row Kit is a swim-spa-specific add-on that mounts to the spa wall and lets you row with full resistance from a seated position. It's worth looking at if you want to get more out of the investment.

Build Your Kit

Not sure where to start? The kit builder walks you through your base type, pole selection, and cord length in about two minutes — and if you have questions about your specific spa model, the team is reachable by text at 770-702-4558 or by email at shop@swimtether.com.