Customer Reviews
When I first started doing cold segments at the end of my daily showers I would try to shock my body by going from hot to super cold and see how long I could last... 5 or 6 minutes. And while doing a cold shower is comparable to what you might experience in the Orca, it still falls far short of the massive shock submerging into nearly ice cold water can do for your entire body.
I started out at 48 degrees and managed to go a full 5 minutes. The picture below was me when I got out the first time. WOWOWOWOWOW. What a huge mind explosion. It's not just the benefits you get throughout your body but what it does to your brain to free up adrenaline and destroy depression. This will give you the will to do anything because if you can submerge in this cold water for 5 minutes, everything else will seem easier in comparison.
I originally started lowering the temperature.. all the way to 43 one day and that was amazing. But lately I've been enjoying a crisp 48 and instead of 5 minutes I go for 9 when I do it, which isn't every day. Let's be clear, sometimes its good to do hot therapy too. Get them both I say.. on different days. I do infrared sauna for 30 minutes plus a 10 minute steam tent with 2 pots of water blazing.. then a 10 minutes scorcher shower. That's 50 minutes of hell, usually after lifting heavy weights.
Doing the hot therapy improves HGH, aids in recovery via heat shock proteins, can clear out toxins via sweat like no other and has a nootropic effect on the brain. But COLD THERAPY, is a different beast altogether. What you want to do is hop into the tub first thing in the morning. Get some swimmer earplugs, because you need to DUNK I SAY. Go STRAIGHT UNDER.
Then come back up and gasp as everyone does for awhile. I dunk every 60 seconds until I'm done and I have some uplifting ambient mixes playing to set the mood too. I'm so used to plunging I actually do leg stretches in the Orca now to pass the time in between dunking, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND lightly scrubbing the inner walls of the Orca with a green scotch pad all the way around up and down.
Doing so removes the little bit of slime that will always settle on the surfaces.. you can't stop it but you can remove it. So around minute 4 I start scrubbing leisurely until minute 8... remember, dunk every 60 seconds.
Get a big LCD Countdown Timer so you can monitor your progress to your goal.. trust me. You want a good visible stopwatch. Afterwards I get out onto my towels and wipe the sides of the Orca. I try to be as gentle as I can now not to splash but at the beginning I would shudder and make a big mess thinking I was going to die.. as it turns out I have not died and if anyone should have an issue its me because I've had heart disease now for 13 years.
Do work up your tolerance though.. not a good idea to try to be a hero the first time. After the Orca I take out my plugs, use a q tip and toilet paper to get any water out of my ears and save the drying off for last and guard my coldness. But to recover from the cold I usually do a workout.
It's been shown that if you do a workout after a cold plunge to recover from the cold your body, which is in a fight or flight scenario, will boost your natural testosterone levels above 1000. I'm not sure if this is true, but I can clearly see it being a possibility. And your adrenaline will cause you to have a seriously beastly workout.
The components themselves are great and durable. Ryan has been very helpful. I change my water and filter every 3 weeks and it's not too bad. I do recommend keeping the Orca in a cool basement on a cement pad close to a drain because you're going to need to drop a submersible pump into the Orca when you change the water. Ryan says change the filter every 2 weeks, but I believe 3 weeks isn't terrible either on the pump.
If you keep it in a cool basement you'll have less issue trying to fight a warm ambient temperature and the possible ice buildup that can cause... corrosion and outdoor elements. I believe it will last longer because it's in my cool dry basement.
And with the handy app that I use to control the chiller unit, it's an absolute breeze. I can be laying in my bed and turn the Orca on with my phone or set the daily On/Off schedule. Even turn on the Ozone filtration cycle (do this after you're done). I add 2 tsps of chlorox sanitizer every week.
One more tip.. buy a bunch of filters when you buy the unit.. you'll need them in the long term anyways if you're going to switch them every 2 or 3 weeks. You must change the filter because this kind of filter will impede flow and turn to an impenetrable membrane just 3 weeks after it gets installed.. but the water if very filtered and that's what you want.
Buy the unit. It will change your life and show you that you have much more power within you to solve your own life issues than you think.. affecting every area of your life. Trust me.
This is by far the best cold plunge and tub I have purchased. I’ve now gone through the Plunge Tub and Edge Theory Tub, there is no comparison. I live in Puerto Rico right on the water with salt in the air and temperatures up to 104°, have had zero issues with it in the past year. Customer service is also second to none. Would 10/10 recommend.
I saw Orca Plunge first time at Lake Nona Performance Center, a state of the art Gym facility nearby and made the decision to buy on my own as I intended to do it on a daily basis. First the product came fast and assembly is very easy. They have lots of resources in the YouTube. But what I was very impressed is how Ryan replies technical questions regarding the chiller, water quality, product maintenance. Truly recommended!
Our Migaloo plunge was installed at our spa in Carmel Mountain Ranch about a month ago. It works perfectly and customers love it. Very easy to care for and the team at Orca is super nice, knowledgeable and friendly! Highly recommend 👍
Did a lot of research prior to opting to go for the Orca and im glad I didn't go for any other brand. Very easy to set up and maintain. Have been running it non stop in 90 degree weather and it has no issue maintaining at about 45 degrees. What I value the most is how reachable and attentive company staff is. When spending this kind of money its great to know you can reach out and have your questions or concerns addressed promptly. Both Ryan & Ken have answered all my questions and assisted me through out. Highly recommend!
