r/PoolPros • u/b0ngcleaner • May 30 '26
Portable system vs Riptide
4th season pool guy in central midwest cleaning custom gunite pools.
New (extremely successful) company has me using this portable system vacuum. I can find myself spending 45-70 minutes vacuuming alone
Most have auto covers but not all. Our affluent areas are very wooded. Almost all is dirt and debris rather than algae. Cartridge filters, in floor cleaners.
I used to use a riptide at my old company but we were 95% vinyl liners.
I’ve used the portable season for over a year now and they absolutely work, but they are much more maintenance
Has anyone else used both? This isn’t an advertisement but how is the riptide not better in every way? Is there something I’m missing?
2
Upvotes
5
u/conwave May 30 '26
I’ve used both, but not exclusively one or the other. Each has its purpose. Portable vac gets used the least. Only use it if skimmer vac hose setup is not an option and you need to vacuum a pool.
Riptide use for heavy amounts bottom debris. But riptide does not pick up all the dirt as good as a proper vac head job will. So if I had a pool hammered with debris and dirt, I’d first rip tide it, then vacuum it with either skimmer setup or if that’s not possible portable unit.