Customer Reviews

Cryo-Max Reusable 8 Hour Cold Pack, Medium, 6" X 12", 1-Count Boxes

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have Cryomax ice packs in several sizes, use them daily, and like them tremendously! They stay cold longer than any other product I've tried--though they get warmer as time passes--long enough to move back and forth multiple times between different areas at 20 minute intervals. The cover feels very cozy against bare skin, and the elastic strap holds the ice pack in place against my back or wrapped around my knee or elbow (6x12" size.) The 6x6" size is nice for a smaller area.

Cryomax ice packs are unlike the "frozen peas" type of cold pack in that they have a grid of rounded bumps which are very firm when frozen, surrounded by a flexible thick gel, so while you can get great conformation, they do feel different than other products. They also need to be replaced eventually.

But all the features listed in the first paragraph make them my favorite ice pack by a wide margin, and I highly recommend them.

Great cold icepack. Stays cold longer than most. Nice soft cover that stays securely wrapped.

I've had one of these for about 3 years. It is stiff but flexible, not moldable like a pillow. It does not get as hard as a brick. It does get more flexible as it warms. It stays cold all night long. It's great for the 20 minutes on/off routine. I'm getting another one, just in case.

I have used most cold packs on the market and this is the *by far* the best.
- It stays cold the longest, 8 hours or more, depending on use
- Nice cases with straps that you can use to hold the packs on a leg, etc.
- Very durable, especially when frozen.
Like all icepacks, they can be broken if you put a lot of pressure on them after they have thawed.

We ordered this product thinking all the little cells would allow it to be moldable to the area needing the cold therapy. Unfortunately the cold pack stays solid like a brick until it is melted, not becoming moldable at all. We are saving them to use as cold packs for our coolers but not for use on the human body.

Don't count on 8 hours!
I needed a ice pack or cold pack to last me all day; 2 hrs travel each way and about 3 hrs in another city.
So when it arrived, I was very surprised to read the instructions placed inside the box. It advised "using the pack 20 min on, 20 minutes off, and to keep the pack in the freezer! If you plan on using the cold pack constantly, the pack will not remain cold for the entire length of time." What??? None of this is stated on the outside of the box, or on the Amazon description. I feel like this is false advertisement of the product. I could get the same result using a good old fashioned ice pack!
But I did manage to keep it cool all day by putting it in an insulated bag (like a big lunch bag) wrapped in a towel, with 2 20oz solidly frozen bottles of water! This way I was able to have a "cool pack" on my way home.
I am giving this only 2 stars due to misleading advertisement. With some adaptions it is possible to keep it cool longer, but it certainly is not an 8 Hour reusable cold pack!

These are interesting ice packs with their own idiosyncrasies, but once you adjust to them, you'll want one (or more) in the freezer standing by for use.

What makes them different? As you can see in the photo of the box, there are two types of liquids inclosed in the inner plastic, flat bag. The blue balls, which are flat on one side and rounded on the other, freeze hard as rocks, while the pink fluid around the blue balls stays somewhat malleable.

Be sure to freeze your bag flat, without a crease in the middle or the crease won't have any of the pink fluid. Once completely frozen, it is somewhat difficult to bend, say around a painful knee, but it will go and as it starts to warm up, it will become more malleable as time goes by.

Additional Tips:

1. You must put the "rounded" side of the blue balls against the body part you want iced. The flat side is not as cold.

2. To avoid freezing the skin, I ALWAYS put a wool sock or a thick washcloth between my skin and the icepack. That's because I'm often putting it on as I go to bed and I want the hours of cooling it provides, but don't want to cause tissue damage.

3. Eventually whatever encloses the blue balls of fluid starts to "let go" of the blue stuff and it floats out into the pink fluid and leaves you with an area of your pack with no cold. My current pack, which is about 18 months old and is used 3-6 times a week, is just now experiencing the first blue ball "failures". That is an acceptable life expectancy for as much as I use it, and in light of the fact that I do fold my pack to get it into the freezer compartment with my other ice-packs :-)

This ice pack is our "heavy duty" ice-pack. It's a serious work horse in the chilling business of decreasing the swelling and pain of chronic or acute muscle and joint injuries.

I bought this product for a back ache and was pleased with the way it could be strapped on and I could move around without it hindering me.
Unfortunately, it's performance is disappointing. Even just out from an overnight in the freezer it does not have much cooling capacity. And, some of what it has is absorbed by the support wrap. And, the "8 hour" claim is highly dubious even if the instructions are followed. In fact, the sheet inside the box says:"When used continuously without refreezing, it is unlikely CryoMax will stay cold for 8 hours".
It also says: "Do not apply for continuous use until a half hour after removing from the freezer". But, that's when it's the coldest and you can get the most benefit from it! Finally, the product apparently won't last long. Again, the inside sheet says: "Due to the unusual modular structure, CryoMax products will degrade over time. Typically, product should be replaced every six months". Not surprisingly, that fact isn't mentioned on the outside of the box.
I would recommend this product only if you had to be able to continue with your daily activities while you applied cold to an injury. And, you didn't need to treat the injured area with true cold. If you really need cold therapy, buy an ice bag, which will last for many years.

I needed an ice pack for ankle surgery, and I tried a few different brands. Most would become warm quickly, but these stayed cold for a much longer time of nearly 3 hours of constant wear. The sheath that it comes with works excellently to cut down the cold to a bearable level so they can be worn until they are no longer cold. The elastic band keeps it in place as well during moderate movement. I have worn one on my ankle for hours at work, and it never loosened or fell off, and the ice pack helped my ankle feel a lot better. I highly recommend the CryoMax brand.

As advertised, this is a cold pack that works well for wrapping around an inflamed area. The blue balls freeze solid and hold cold a long time, and the surrounding pink gel stays cool and transfers the temperature well. I first tried it out at a friend's place after spraining my ankle, and was so impressed I had several sizes shipped to my house for when I returned. They've been fantastic- quick to chill in the freezer, slow to warm up, and easy to wrap around my ankle. My friend has had his for over a year and gets a lot of use out of it for sports injuries- they seem very sturdy. I'm officially a fan.