Customer Reviews

Homedics AG-3001 Anti-Gravity Recliner - Black

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

 

 

I just got one of these chairs (AG-3001). It seems to be well made, and is decent looking for the price. I think the massaging action could be very relaxing.

However, I have a major problem with the chair. I am maybe slightly above average height for a man (6'0" tall, 32" inseam). When I recline in the chair, the end of the footrest barely reaches past my knees. My feet just sort of hang down putting uncomfortable pressure on the back of my upper calves. I have sat in several other recliners, and never had this problem.

Also, when the power is turned off so that the shiatsu mechanism is no longer running, the mechanism comes to rest in your upper back. The little balls still stick out into your back. It's not unbearable, but it seems like they should come to rest in an unobtrusive position so that this chair could be more comfortable for normal seating.

Update: I reported my problem with the product to the manufacturer, Homedics, and asked if it was possible to adjust their product to fit me. Their resonse: "Thank you for your email. We are sorry to hear this. Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust our Antigravity Chairs to accomodate your height. The maximum the chair is designed for is a 6 foot tall person and has a 300 lb capacity (or less)." [Minor point: Doesn't "capacity" by itself imply a weak inequality?]

Maybe I missed it, but I did not see any weight or height restrictions on their website, or on any retailers' websites. I guess this is a gray area, but I wouldn't expect a warning that a chair was not appropriate for someone 7'6", but it seems odd to me to design and sell a chair that is not fit for people who are just 6'0" tall, or at least not to warn people of the limitations. I have seen statistics indicating that roughly 40% of American men are above 6'0".

I am astounded that the manufacturer knows these limitations and does not report them anywhere that I can see. When I tried to post reviews on the Homedics webpage warning people about these limitations on two occasions, the reviews were rejected by the editors of the website.

If I was 5'6", this would probably be a nice chair, but I'm not, and I'm pretty frustrated with Homedics for not making the limitations of the product public. The obvious lesson to me is that I should sit in a chair before buying it, which seems pretty obvious, so in retrospect, I mainly have myself to blame for this purchase. I do think Homedics should advertise the limitations that they so readily admitted in their email to me.

If you have some back pain, neck pain, leg pain or all of the above, this baby is great. Relief One: You tilt back and the weight comes off your spine and legs and it is almost as if you are hanging from Gravity Boots. Relief Two: The shiatsu massager, really does a job, kneading your spine and shoulders. Pretty easy to assemble. Love it!

I agree that the chair is very comfortable for people smaller than average people, and does give the feeling of being weightless. However, the chair I owned had defective welds, which caused the frame to break within a month of purchase. I was fortunate enough to purchase my chair at a place where I could inspect the remaining stock, and several of the chairs they were selling also had defective welds. I would not purchase this chair unless it was from a place that allowed me to carefully inspect the item before buying. One other caveat: the vinyl cover slips on like a fitted sheet. Inspect it carefuly to make sure that the seams are correctly sewn and that the cover will fit well. For the price, it's a decent chair, but for me, there are just too many quality issues to recommend it to anyone.

For the price, this chair is a very good deal. There are high-end massagers out there, but they cost almost ten times as much. The shiatsu motion is superior to the vibration models. The chair itself is a very comfortable recliner, so you can still use it as a recliner even after the mechanics breaks down.

On the down side, I wish the massage can go an extra half feet both lower and higher. I am 5'8", and only the middle part of my back can be massaged.

This chair is perfect for a relaxing massage. The massage is deep & effective. I was happily surprised as to its quality & attractiveness.

I would wholeheartedly give this chair 5 stars where it not for two small complaints:

1) It does not quite get to lower (20%) of my back.

2) You can't realy sit on this chair without a massage, because the rolling balls that give you the massage park themselves on top of the chair just below the neck area.

I have this chair and it's very uncomfortable. There is a bar at the leg rest that presses against the back of my legs, making them uncomfortable and the back of the chair hurts my back and that's without the massage system even turned on. My chair is brand new and I would sell it for half price in a minute!!!!

This is a great chair if you can find it for $200-260 (same price as the lesser AG2101). Assuming you get one in that price range as I did, The chair is comfortable for the price. The locking mechanism could be stronger, but seem to work on my 185 lbs weight. I think they made the leg rest shorter to cut cost and if you are over six feet you will have to have it reclined or off the ground somehow if you want your knees to not bend.

Massage is good but it's basically their $120 mat built-in. so figure your paying $100-$150 for the chair (about the price of the lawn chair antigravity chairs and it has more padding then those that so not to bad.

Some have complained about feeling the mechanism to hard or a lower support bar when reclined to a "feet above your chest" position. This is due to your weight increasing as you recline...that in mind, a massage will be rough when inverted so to speak..if you have to do this, a good sweatshirt may help...not so much an issue with the AG 2101 or when the motors are off and the extra pad included is used.

Note, There is no lumbar support on this chair so an extra pad of your choosing in this area may help.

All this aside, the chair is the closest thing you will get to feeling like sitting in an I-joy but for $300-350 less. If you have the extra cash, obviously an I-joy is the best choice.

Your next step up is $600-$1500 for the other brands of antigravity ...so in retrospect it's not bad if your budget is $200-$300 and your looking for this style

I have marked it down for:

- needing just a little more padding

- better locking handles

- longer foot rest

This is a great chair if you can find it for $200-260 (same price as the lesser AG2101). Assuming you get one in that price range as I did, The chair is comfortable for the price. The locking mechanism could be stronger, but seem to work on my 185 lbs weight. I think they made the leg rest shorter to cut cost and if you are over six feet you will have to have it reclined or off the ground somehow if you want your knees to not bend.

Massage is good but it's basically their $120 mat built-in. so figure your paying $100-$150 for the chair (about the price of the lawn chair antigravity chairs and it has more padding then those that so not to bad.

Some have complained about feeling the mechanism to hard or a lower support bar when reclined to a "feet above your chest" position. This is due to your weight increasing as you recline...that in mind, a massage will be rough when inverted so to speak..if you have to do this, a good sweatshirt may help...not so much an issue with the AG 2101 or when the motors are off and the extra pad included is used.

Note, There is no lumbar support on this chair so an extra pad of your choosing in this area may help.

All this aside, the chair is the closest thing you will get to feeling like sitting in an I-joy but for $300-350 less. If you have the extra cash, obviously an I-joy is the best choice.

Your next step up is $600-$1500 for the other brands of antigravity ...so in retrospect it's not bad if your budget is $200-$300 and your looking for this style

I have marked it down for:

- needing just a little more padding

- better locking handles

- longer foot rest

I got this item shipped to my home fast, then I found out the tools used to assemble it were missing. The customer service was quick on handling to ship me the required tools. However, after a couple of weeks of waiting, the tools arrived to me and I found out that was not the exact tools for this model (I did give her the model of the massage chair)... I can barely assemble this massage chair together with missing bolts etc... I actually tried to sit on it and discovered that the massage roller couldn't reach my lower back even when select to use "Lower Back" setting... And my lower back pain is the part bothers me more...

POOR design has no padding on the tracks that support the massage mechanism. This actually makes the chair PAINFUL to sit in. Locks are poorly designed, causing the chair to lurch suddenly.

the plastic tracks supporting the mechanism broke within 9 months. Spend a little more money and get a REAL massage chair! It literally fell apart.

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!