Homedics SBM-300 Therapist Select Shiatsu Massaging Cushion

by HoMedics

Product Features

• Rolling massage and spot massage for focus
• Programmable touch pad control and demo button
• Melts away tension, muscle pain and fatigue
• Includes six programs - full, lower or upper back in Shiatsu plus rolling massage

Product Description

Knead away muscle tension, pain and fatigue like a true hands-on massage therapist with the new Shiatsu massaging cushion. The state of the art Shiatsu mechanism travels up and down the back plus spot Shiatsu massage and adjustable width setting for rolling massage. Adjust the 6 programs with the programmable touch pad control.

Product Details

• Item Weight: 10.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 15 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000AQE7K8
• UPC: 031262016461 031262032140
• Item model number: SBM300
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (248 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,752 in Health & Personal Care (See Top 100 in Health & Personal Care)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

182 of 184 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Killer Massage Cushion!, November 4, 2005

By 

S. Kanter (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Homedics SBM-300 Therapist Select Shiatsu Massaging Cushion (Health and Beauty)

Just got mine yesterday, and it still works! It has a two-year warranty, and I think the previous poster had a demo model or just a fluke or lemon.

This is a huge improvement over the older model, the SBM-200, which I tried in a store. Besides the fact that it adds "rolling" massage which can be adjusted by width, the SBM-300 adds an essential feature the older model did not have: using "spot" mode, you can STOP the rolling balls at any spot on your back and work on that area for a while. You can then move it up or down to another perfect spot.

This model also adds a vibrating seat which is a good addition.
The elastic strapping system will work with almost any type of chair.

My only complaint is that the older model had a thicker, better external cover to soften the massage if needed, but you can easily add a towel or some other material for this purpose. Also, one wishes it would go down a little lower and up a little higher, but if you adjust your position in the chair it will reach those portions of the back.

To summarize -- this massage cushion rocks! (and rolls).

EDIT: It is now two years later. The original cushion died after one year. It was under warranty, so I sent it back. A month later, I received a brand-new unit. It was dead on arrival, would not power up. I sent that one back. This time it took three months to get another (new) unit. This worked one time, then died.

I have serious doubts about the quality of this product, and am getting pretty tired of continually sending in these units. Has Homedics ever heard of quality control?

My rating has gone down from five to two stars.

109 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What'll you have--the 200, 300, or 400?, September 27, 2006

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Homedics SBM-300 Therapist Select Shiatsu Massaging Cushion (Health and Beauty)

I ordered the SBM-200 and was happy with the item until my wife expressed displeasure over not being able to stop the up-down mechanism for "spot-massaging." In looking over the next two higher models, I noticed that some internet stores were pricing the SBM-300 above the gaudy, illuminated, top-of-the-line QRM-400. It would definitely appear, then, that the SBM-300, currently going on Amazon for a mere 20 bucks more than the SBM-200, would be the no-brainer choice and a bargain to boot. I now have both the 200 and 300 on "trial," and I'm afraid the choice is not as conclusive as I had hoped.

Advantages of the 300:

1. You can stop the mechanism (in the shiatsu mode only) over a specific area of your back.
2. In addition to the shiatsu action, it offers "roller action" (the wheels simply travel up and down your spine without the pushing, in and out movement, for a gentler massage).
3. You can adjust the width of the rollers, possibly taking some pressure off of the spine itself.
4. It comes with a vibrating seat cushion.

Advantages of the 200.

1. It's still twenty bucks cheaper.
2. It's a trifle less bulky and definitely less "conspicuous." Rather than a shiny, silver surface, it provides a sleek, black leatherette look that practically blends in with my chair.
3. By omitting the "rolling action," it limits gratuitous choices, making life that much simpler (who wants a "gentler" massage, anyway?).
4. It doesn't come with a vibrating seat cushion.

HoMedics has finally come out with an affordable, transportable product that's capable of some rough and ready action. What possessed them to think that a harmless, ineffective bottom buzzer would enhance its usefulness or credibility? The opposite is true. (Did someone from Ronco help design the 300? Or are there applications, gender-specific or otherwise, that some of us are not meant to understand? At least it has its own on and off switch.)

65 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm not actually a kid, just don't have access to my email right now, November 20, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Homedics SBM-300 Therapist Select Shiatsu Massaging Cushion (Health and Beauty)

Really really nice massager. Definately better than a lot of the other chair pads out there for sure. Lightyears better than the SBM-200 and slightly more powerful than the QBM-400, which is $30 more and has a really tacky (IMO) blue light.

I do have a few gripes though.

1) The only securing straps are on the back, there are none on the bottom. The seat pad tends to slip around.

2) It is surprisingly deep. It takes up a good 4" of your seatroom, and on my full size office chair, it hangs off by about an inch. I'll probably move it to a bigger chair, but then I'm worried the straps won't be big enough).

3) It's loud. I didn't expect this. It's not super annoying, but you can hear it "changing gears" every once in a while, especially in the upper part of the back. I can see this driving some people absolutely crazy.

4) The leg vibration is very weak. Kinda silly really. Doesn't do a whole lot.

5) Gets hot really quickly. And this concerns me a bit because this is not supposed to be a heating pad....I xuppose I could relax and enjoy it but it's hard to destress with a massage pad when you're worried your toy is going to set on fire and burn your house down.

6) It's REALLY powerful. If you have a knot, it can be painful to knead it out. Of course this means it's effective. But those balls definately work your back thoroughly, sometimes slightly uncomfortable.

7) This is a massager tip in general, not specific to this device. If you use it within an hour of eating a big meal, you will feel very queasy. It's shaking up your innards as they're trying to digest.

8) It's very uncomfortable to sit on when it's off because of where the balls are located "at rest". I thought I could fix this by moving the balls up to the top before turning it off but it always goes back to that same position before powering down. It could be worse but it's a tad uncomfortable.

The pros outweigh the cons, but this is a realistic view of this device. Far from perfect, but a nice massage tool nevertheless.

However, the pros definately outweigh the cons. It's a really nice