Customer Reviews

Sunbeam Health at Home Heat Plus Massage Heating Pad

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I bought this to replace my plain, flat heating pad. What I hate most about heating pads are that they tend to crinkle up on themselves & get too hot where they crinkle, making them useless (and a fire hazard). I think this one might go the distance. It's about 12" X 11" and about an inch thick, so there seems to be no way it can accidentally roll over on itself. There is an automatic off after 1 hour, which is a must for me (again, fire safety). Once it turns off automatically, you have to switch both the heat & massage to the "off" position before it will reset.

I'm not crazy about the massaging part. It's just a single fast vibration and it's not very relieving to me. It's more of a nuisance than anything else & sometimes I find it uncomfortable. Unlike another reviewer, I didn't notice any difference in the vibration, so maybe that was part of an older design. I would recommend that if you are going to use the massaging part, you put some weight over it, as I think it would just vibrate itself off.

The heat has 2 settings, with low being fairly warm and good for most of my aches. High is just a little warmer. Because of the foam pad, there is only heat on one side. The pad has a very nicely stitched notice of "This side towards body". I really like the fact that I can put this pad between myself and my chair and it's not heating my chair.

As a plain old heating pad, I would give it 5 stars because of the thickness, though I would like it a little bigger. The massage function I give 3, as I would prefer slower and stronger pulses.

UPDATE: I've had this pad for about 5 days now & I LOVE it! I've bumped up the stars to a full 5. I'm still not crazy about the massaging part, but as a heating pad I think it's fabulous. I use this every day and by this time with a thin pad there would already be the beginnings of the dreaded crinkles. There is no sign of that happening with this model. The extra cushioning gives just enough support that contact is consistent, even on the upper back. For those who want to use this on a chair for their backs, I can't recommend this enough. One last detail about this pad that I noticed: the cover actually snaps onto the heating pad itself, preventing any twisting or pulling off. It's a very ingenious design detail that I really like.

Update: It's been six months since I purchased this and it is still going strong. I have succeeded in abusing this thing terribly and now there is a little twist beginning to happen. All I have to do is allow the pad to heat, and then twist the plastic cover bag properly over the foam. It's the SMALLEST misalignment, so I don't want anyone to think it's terrible. If I took even the slightest bit of care of this, it probably wouldn't have happened, but as such, I'm hard on these things. It still keeps it's full 5 stars for use and especially for taking the beatings I give it. The cover still looks great, the pad itself looks great, and there are non of the darkening patches that happen with other pads when the heating elements get pushed too close together & overheat.

Sunbeam Health at Home Heat Plus Massage Heating Pad is WONDERFUL! Easy to use, easy to store and easy to take with you wherever you may go. Best feature is that the massaging alternates from pulsating to vibrating to thumping to rolling. I don't know, it's just the closest thing that I have found to an inexpensive human massage.

I thought the massaging was fairly steady, it came with different rhythms but had to put a book on it so that I could get the massaging on my legs. The pad is made out of foam and it is fairly thick. It was really okay, but to get the massaging effect of the pad, it needs something heavy on top of it....so that you can feel the vibrations. For $20.00 it is not bad..

A nice feature is that the outer cover snaps onto the actual vibrator/heat device, so it will not slide around inside it's cover. One problem I have observed: while in vibrate mode it will hum gently for a few minutes, then without any adjustments or control changes by me, the hum will suddenly increase to a much louder buzz, which will continue until vibrator is shut off. It still continues to vibrate, just louder than expected. The pad is a convenient size for placing against your back while sitting in a chair. It is too stiff and thick to bend, if you wanted to wrap it around a limb or joint. An additional control to disconnect the automatic shut off feature would be nice, since it gets bothersome to have to turn it back on every half hour, if you need to use it for a while.

Almost instant relief.

Separate controls for heat and massage, so you only select what you need (or what you feel like). The automatic shutoff is a neccessity because you fall to sleep as it relieves the pain.

The vibrator is not silent, but not irritating. In other words you can hear it, but you can hear the TV over it, or go to sleep. :)

Bottom Line - for under $20 - great value! If it was over $50, I'd expect it to be quieter... but it's still more effective than fancy massages I've borrowed that cost $100 or more.

The pad is on my recliner and relieves my lower back aches. I use it on "low" and like the automatic cut off of the vibration.

This works so good.Not only does it heat to sooth but it also vibrates to massage.It works great on achy muscles and sore backs.My mom has this one and I kept taking hers till I found it on amazon for so cheap and I had no excuse but to buy my own.We love it.

First, it is pretty small. Secondly, it is VERY VERY loud!! If you need to use it on a shoulder or head, etc, forget being able to hear the TV or much of anything else, except the very loud motor to the vibrator!! I would return it, but it wouldn't be worth the money or restocking fee. 3/15/11

This is a wonderful product especially for lower back pain and neck pain. I use mine daily and wouldn't be without it. The price on Amazon was lower then I have paid before which was a nice surprise. It has a washable cover and is a must for your pain. Yoiu not only get heat but a 2 speed massager that eases stresses away along with any aches or pains. Great value !!

This is really pretty good for the price. The heat and massage functions both work very well and I really like the auto-shutoff after one hour. The only minor issue I have is that the pad is a little bulky and so doesn't bend much or conform to the shape of the area you are using it. This is fine if you have, say, a sore back, but I have rib pain on my left side so I wanted it to kind of wrap around the side of my body. Instead it basically just sits flat on top. Not a huge issue but something to consider depending on where you plan to use it.