Customer Reviews

18" Tiger Tail Rolling Muscle Massager

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was recently introduced to the Tiger Tail Rolling Massager and was
very impressed with the design, quality and performance. As a doctor of
physical therapy, I am always looking for home products for my patients
that are easy to use and that supplement the treatment I give in the
clinic. The Tiger Tail is a perfect tool for self soft tissue
mobilization. I highly recommend the Tiger Tail to my patients as an
adjunct to therapy. --Dr. Jeff Hill, DPT, MA, CSCS

I wasn't expecting much when I first ordered the Tiger Tail, but at such a low price it was worth a shot to relieve my aching muscles. As an endurance athlete I get my fair share of aches and pains. There is nothing like an hour with a massage therapist to relieve the aches, but who can afford that everyday? With the Tiger Tail you get deep tissue relief anytime you need it. It helps with the pain, but it also helps your muscles recover much quicker than I had hoped--

It's a great product and worth twice the price!

I know that the 18" Tiger Tail is shown here, but I wanted to let everyone know my thoughts on a very similar product by the same company - the 22" Tiger Tail. My 22" Tiger Tail is so not worth the $30 I paid for it. I could've made this at age 10. How do I know? I know because it fell apart on me on the first day - not because it broke, but just because of poor construction and assembly.

When I was gently moving the roller around in the middle to examine it, I noticed that the edge of it (barely protruding from the black foam) had some familiar looking markings; it looked like a PVC pipe that had been sawed and not sanded down to be smooth. The handle accidentally popped off and went tumbling across the floor, and that's when I realized how cheap and overpriced this product is.

Why did it look like PVC pipe? Because it actually is! The handles are simply pushed onto a 1/2" diam. PVC pipe (mine actually still had the crude markings, size, company, etc. that you see on PVC pipe you obtain from hardware stores). They could at least secure the handles on there! The black foam is fitted onto another PVC pipe (I think it's 3/4" diam) and slid over the longer 1/2" pipe. The inside of the 3/4" pipe and the outside of the 1/2" pipe are "lubricated" with a light grease - I'd say something a little lighter than petroleum jelly (Vaseline). Throw together some PVC pipe + foam + handles + cheap grease, and Voila, you have yourself a Tiger Tail.

You can get it to work and do the job, but probably not as well as you should for the price. Here are my complaints. 1.) Sand/polish ends - They could at least polish the ends of the PVC pipe that were cut. 2.) Secure handles - How hard is it to secure to handles that slide onto a PVC pipe? Using glue or an adhesive is not rocket science. 3.) Make rolling smooth - One big thing is the lack of polishing between the pipes. They should make surfaces between the 2 pipes (the ones that actually rub together as you roll the TT over your muscles) smooth so that the rolling feels frictionless. When you press harder to get deeper into the muscles, you feel that the PVC pipes against each other are not smooth. Maybe they should just use better materials. 4.) Grease? Come on now. That will attract dirt in the long run or eventually dry up and your TT will be even less smooth when rolling.

Bottom line: Cheap parts, cheap construction, way over-priced. The Stick is much better quality (just hope you don't get one with foul-smelling rubber handles like my Sprinter Stick has).

I love my Tiger Tail! Every morning, after my run I stretch then roll out my calves and quads with the Tigertail. I also take it with me to every ultra and marathon I run. It has helped me roll out a knot in my quads and has been invaluable in working the kinks out of the sartorius muscle that tenses up on me during marathons. I use the TT after the race, off and on for an hour or two and everything is fine the next day. The neoprene center is soft and comfortable against my skin, and I believe it allows me to go deeper than I could with a hard plastic center. I believe that the Tiger Tail is an essential tool in my running toolbox.

This was an amazon suggestion, and I'm so grateful I found this! I took it to a family reunion right after I got this and at least 4 other people want one too. What I love is the ability to control the pressure, and with this I'm able to work on areas like my shins that are tight but are very very tricky to roll out by lying on a foam roller. We've also discovered that this is great if you have very tight muscles in your neck and need constant deep pressure in a massage from someone else--but this helps avoid finger/hand tiring of the massager. Can't think of anything that would make this better. Easy to use, does what it says it will and should! (FYI, I had also tried a standard rolling pin--it didn't work very well...this is wonderful!)

I found this product to be very good for the back which is why I ordered it. I have to have someone roll it up and down as I cannot do that myself. That is the only drawback. If I needed it elsewhere, it would be totally perfect. It still is but I have to wait for help. It gets into the muscles of the back that are stiff or sore. Worth the price!

I've been using my Tiger Tail for about 2 years now & can say it has been a tremendous help. I am an avid runner & have chronically tight IT bands. This tool enables me to maximize my flexibility which improves my performance. Highly recommend the Tiger Tail.

The Tiger Tail is a great tool for me and my family when we're working out to relieve muscle tension or when there's just a cramp. I use it now that I'm pregnant too to relieve cramps in my calfs that can lead to painful charlie horses. I recommend for the gammut -- active folks and pregnant ladies alike!

I wanted to love this product but can't. I originally tried out "The stick" at my local running store. It was a pretty good rolling massager and seemed like it would help with might tight calfs. The price however wasn't so nice. So I did what I always do and that's check amazon for a better price. The stick was cheaper on amazon but the tiger tail was even less. They seemed similar so I decided why not try the cheaper one. Well I am very dissapointed. The tiger tail does not roll. Maybe I got a defective one but I am not pleased. The single foam roller does not roll, it gets stuck. Next time I will spend a little more to get the quality product I had previously tried out. Lesson learned.

If you are a runner and ever experience tight leg muscles, you need the Tiger Tail. Although its hard to believe, this little thing can stave off shin splints and knee pain, among other running issues. It is amazing how many problems tight calf muscles can cause. For me, they were causing knee pain and shin splints. After using the Tiger Tail, the shin splints and knee pain quickly went away. It's almost a cure-all for running injuries. Check it out--the price is right compared to doctors visits and physical therapy. Also recommended is the TP massage baller.