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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slightly Uncomfortable & Very Limited, January 25, 2010
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I was really excited to receive this product - who doesn't love a good massage? - and I opened it and used it as soon as it came this morning. I'm sad to report that I am disappointed. It's bulky, uncomfortable, and limited in use with regards to both positioning and massage type.
First, it has a very short (about 4') power cord. This is crazy-making. Why do companies do this? You need to be pretty close to an outlet to use it. For me it means that if I want to use it on the couch, I cannot sit in the middle of the couch - even though I have outlets on either side - I have to sit on one end or the other. If you want to use it in bed you're probably going to be able to use it only at the neck/head... unless you have an outlet right by the middle of your bed.
Secondly, be aware that it's pretty bulky. It's about 12 x 18", and about 5" thick. It weighs almost 10 pounds. It's like leaning on a few bricks! This is not a thin vibrating massage pad to slip behind you at your desk chair - it takes up some room and you need to adjust yourself on it to find a comfortable spot.
As I said, this is not a vibrating massage pad. It has a kneading action. It's basically a rectangle with a pair of balls in each corner - leaving a well with no massage action in the middle. The balls continuously rotate, providing a strong kneading massage. It's not exactly relaxing. You have no option of adjusting the firmness of the massage - only of adjusting the speed at which the balls rotate. It does have an option to be heated - and this works, although it takes a full 30 minutes for the heat to kick in.
What would you use this sort of firm spot massager on? Again, it's not a relaxing vibrating all over massage. I would say it would work best for kneading a stiff or knotted muscle. But the shape of the massager/placement of kneading balls make it somewhat awkward to position well. It works okay if you place it horizontally and sit against it - so it's massaging your lumbar spine. But it's not relaxing and it displaces your neck/upper back; you might massage your lower back but if you sit like this long enough you'll be stiff elsewhere. Placed vertically, it does not reach your traps (the spot I imagine most people would like to have massaged) - instead it pushes on your shoulder blades. You can lie with your head on it, but nothing is getting massaged as your head is in the 'well' in the middle and the kneaders are not reaching your neck/shoulders. I tried to lie on it so that it did massage my neck/shoulders, but then there's no comfortable place for my head - it has to hang off the back. You could also put it on the floor and put your feet on it.
I feel I have to give it 3 stars because it does what it says - provides a firm kneading heated massage. But it's poor design makes it's applications limited.
BOTTOM LINE: It is a heated kneading massager, but the firmness of the kneading balls can be uncomfortable, and the product design makes it difficult to position. If you're looking for a relaxing style of massager - look elsewhere.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not painful when wearing a hoodie...quite nice, really., January 27, 2010
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Others have mentioned that the massage is painful...and I'm not sure if they're doing it sans clothes, but I've tried wearing a hoodie and sweatshirt, and it's really quite a nice massage. The heat is nothing to speak of - it certainly doesn't feel like a heated car seat. In fact, the "heat" is barely discernible.
The unit itself feels like it's made of solid, quality products and has a nice weight and feel to it. On that note, it's portable and you can massage whatever you want - except, for being portable, but AC cord is a bit short. Other criticisms: the instructions make no sense - likely a very bad English translation. And the text on the box looks like the descriptions are actually captions for the pictures. It's very odd.
As far as the product goes - it works as advertised, it pretty when it's all lit up (but you'll be using it, so it doesn't really matter what it looks like.) Performance wise...I can't really say its leaps above the competition, but it's certainly no worse. Other product I've used, Homedics SBM-500H Therapist Select Shiatsu One Massaging Cushion with Heat is roughly the same product with smaller massaging balls, a bit louder, and has less padding.
Overall: average to above average, due to quality feel and construction...lacking anything to really put it apart from the competition. (Maybe better if the "jade" aspect does something for you.)
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
PAINFUL!, January 26, 2010
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
As other reviewers have mentioned, this is not a relaxing massage. This is a deep tissue kneading massager with no vibration settings, though it does have a heat function. That being said, this unit is uncomfortable while it is turned on and don't even think about sitting upright in a chair and leaning back on it like a cushion unless you like being beat up.
The Jade Massager has 4 sets of hard rotating balls in each corner of this cushion (there is nothing in the center). I immediately noticed that the power cord is short at 5 feet long, so make sure you position your chair or bed within reach of the outlet. Naturally the first position I tried was that of sitting upright in my chair with it on my lower back and all I can say is "OUCH"! I then adjusted the rayostat to the lowest setting and it was tollerable, but the rotating balls still caused pain. Next I tried it on the backs of my thighs (as pictured in the instructions) and even the weight of my legs was too much pressure on the unit and made it uncomfortable. The heat setting is practically useless because the instructions say to not use the unit longer than 15 minutes, yet it took my unit over 20 minutes to get warm.
After experimenting with different positions for about a half hour I could only come up with one way that was somewhat comforting; if you lay the unit on top of the area rather than leaning into or putting leg weight on it, it is not bad. Basically I set it on top of my knees which felt "ok" and then flipped over and laid on my stomach and placed it on top of my back. The only problem with laying the unit on top is that the movement of the balls is so violent that it eventually falls off.
Overall I wouldn't buy this unit if you are wanting a relaxing vibrating massage. It does a good job of kneading the tissue but it is a very uncomfortable, unpleasant process. If there is an easier way of using this I wouldn't know because it only came with a 1/2 page instruction sheet, and 75% of that was mainly warnings, safeguards, and maintenance with very little on correct use of the product.
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