Best Christmas present I ever got
Written: Dec 29 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Gives an intense, relaxing massage
Cons: Probably won't match your decor. Sits very low to ground. Limited massage programs
The Bottom Line: The next best thing to a personal masseuse. It's just not blonde or Swedish.
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| chaoscat's Full Review: Ijoy Massage Chair with Human Touch Technology |
This year my wife and I decided that we would give ourselves a massage chair for Christmas. We see a Chiropractor regularly for wellness and the massage chair seemed like a natural complement to that. (Hey, we are the best rationalizers you'll eeevverr meet)Bottom line was we sat in the chairs at Brookstone and fell in lust. At first I was focused on the much more expensive chair- the Black leather $1,800 chair with wooden arm rests and attached leg massage. This chair is manufactured by Interactive Health, and is model number HTT-10CRP. (not that anyone at Brookstone or Sharper image will share that information with you.) This was our top runner, until they recently launched the iJoy line. Also, manufactured by Interactive health. At first I dismissed this chair as a cheap substitute the the HTT-10, until I sat in it. Wow, this little thing gave a great massage, in my opinion - better than the much more expensive chair. The HTT-10CRP is built with what the manufacturers call an S-track system. The purpose of which is to allow the massage unit to adjust with the curvature on your spine. This allows the machine to give a more balanced massage. The iJoy massage unit runs on a straight up and down track. What I found is that the straight track unit (iJoy) gives a more intense massage than the S-track unit, sometimes almost uncomfortably so. Because it cannot adjust for natural curvature, when the rollers reach about the middle of your back - the massage can become very intense - almost uncomfortable. The tradeoff for this is that with the iJoy you also get more intensity at the extremes, upper and lower back. After sitting in the iJoy, I felt like the HTT-10 chair was a wimp. It wasn't capable of really digging in into the lower back and upper shoulder area. The iJoy digs just fine, depending on the angle of the chair. If you have the chair sitting straight up, it really digs to the lower back. If the chair is fully reclined, the intensity is higher to the shoulder and neck area. With the HTT-10CRP there was no noticeable difference. When you try these chairs, make sure you find out if the pad is installed or not. Both of these chairs come with a removable pad that changes the feel of the massage. Try it both ways, with both chairs. The iJoy can hurt on some settings without the pad. Even without the pad, the HTT-10 isn't as intense as the iJoy. As for the attached leg massage unit, we didn't like it. After a few minutes with that squeeze machine going, I felt like my leg bones were being ground together. It was a painful and unpleasant sensation. It might feel good for the first minute or two if you've been walking the mall all day and your legs are killing you. Come straight to the store when you get to the mall and try it, you may feel like we did. If you really like feeling like a crushed grape, there is a leg massage footstool you can buy that fits with the iJoy that does the same thing.
There is another chair out there by Interactive Health that we were unable to try. It's not sold in mall stores, and hasn't made it out to the east coast yet. Apparently, Interactive Health got complaints from some customers about the wimpy massage from the HTT-10CRP, so they started building another model called the HTT-10XL. It still has the attached leg massage, but the massage unit in the chair is a Straight Track system, like the iJoy. All I could get out of the IH representatives is that it gives a more agressive massage than the CRP. You would have to go their website to get it. It's a little cheaper than the CRP unit, but still a scary investment ($1,500) to buy with out trying it out first. For those of you in California, Phoenix or Texas, there are sample units to try. Contact IH and they will tell you where. http://www.interactivehealth.com/
We like the iJoy. It gives an intense and pleasurable massage. The only drawbacks to it are: it doesn't have as many control options as the more expensive chairs, it's not going to fit in with the decor in a lot of homes, the chair sits low to the ground so elderly people might have difficulty getting in and out. We don't care about the decor. It sit's in it's own room with our computer. As for control options, it's got enough to do the job. As for old, my wife of 20 years was born 5 years before me. That means that I will never be old.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
chaoscat
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 1 member
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