Homedics QRM-400H Therapist Select Quad-Roller Massaging Cushion with Heat
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List Price: Our Price: $150.00 You Save: $29.99 (17%) Availability: Usually ships in 3-5 weeks Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Homedics QRM-400H Therapist Select Quad-Roller Massaging Cushion with Heat
Customer Review: Big chair massage functionality on the cheap.
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
While living in Japan, I used a lot of high end massage chairs. They're everywhere, particularly at hot spring bath places(100 yen for five minutes), hotels, and the living rooms of well-aged men. In Japan the massage chair is omnipresent.
But I moved back from Japan a few years ago: no more massage chairs until I buy my own I feared. How sad.
And now, how happy I am that I've got a Homedics QRM-400H. It's absolutely excellent. It massages as well as many full size massage chairs, and for only about $150.
My wife, who is from Japan, immediately thought it could not be good because it's not a Japanese brand (if it isn't Japanese, it's crap is the motto in our house), but even she had to admit the quality of the massage was just as good, and the heat function is something neither of us has ever seen before in a massage chair.
She's shorter than I am, so this does reach all the way up to the base of her neck, but not mine. This is true of many high end massage chairs though.
The fact that something this inexpensive does rolling and shiatsu, options for upper or lower back, the ability to set the width of the rollers, choose a single spot anywhere in the range of the massager, AND heat is just amazing. This is just a fantastic deal.
CON/Advice (not really a problem): You absolutely must add some kind of padding between the chair and your back otherwise the massage is too strong (better than being too weak right?) and cause injury. I use an old polar fleece sweater, but it's probably better to go with a towel especially if you're going to turn on the heat function. The advantage to this though is that you can wash and replace whatever cover or pad you use for cheap versus having it come with some kind of cover, it wearing out, and thus trashing the chair.
BOTTOM LINE: If you do sports (where a back massage is a necessity) or simply enjoy a decent back massage once in a while, you couldn't do better than this without spending significantly more money for either a chair or a professional session. I actually save money on this bit of health maintainence by having my own massage chair function.
I'm not saying I'll never get a professional massage again, but I wont need to spend money on one as often since this massage chair takes care of my typical needs. At the very least, it saves me from having to beg my wife to give me a massage where I can't do it myself.
Customer Review: NOT RELAXING
Summary: 2 Stars
This is totally not what I expected. I had 'demoed' shiatsu massagers such as this in stores and liked the few minutes that I used them. But I was not prepared for this monster.
First, it is large and quite heavy and the massager is actually encased in a hard plastic shell. This makes it rigid and, unlike vibrating massage pads I've had in the past, cannot conform to your body easily.
Second, it's loud. It sounds like a can opener running. This is advertised as being appropriate for office use, but if a co-worker was using one of these things, that would start a war because listening to this thing running all day would drive me violent. When I used it I had to bump up the TV volume three notches and usually still watched it with closed captioning on, too. My husband tried it for three minutes, griped that he couldn't hear the TV, and then went upstairs to watch his show.
Third, the rollers are hard plastic shielded by nothing more than a very thin net material over them, and the instructions clearly state that *nothing* should be placed between you and the massager. They also glow bright blue even when the unit is turned off. Neat-o if you're fourteen and into Battlestar Gallactica, but not so neat-o if your house decor is Early American. The rollers are rough against the back, too, and don't even think about trying to lie down on it unless you have a sado-masochistic wish to cripple yourself.
Fourth, I bought this mainly for upper back and neck use. I'm not tall (5'5") but in order to get a decent massage against my neck, I have to slouch down into the unit because the rollers really only go as high as mid-shoulder blade. Well, if you sit like that then the rollers can't reach your lower back because you are sitting too far away from the device. And then your lower back hurts from slouching. Yikes.
Fifth, it's bulky. Not easy to store anywhere unless you've got a lot of room in your closet. And because the back of the thing is hard plastic, don't think you can wiggle it in between the ironing board and vacuum.
On the plus side: it does have a nice, long power cord. And the remote offers two modes-- shiatsu and rolling. The shiatsu setting also allows you to target the rollers in one spot which can feel pretty good for as long as you can stand it.
I've had this massager for a week and actually found myself hurting today. I was careful to use it only as directed but this is not soothing in the least. I just requested a return receipt from Amazon and because this product is not fulfilling my expectations, they are supposedly going to let me ship it back free of charge.
Customer Review: For the price this is great; if you are average height
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Let me start off by saying that I was interested in trying this cushion because I have sat in a friends massage chair (that costs thousands of dollars) and I wanted to see the difference. Over the last 10 days I have used this about 15 times. I just finished building a fence in my backyard this weekend and I put this cushion to use.
Setup for the cushion is a no-brainer. It is all one piece so there are no cables to connect or straps to attach. Just place the cushion on top of a comfortable chair and you are ready to go.
If you have never sat in a massage chair the cushion might feel odd at first. You will feel the rolling mechanism in the small of your back. At first this may take some time to get use to because you can't just let yourself sink into the cushion. This is one downside to this cushion compared to a massage chair. Most chairs allow you to fully relax while the massage rollers move up and down your back. This one takes some getting use to.
Of the two programs (shiatsu and rolling) I found the shiatsu the most relaxing. It seemed to do the best for me when my back was tight. I like that I can control where the focus of the massage will be (upper or lower back) and I like that I can control the width of the rollers.
The heating mechanism heats up gently, but quickly. If I have one complaint about the heat is that it takes a while for it to cool back down.
The final issue with this cushion, and it is one I think many people with have, is its limited range of height. I am 6' tall and the rollers on this cushion just touch the bottom of my shoulder blades when I am trying to massage my upper back. My wife is only 5' 3" and she said that when she sat on the cushion that the rollers actually pushed on her neck and were pinching her. So ideally it looks like the optimum height range for this cushion is about 5' 5" to 5' 10".
All in all this cushion gave a good massage. I enjoy using it and I like its portability. I can use it watching TV or when I am using the computer. Compared to the chairs that are 20x this price I think this product stacks up well. For the money it is hard to beat.
If there was some type of height adjustment I would have given this cushion 5 stars and would think you could charge another twenty to fourty dollars.
Customer Review: In the HoMedics Hot Seat!
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The Homedics Quad-Roller Massaging Cushion came in a nice big box with a handle. The handle helped me carry it in to work. It was packaged well and easy to set up. It is pretty thick, so it needs the right chair for you to still feel comfortable in it. I removed the screw that it says you have to remove, plugged it in, strapped it on, sat down, and hit the demo button. The heat is really nice. I was surprised how fast it heated up. The demo mode was over too soon so I hit it a couple of more times. There are two main massage modes, Shiatsu and rolling. I like them both although I wish there were more programs than just the demo. I really like it and would have been thrilled to get it as a gift. I don't think I'd have spent this much on myself for a massage cushion. I am going to keep it set up at work to use and to share. It is a nice addition to an office.
Pros:
The materials seem to be pretty high quality.
It straps onto the chair pretty easily.
The lights are cool! They turn red with the heat on!
The heat is really nice.
Cons:
It adds depth so you need just the right chair.
No program modes besides demo.
The lights stay on as long as the unit is plugged in.
Pricey
Being at work, I decided to share it with the people I work with. Here is what they had to say:
-- I like the massage chair. It is like a miniature/portable version of the ones they have in health spas and manicure/pedicure places. Don't know if Demo is for a shorter time. Would like to be able to set the time. Price is kind of steep--but if you really have back problems it is probably worth it.
-- I really liked it. It had just the right amount of pressure to be effective.
-- Excellent kneading action and heat on the lower to middle back. Like a geisha with size 5 feet doing the tootsie roll dance on your spine.
-- Liked it very much. Heat is very nice. Cools down quickly (also nice). Remote is hard to read. Demo combined option would be nice if on some sort of timer.
-- This is going to have to move to my office.
Update: It's been a few more weeks now, and people continue to stop by my office and use the seat. It is quite popular here in the office.
Customer Review: Nice, but not wonderful
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I have long looked at items like this and wondered how they would feel. I suppose I would go so far as to say I coveted them...I grew up in a house that regularly traded "back scratchings" & my spouse isn't always willing. However, products like this have always been outside the range allowed by my wallet. I have used it now for two weeks. Bottom line of the review before I get into the particulars: I like it, but I don't love it.
First the good: It is very simple to set up. Basically, you slap it in your chair & plug it in. It has a couple straps to hold it in place. We watch television from small cushiony things on the floor called "back jacks" you can get those on Amazon too. This attached easily to my back jack. If it can do that, it can do any chair.
It's also very simple to use. The buttons are all self explanatory. It runs through a cycle of massage and then shuts itself off, so you can fall asleep on it without fearing being massaged black & blue (though you are warned by the small accompanying booklet not to do so especially with the heat on. You can tell when the heat is on by the color of the lights on the rollers (blue cool/red hot)...it looks nice & the smell (very stinky at first) does go away in a day.
Now the not so good: If you have a cat, the mesh fabric that covers the massaging rollers just screams "scratching post" So you'll have to put it away after every use.
The "upper back" setting actually only hits the mid back and the "lower back" doesn't go that low. My shoulders were barely approached & I am not a tall boy. The rolling massage width setting button didn't seem to go wide enough and I am not a wide boy either.
It's kind of loud. I don't like to use it when we are watching television or a movie for fear of covering the sounds of quiet scenes. I only used it when playing my Playstation, so I let it run through a whole shiatsu each time I used it...and though it felt kind of nice, it wasn't quite as wonderful as I was hoping. I do agree with some of the other reviewers that it hurt. I guess nothing beats the hands of a masseur...though I can't say that for sure since they're outta my price range too.