Homedics SBM-300H Therapist Select Shiatsu PLUS Massaging Cushion with Heat
|
Our Price: $179.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
|---|
Customer Reviews of Homedics SBM-300H Therapist Select Shiatsu PLUS Massaging Cushion with Heat
Customer Review: Almost Hits All the Right Spots
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This massaging cushion is a big improvement over previous ones I have tried.
First, it is more substantive and portable. It is firm and can be easily carried from one chair to another, rather than being floppy and cumbersome trying to move or set up. The cords and control are tidy rather than sprawling. These are big improvements over other cushions I have used.
Second, the heat function is quick to come on. In other massage cushions, I waited to see if I could feel the heat kicking in. You kept asking yourself, "Is that it? Do I feel it now?" Not so with this cushion. The heat is almost immediately felt. Another big improvement.
Third, the shiatsu massage is a deep massage and much better than other cushions I have used that depend on rolling balls and/or simply raining hard blows on my back. It is much more like a real massage.
Fourth, the rolling massage is about the same as other cushions.
The only drawback is that the massage is much more effective on the mid-to-lower back and loses a lot of effectiveness above that. This may be due to body size, though my wife and I both had the same opinion.
A step forward in massage cushions, though the technology is not yet perfect.
Customer Review: Not as good as a human massage, but it's close
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I was skeptical that a chair-based massager could actually make much impact on my tight back muscles, but using this unit was a pleasant surprise. After just a couple of massages, my back was noticably looser. A kink under my shoulder blade that had pestered me for weeks was rubbed out after three or four sessions.
I didn't care for the rolling massage, so I just leave the Shiatsu massage setting on. I also noticed that widening the spread on the mechanism gave much better results. The very first massage got too close to my spine for comfort, but widening the spread took care of that immediately.
I like the heat feature, especially for more prolonged sessions.
I keep the unit next to my office chair, and use it after writing sessions at the computer. I've noticed that I don't need as many breaks or ones as long if I use this unit a time or two a day.
If I had to make a criticism, I'd point out that the unit does not extend up high enough to massage the neck on an average person. I'm of average height, and it only gets just above my shoulder blades. But the part that gets massaged is handled almost as nicely as a human massage therapist would do.
Customer Review: Excellent value - this may become a nightly treat
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Since I long have had constant problems with muscular tension in my back, I could not get this product unwrapped and running quickly enough. Overall, I found it quite effective, and I have no doubt I'll indulge in its use very frequently. The massaging action (confined to the back - there is no leg massage) worked out the knots near the spine very thoroughly.
I only withheld a five star rating because, though it is a superb value in this price range, there are some drawbacks which could affect particular customers. The controls are very basic, and do not include any way to adjust intensity. The standard intensity could be excessive for anyone with relatively delicate muscles or skin.
Controls allow for adjustment of width, and for 'spot' massage, but I found the length of the unit to be rather short. I am only 5'2", and the height was perfect for me - but I daresay other customers may have a bit more length to the torso. The unit also is slightly noisy, which some may find bothersome.
I found this to be a very worthwhile product, well suited for relaxing tension in the muscles.
Customer Review: Homedics SBM-300H - Nice for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
After trying this massaging unit at a local store, I decided to treat myself to one after the holiday stress. It arrived this afternoon, and it already has had a workout by everyone in the family.
The positives are that it gives you some of the great deep massage benefits of some of the chairs that retail for $1,000 or more at a fraction of the price - and that it can be easily moved from chair to chair.
The downside is that my unit seems to be a bit noisy vs. the cushion that I tried in the store. Not sure if that is because I got an unusually loud unit or if the store was drowning out the noise. I'll plan on using earphones when watching tv with it.
I personally really like the really deep massage, but others in my family found it painful unless they didn't lean all the way back into the cushion. It's a personal preference.
Also, this may not be the best unit for everyone. I'm only 5'2" and the massaging mechanism doesn't naturally go all the way down to my lower back or to the top of my neck. I can only imagine that taller individuals might be disappointed with the height of the massage. I did find that if I moved around a bit in the chair, I could hit all the spots on my petite frame.
For the price... the Homedics massager is really nice!
Customer Review: So far, so great!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the Homedics SBM-300H massage cushion for my wife and I as an early Christmas present for us both. I was concerned about some of the negative reviews about D.O.A. units and units that died shortly after purchase. Well, the cushion worked right out of the box and it looks very well constructed. We've only had it a week, so the jury's still out on its durability. That being said, we couldn't be more pleased with the performance of this massager. It really does give you a great massage, especially in Shiatsu mode. The roller mode works well, too, although it is much less vigorous. The heat isn't intense, but you can tell it is there, so it should provide some therapeutic effect.
The only negative thing I can say so far is something others have pointed out and that is that the massage mechanism doesn't go all the way up the back. I'm a big guy and it reaches my shoulder blades, which is about all I expected. I'm not sure how it could go any higher without adding bulk to the unit. On the other hand, it does go further down my lower back than I expected, which is certainly a positive.
The bottom line is that we are very happy with the massager. If it fails prematurely, I'll certainly update this review. For now, I highly recommend this model.