What To Look For In A Massage Gun?

If you've spent time in a gym, physical therapy office, or heck, been on Instagram in the last few months, you know that massage guns are all the rage these days. With new brands popping up every week (or so it seems), the decision of which one to pick has become an increasingly daunting task.

Are you curious what to look for when choosing a massage gun?
In this post, we aim to make your purchasing decision easier by identifying the top things you should look for when evaluating a massage gun. Read on for examples and details on what to look for.

BUT FIRST, WHAT EXACTLY ARE MASSAGE GUNS AND HOW DO THEY WORK?

Massage guns are relatively recent inventions that have gained a lot of popularity in recent months. These devices provide rapid strikes to the body (called percussions) that effectively increase blood flow, relax tense muscles, and reduce the risk of injury. They provide similar benefits to deep tissue massage therapy, except the devices can be used anytime and anywhere, and the effects can be felt within minutes.

The list of the "Top 5 Things to Look For in a Massage Gun" is in no particular order - each point is important, but ultimately depends on what features you value most.

Full Disclosure: We created our own massage device from scratch, called the WSoothePro® Massage Gun, which was launched in December 2018. However, the information provided in this article is for educational purposes and written to be as impartial as possible. After reading this article and learning what to look for in a massage gun, we encourage everyone to do their due diligence in researching the best product for their needs!

Stall Force

Many popular brands of massage guns have stall forces of 40 to 60LBS, suitable for general home use, and the WSoothePro® Professional Workout Massage Gun is tested to have the highest 60-79lbs stall force, making it unstoppable, despite its light weight and small size.

 

The Speed Or The RPM

Speed is the number of times the massage head strikes the body per minute. This is usually expressed in RPM, or revolutions per minute.

Therefore, a speed level of 3200rpm means the device is striking your body 53 times per second. This number is perceived as "strength" or "intensity."

Look for a device that can offer a wide range of RPMs and several adjustable speed settings, since there will be times you need a light massage, and other times you will need quick tension release.

The  WSoothePro® Professional Workout Massage Gun offers 30 speed levels with the highest level of 3200 RPM and six different massage heads - Foam Ball,Fork,Flat,Bullet,Golden Finger,Adze. We will talk about how to choose a suitable massage head to target specific muscle groups to boost recovery in a future blog. 

Stroke length/Amplitude

Another important parameter to consider is the stroke length/ amplitude of a massage gun. The greater the stroke length is, the further the head travels and the deeper the massage gun hits.

A higher stroke length results in more of a "pounding" sensation that travels deeper into the body, and a lower stroke length results in more of a soothing vibration feeling.

Common stroke lengths go from 6mm up to 18mm. For most users, 6-12mm will provide a balance between relaxation and relieving tight knots( Mini Massage Gun for Full Body Pain).

For users who are extremely muscular or professional athletes, a stroke length of 16mm or 18mm might be more effective, but too intense for average users. Find a device that uses a stroke length that suits your specific needs.

Thanks to the patented powerful motor,WSoothePro® Professional Workout Massage Gun can relieve your muscle soreness deeply to 16mm , speed up your muscle recovery after working out, promote blood flow to help you warm up and perform better

BATTERY LIFE

The majority of the time, a battery life of 45 minutes to an hour is sufficient for a single user, as that session length would be perfect to complete a full body treatment in one continuous session before requiring a charge.

However, there are certain times that a longer battery life, such as 8 or 12 hours, can come in handy.

Most often, we hear customer comments about the merits of long battery life after they compete in athletic events & tournaments, after traveling, in group settings (where the device is shared among friends), and in professional settings such as physical therapy offices or gyms. What these situations have in common is that the device is being used continuously or over a full-day without the opportunity to be hooked up to a charging port.

With a 8-12 hour battery life, a device would last over a week between charges if used 20 minutes per day. It's a quality of life feature that ensures you don't have to constantly check that your device is fully charged up before taking it anywhere.

WSoothePro® Professional Workout Massage Gun is powered by an integrated battery (same battery they used at Tesla) of 2500 mAh, which is fully charged in 1.5-2 hours and can last 8 to 12 hours depending on the usage.

Besides, the battery level and speed level are clearly indicated by the LCD Touch Control Screen on the back bottom, so no need to worry about being caught off guard that your massage gun is running out of juice. 

The NOISE Level

For many years, massage guns were known for being notoriously loud and obnoxious. They sounded like power tools, which is about as far away as you can get from a relaxing massage experience. In loud gyms or open areas, you might be able to get away with an obnoxious massage gun... but do yourself, your ears, and your fellow gym-goers a solid and limit the noise.

Look for a device that uses a brushless motor, since these are quiet enough to use in your home late at night without disturbing your sleeping child, spouse, or housemates.

Anything below 50 decibels is good, with less than 45 being the preferred range.

IN CONCLUSION:

There are 5 factors to consider when deciding on which massage gun to purchase:

1. Noise
2. Battery Life
3. Speed (measured in revolutions per minute, or RPM)
4. Stroke Length (how far does the head attachment travel with each revolution)
5. Stall Force (the amount of pressure that can be applied to the body)

Pick a high quality device from a reputable brand that offers a strong warranty in case something goes wrong. Make sure the device is quiet and has a battery life that suits your intended use case. Lastly, make sure what you're buying actually works effectively! Find a stroke length and stall force that is right for you.

Now that we've covered the top 5 things to look for in a massage gun, we'd like to take a quick minute to tell you about our own massage gun, the WSoothePro® Professional Workout Massage Gun. Obviously, we might be biased, but we personally think we did a fantastic job hitting each of these 5 points.

We use premium materials such as PA6 nylon and include a hand-made travel case, along with a 2-year warranty for any product failure.

• 45db noise rating at our highest speed setting. Almost imperceptible in a gym setting, and quiet enough for nighttime use at home.
• 6-12 hours of battery life on a single charge (real world results.)
• Lightweight and 6 interchangeable heads. No wrist pain and treat your entire back on your own.
• 60LBS stall force, 16mm Stroke Length, and 30 speed settings from 1700-3200rpm. Perfect for most users.

Click here to view WSoothePro® Professional Workout Massage Gun

Any questions you have about our product, please feel free to email us at sales@wsoothepro.com.Thanks so much for reading!
PS: If you found this article helpful, please consider sharing with a friend who is in the market for a massage gun so that they can make the most educated purchase decision as well. Our goal here was to educate you and ensure that you have the proper knowledge and tools needed and make an informed purchase, and we hope we succeeded in doing so.