Massager Reviews

This massager feels great. The motors cover every section of your back. The percussion actions is also a great feature. Though they tend to be rather strong, their intensity can be turned down. The only downfall to this massager is its noise. It is not extremely loud, but it does produce a decent amount of noise. It will also vibrate anything that it touches. I would highly recommend this massager.

I recieved the HoMedics BK-900 Back Rejuvenator 10-Motor Back Massager with Percussion Action today and am very pleased with its performance. It has exceeded my expectations. The percussion heads delivered a deep and pleasing massage in the upper back, while the other 8 motors provided a relaxing massage to the neck, lower back and upper legs while the heat produced an extra
level of comfort. I found the programmable hand control to be fully featured and very functional giving the user a wide range of options and settings, while the LED display made it easy to follow which zones where selected and so forth. The versatility of this unit was further enhanced by the 12 volt adapter, very nice. Anyone considering this unit should not hesitate in purchasing it, I feel it is a great value for the money.

It may be a stretch to call this a massager, but if your definition is anything that relaxes your muscles then perhaps its accurate. I purchased one of these when I was suffering from a recurring sciatica problem. I put the massager in my car and it seemed to really help keep the pain from flaring up. I think it just was enough vibration to keep my lower back relaxed. Someone said the heat didn't work, but mine worked very well after a few minutes warm up time. It would be nice to have one of those massage tables that you lay on and rollers go up and down your back, but won't be able to afford one soon. Again, for the price, this is an excellent relaxer. It is not a deep tissue or shiatsu massager. The one I have has two percussion vibrators that are located just under your shoulder blades and those really pound you. I wish they were located in the lower back region.

I guess I expected kneading action or something, but it's really just 10 small vibrators that offer a tingling vibration, so it's relaxing but not necessarily what a sore back needs. I've sat in massagers that have rolling bars or elements that actually knead, or push at, your muscles and this does not come close.
Still, it did feel nice to have it in the car seat and on the way home it did help after a hard day of sitting at a computer.
My favorite setting was Mix All, which did all the patterns, zig zag, up and down, pulsating, etc.
Then of course it broke after four months - first the LCD control became only partly readable and then it just stopped responding -no vibration at all...

This massager is pretty sweet. The other reviewers have done a good job describing it so I'll try to mention the features not covered already.

The LCD control is clear and easy to use. It displays all 10 vibrating nodes and what they are doing depending on what massage mode you are in. You have the option of turning off one or more of the massage areas (5 sets of 2 nodes) so you can focus on particular parts of your back or legs if you want to. With the nine massage patterns, three intensities, and three speeds, this massager has just about every option you could want.

There is an automatic shutoff timer (which defaults to 10 minutes) that you can set in 10 minute increments up to one hour.

The massager has straps on the back for holding it onto a chair or car seat.

I have three, mostly minor, complaints with this massager. 1) The heat seems to be concentrated in the middle back area rather than all over the seat and back. 2) The material, though smooth and nice looking, smells kind of strange (like rubber or tar maybe?). Not that you are going to have your face on it, but I did notice that my hand smelled after touching the material, and that my shirt smelled after sitting on the massager for a while. 3) The power plug has a large transformer brick on it, which can make it difficult to plug into an outlet (I should point out that a cigarette lighter adapter for a car is also included).

Overall, this massager works well, is a good deal for the price, and I recommend it.

This product was purchased as a gift for my wife, both she and I enjoy the product very much. The Massager provides several different settings to give excellent relief to various back muscles. This massager is very well constructed and well engineered to last for a long time. The manufacturer did an excellent job. If you are having any type of muscle back problems this product will definitely provide relief. My wife enjoys the fact that it provides several different intensity settings and multiple area settings to target just the areas of the back which are troubling oneself.

Its okay, heat is fair. The six pads, vibrate, not exactly massage. It has warnings, to use only for 15 minutes at a time. Many people tried it at a holiday dinner, its fun to try. I will use it, because I am too lazy to repack it and return it. I would prefer if it massaged better.

This back massager is perfect for those long day trips in the car. As a passenger, I get cramped in the seat, and even at 23, my husband says I sometimes get fussy. This massager ended those ache-y cramped feelings. The optional heat is perfect for creating a warm environment for the passenger, while the driver can keep the window open to stay awake. That is the one thing, I would not recommend it to a driver who is tired, as it could relax you enough to fall asleep!. The only problem is, when you try to recline with the massage on, the massagers dont work as well. Mainly a seated massage, but still really good!!!

I recently worked at a craft fair for a friend. She had brought her Back Therapist with her and put it in one of the chairs in the booth. I spent 3 hours luxuriating in the heat and the massage. The only problem I had was that when I stuck the remote into the cup holder on her chair, it kept turning the unit off. I'm going to dash out and buy one for my husband!

I thought I was buying the one that did not reak. Guess I was wrong. The heat is okay, but Not great and power is reduced from the massager when it is on. I even tried putting the Arm & Hammer Baking Soda box by it for a few days and it still smells. The smell clung to my pajamas--when I went to bed I could smell it...like a skunk....yuck

I just got this chair massager for xmas(today) I immediatley hooked it up and turned it on it did seem really nice but after using for around 15 minutes smoke started rooling out of the controls! The price on the item locally has recently droped considerably and I think I know why

Accesing the Homedics site has been near impossible as it is slow as a snail. I'll be returning this item for a refund at the store

This back massager is a great thing to sit in at the end of a long day. It has a control lever to turn heat on or off. You can also control where (from several different options) you would like the massage to massage, picking one area of your back or your whole back. This is a great gift for most people who complain of back soreness. My Dad got this for a Christmas gift and absolutely loves it and when I visit the parents now and again I love using it to wipe away the tension.

I've read complaints from other reviewers about the mat not sticking to the bottom of the tub. When I first got the bubble mat, I had a fiberglass tub and the mat never ever stuck to the bottom of the tub. It was frustrating and not very relaxing to try to lay in the tub and try to keep the bubble mat from floating to the surface. But when I moved to a new place with a ceramic glazed tub, the suction cups actually held very tightly. What a difference in experience! The air pressure is strong enough to generate lots of bubbles and I always feel massaged and more relaxed afterwards. However, I can only give this 3 stars because the thing is so damn noisy! In a small bathroom, the sound just echos. It's sometimes nice when you want to block out other outside sounds that you want to escape, but when I want a nice quiet bath, I leave out the bubble mat.

I just went out and bought the homedics spa mat. It was pretty cool I must say. I don't think it's worth what they ask for, but I'm keeping it anyways. The mat slips around a bit sometimes while you use it, but that's expected. I wouldn't really call it a massage either, but it is relaxing and nice to sit in a tub of bubbles after a long day. It's much nicer to sit in than a regular bath, and if you can't afford a jacuzzi like me and want get the next cheapest thing, I'd say this is probably it. -Beaky

I think that the noise is not to loud. Sure it might bug some but I find it vary relaxing when I am trying to tone out the noise my 3 children, husband and 2 cats make. The bubbles are actually relaxing and pretty strong. It really feels good when your muscles are sore. Just keep in mind you must lay the mat down before you fill the tub or it will not stick to the tub. And you can not use it if your tub is textured. I wish I had more time to relax and take a bath with my new bubble mat.

I bought this product because I love spas and I figured it was an affordable alternative. It worked for the most part, but it shot cold bubbles and did not stick to the bottom of my tub. It will only stick if you have an old timey porcelan tub, if there are any grooves to prevent you from slipping, it will not stick and will float to the top. I was trying to enjoy my spa experience, but had limbs everywhere trying to hold it down and meanwhile my water was getting cold. I did not think it was worth the money. It was a good idea, I just wish they could make it work better.

I bought this as a gift for someone last year. It has since been returned. Setting up this unit was easy as well and taking it apart for storage. Storage is another thing though... You will need somewhere to put this unit when it's dry and it's a big *bulky*. Consider your storage before you purchase.

My biggest issue, by far is the noise this unit produces. That was the reason it was returned. There is an unbelieveable amount of noise associated with it. Perhaps it is several factors besides the actual very loud motor. Most bathrooms are tile floored, and not very acustic on the walls. But that is the exception not the rule and should somehow be anticipated into the design. It is so loud I would have to consider it a design flaw.

The person who I got this for said being in a tub with this on was a bit like being on a 747 landing strip. Assuming they were being dramatic, I tried it myself. There was no drama. It was so loud as to cancel out any relaxing benefits...in fact you could hear the noise of this on the floor below the bathroom.

Interestingly, I purchased this unit from a shopping on tv option where they had MANY of these units running. How they managed to muffle all that sound was beyond me. I am still wondering about that little feat of special effects.

The unit itself worked quite well and it's just too bad that this one flaw was so problematic. In the future I will be more careful about this issue when shopping for similar items.

I recently purchased the Elite (BMAT-5) version of this spa (. . .)

It appears that the folks at Homedics have been reading these reviews because many (if not all) of the concerns raised by the reviewers have been addressed. The hose is now reinforced and doesn't collapse when hot. The suction cups are well designed - there was no way this mat was coming off my tub floor. The unit is quite powerful - my wife is quite happy using it on the medium setting. Cleaning (really just blowing out any water in the mat) is quick and easy. As a bonus, the unit is 50% smaller then the Deluxe (or at least that's what the box says).

One thing the mat isn't, however, is quiet. The unit sounds like a turbo-powered hair dryer and the bubbles make a lot of noise as well. You shouldn't buy this product with visions of a quiet bubble bath listening to Enya. (You're not supposed to use soaps or oils, anyway, because they get into the mat and cause bad things to happen). To minimize the noise, I tried putting the unit behind the bathroom door, but the remote didn't seem to work through the wall. I finally just threw a towel over the unit and this helped quite a bit. The air intake is under the motor so I think I can do this without causing it to overheat and blow up. My wife (the one in the tub) didn't really have a problem with the noise. With the bubbles all around her ears, she said the sound wasn't bothersome.

All in all, this Homedics products does what it promises and does it well. I felt kind of silly buying my wife a bubble mat for her birthday, but she really liked it. I liked it because it costs about $1500 less than the jacuzzi tub she really wanted for her birthday. Who knows, when nobody's looking I might try it myself.

Update:

Like someone else mentioned, this unit stopped bubbling after three uses.

Further, it sparked....I threw it out.

1. The raised plastic bumps under the feet are painful. My feet felt worse after use of this product than before.
2. The infrared heat is worthless...barely gets slightly above room temperature.
3. What was I thinking buying this?

Update---The bubbles failed and the foot controlled
switch sparked...I threw it out! BEWARE.

This Homedics vibrating foot bath is perfect for anyone who has tired and exhausted feet. The infared heating keeps your feet nice and warm. Its great for those days when its freezing outside or you had a hard day and just want to relax. The bubbles that come from the bottom sooth your feet perfectly. It makes a great gift for any occasion.

The bubbles and massage felt good, but the heater didn't impress me. The air from the bubbles cools the water immediately and the heater couldn't recover the temperature. What I couldn't find in the instructions but learned after emailing the company is that you can't use bath salts or foaming foot soaks in it because of the bubble holes. Bottom line: heat and bath additives were too important to me. I returned the spa and will continue to use a large dishpan instead.