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portable massage chair

i am needing to buy a portable massage chair and was wondering what recommendations on a brand to buy

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joyce Young on February 1, 2013 at 8:30pm

I can't recommend a chair as I'm in the market to upgrade mine. It's a no name and it's held up for six years, I bought if for $200. Based on what I had, I will offer some shopping suggestions:

Make sure you can get replacement parts/options from the manufacturer. About a year in I lost a handle on my face cradle and haven't still found a wingnut that fit it.
While most chairs can accommodate most people, try to find one that can fit those between 6-6'5". I found it difficult to support my taller clients in my chair.
Try to get the chair with the highest "working weight" (this is the max force the chair can handle with the client in it, not just the weight of the client). You want something at least 300lbs.
Don't ever, ever, every buy a chair without a rolling bag. Seems like a no brainer, but some places make this available for additional charge.
If possible give the chair a "test drive" to check the stability
Go simple, I know there are some brands which have chairs with all the bells and whistles. But I have found that some of these are hard to setup, hard to adjust and tend to be on the heavier side. I prefer my chair to be of a really simple design.
Check all the weld points on the chair to make sure the chair is put together properly

I hope this helps. I am curious to find out what you end up getting.

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Permalink Reply by Lee Edelberg on February 2, 2013 at 1:37pm

Hi Joyce,

I'm a little surprised you can't find the right size wingnut for your chair. Most hardware stores have little drawers with a large variety of nuts and bolts, including wingnuts, in all common sizes, both English system and metric, different metals, steel, brass and stainless. Manufacturers tend to use common machine threads because it's cheaper than some weird proprietary thing that they have to pay extra to have made.

Janae I think Joyce's suggestion are good. I have a chair by Golden Ratio that weighs 14 pounds and has held up for years. I don't know if Golden Ratio is still in business.

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Permalink Reply by Joyce Young on February 3, 2013 at 7:52am

@Lee- I'm sure it's out there as you suggest. I will keep trying. I'm just going to have to go once day and wheel the chair into Home Depot or something!

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Permalink Reply by Carl McMillan LMBT on February 5, 2013 at 3:26pm

I can't remember the name of the brand I have but it is 'just ok' for something I hardly ever use. If I were doing chair work regularly, I would get one of the Oakworks. They are everything you want... durable, easy to use and transport, and super sturdy. They've been around for a long time and will be for a long time.. I consider their tables and chairs the best in the industry.

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Permalink Reply by HR Simondes on February 7, 2013 at 5:09am

I had the first model ever in the 80s that actually folded into a wooden box. Heavy! I used a luggage cart to lug it around for my chair massage biz. Keep it lightweight for your sake.

The issue with most massage chair massage is you lose the advantage of full body leverage and thus it's harder on your shoulder girdle muscles. Check out Pisces Productions. I don't know how much they weigh but they level out horizontally and that's gotta be easier on your body.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Clark on April 15, 2013 at 11:50am

Janae, I'm reading this thread because I, too, am in the market for a chair. I saw what was described as a "near-mint" condition StrongLite chair that looked sturdy and had what seemed like a good breastplate for female clients, not just a little pillow that you slap on over the standard chest pad. Thinking about it now, I have a feeling it would NOT have accommodated taller male clients, so there's my two cents. Would you post what you ended up doing?