(Newswire.net — November 27, 2020) — When you have two popular brands that have similar flagship products that – well we’re going to be honest here right from the bat – provides almost the same results, which one of them is worth spending your money on?
Massages are common for pro athletes like footballers, basketball players, marathoners, cyclists and the like. After all, these people need to get back in top form as quickly as possible which is why using a massage gun has become part of their recovery program. But for the rest of us everyday humans, these devices – with their considerable price tags – well they’re still pretty much a luxury.
Sure they’re easy to use and a lot of authority figures in the sports and fitness industry sing their praises. We get it – these are awesome devices. And we know that, because we’ve tried them. It’s like getting a deep tissue massage anytime, anywhere. They’re amazing and look cool. But like we said, massage guns can cost a pretty penny.
So, we have two very popular recovery brands making quite a buzz in the fitness and sports recovery scene: the Theragun G3 Pro and the HYDRAGUN. We’ve tried, tested, weighed – yes literally weighed – each of these devices to answer: which one of these massage guns is actually worth your money?
First, a quick overview of massage guns
Before we get to the nitty gritty, let’s do a quick rundown on what massage guns are and what they do (you’re welcome first time massage gun buyers).
Okay – so massage guns work like foam rollers – but on steroids. In fact, several studies have shown that using percussive therapy massage guns help eliminate muscle soreness. Both the Hydragun and Theragun use percussive therapy to warm up and cool down muscles.
Starting your gym workout with a 10-minute treadmill run? Use either one on your legs and calves for 20 seconds to wake up muscles. Having lower back pain because you’ve been sitting in front of your computer working for the whole day? Use your massage gun to loosen those tight lower back muscles and ease pain.
Simply put, it’s like having a professional massage therapist in your backpack. Which is great considering that professional massages can get expensive if you have to come in for multiple appointments. Also, many people are still hesitant about booking spa massages because of the pandemic so using massage guns like the Hydragun or Theragun G3 Pro are safer, easier alternatives.
Next, the testing phase
Okay so massage guns are great not just for pro athletes and fitness enthusiasts that practically live in the gym, but also for people with long work hours, parents that are kinda-into-fitness-but-not-really and people that want a safer and easier way to get relaxing massages.
The next question is how do you figure out which massage gun brand is right for you? We had the same question so what we did is we compared each brand through a series of tests and here’s what we found out.
Design Test
Right off the bat the HYDRAGUN feels good to hold. It’s not awkward and the handle allows you to get a good grip on the device. The handle is made of silicone so it’s not the usual plastic material that many other brands come up with. It’s got some weight in it – it says in their site the device is 2.3 lbs – but it’s not that bad, thanks to the grip.
We also sprayed some water on the handle just to see how it feels like should our hands get sweaty. Was quite surprised at how the water just bounced off the handle and did not at all affect the grip. Meaning, the handle didn’t get slippery and we were still able to use it even with the wet handle.
(NOTE: The Hydragun peeps do not recommend getting the gun wet – got this off their FAQs – we just did it for the test’s sake and just sprayed the handle to mimic sweaty palms after a workout).
The Hydragun is turned on and off by one button. The same button is pressed to adjust speeds. To turn the device on you press the button for two seconds until the three lights at the bottom light up. To get to speed 1 (lowest setting), you press the button again and keep on pressing to increase speeds/massage intensity.
Okay so this one button-does-all design idea is straightforward and complements the overall sleek, sexy toned down aesthetic of the gun itself – which we love. The only thing that bugged us a bit is we don’t know if we actually are turning the device on correctly.
The power indicator is totally blocked by your thumb when you press the button and the only way to check if you got it right the first time is to take your thumb off the button. There are several times when we didn’t seem to press long enough and had to try turning it on again. We just think that having the power indicator lights in an area that the user’s thumb completely blocks it from view isn’t such a good design idea.
The Hydragun comes with a black carry case with all the attachment heads, charger and user’s manual in place. This is great for people that travel a lot.
The Theragun G3 Pro on the other hand feels a bit heavier than the Hydragun although we liked how natural it felt in our hands. Made of composite plastic it kinda gets a bit slippery when your hands are wet, so that part we didn’t really like.
The design is unique and makes sense ergonomically. It also helps that the arm can be adjusted in three angles to help with range so it’s easier to massage ourselves on the upper back. And this feature we think is pretty exclusive to the Theragun.
Turning it on and off is also pretty simple using one button and we love that it has a user-friendly interface. The LED indicator is in a logical spot and easy to see – we don’t have to keep double checking if we’ve turned on the device yet.
It’s small enough to fit in a gym bag although the Theragun also comes with a carry case. Like the Hydragun it’s got the brand name printed on it – though this one isn’t smack in the middle of the case. Still, the name has the word “gun” in it and yeah – it makes for a very awkward experience walking down the street with the carry case.
Design Test Winner
Okay this was actually a tough one – but we decided on The Hydragun. It’s lighter, looks more sleek and the handle just won it for us. We loved the deviation from the usual plastic feel and how the silicone handle seems to absorb most of the gun’s vibrations while being used.
Sound Test
Massage guns that are as loud as jackhammers are very off-putting, and a device’s noise level is often a deciding factor among buyers. The Hydragun has a maximum 50dB noise level. This means it’s as loud as the hum of your refrigerator.
The Theragun G3 Pro on the other hand is a bit louder at 60dB – which is about as loud as an electric toothbrush. Supposedly this new model – the G3 Pro is 50% quieter than the model before it – the G2 Pro – which everyone agreed was pretty dang loud.
At level 1 we literally cannot hear the Hydragun over the sound of our TV. It was surprisingly quiet. If the device wasn’t vibrating like crazy, we wouldn’t even know it’s turned on. At level 2 it’s still quieter than Theragun and at level 3 it’s as loud as Theragun G3’s level 1.
Theragun G3 Pro is well – louder, but it did deliver on the promise of being quieter than its earlier model. But we couldn’t get even a conversation going while using it at levels 1 and 2. In fact, someone thought we were vacuuming while we were trying the gun. Level 3 noise levels of the Theragun is as loud as the Hydragun at its highest speed level, which is 6.
Sound Test Winner
Again, giving this round to the Hydragun. And it’s a pretty straightforward decision. Although both claim to have a “brushless motor” that helps lower noise levels, clearly the Hydragun is by far the quietest massage gun we’ve come across.
Massage Test
Bigger muscle groups like quads or glutes or hamstrings were able to handle up to third intensity on the Theragun G3 Pro. For the Hydragun, some can take it up to level 4. For smaller, more sensitive muscles like calves, we barely even made it to the second intensity with Theragun G3 Pro and had to stop after a few seconds.
Some of the people we asked to test both devices stayed on Theragun G3 Pro’s first level and said that level 2 is already too strong for them. For some of our testers, it was easier to progress to levels 3 up to 4 with Hydragun – although they did comment that it’s pointless to have 6 intensity levels when hardly anyone can stand anything more than level 3.
Surprisingly though – most of the people who tested both devices commented that the massage felt relatively the same. This is why we pointed out that having up to 6 intensity levels is a bit pointless. However, we also got feedback that while Theragun G3 Pro is clearly the stronger massager; they appreciated the gradual increase of intensity that the Hydragun provided.
Massage Test Winner
For this test we called a draw simply because tester feedback was varied. Each massage experience was personalized and testers have come up with equal numbers of pros and cons for each massage gun.
Battery Life Test
The Hydragun is pretty simple to charge. You connect the wired charger at the base of the unit and plug it into a wall socket. Takes about 40-45 minutes to get a full charge. Red light on the charger indicates that it’s – well – charging. Green light means the gun is good to go. You unplug the charger from the wall socket, disconnect it from the massage gun base and that’s it. A full charge gives you about 6 hours of battery life.
The Thergaun G3 Pro is cumbersome to charge. Yes. Cumbersome. It does come with two battery packs, a power charger, a cord for the wall unit and an AC cable and a power supply. All these we had to plug in when charging. There’s a wireless charging stand that you can get for $79.
Batteries clip in and out from the larger base of the handle. When the battery dies – and with the Theragun G3 Pro it dies rather quickly – you can swap it out with the other battery and charge the first one. Overall you get 75 minutes per battery. Once the battery drops to below 50 percent, the device automatically shuts off which was annoying, really.
Battery Life Test Winner
The Hydragun is the clear winner here. Longer battery life, didn’t falter during testing and very simple charging. You only need the device and the charger and that’s it. Watching just how quickly the battery life of the Theragun G3 Pro dropped is disappointing; especially after all the hoops you have to go through just to charge the batteries.
Key Specifications
Before we give our final thoughts, here’s a breakdown of the key specs of both massage gun brands
Final Thoughts
While the Theragun G3 Pro gives a stronger, punchier massage; has a unique, ergonomic design and does hold the bragging rights for being the premier brand in the fitness and recovery scene, the Hydragun is your best option from a price standpoint. And we’re certain that like us, you would appreciate just how quiet this massage gun is. We also liked that with its 6-hour battery life, the Hydragun is ideal for travel and that you get several days’ worth of massages from a single charge.
However, if you don’t mind the fact that it costs $300 more and you can stand the noise it makes, then by all means go with the Theragun G3 Pro. At the end of the day, if you’re set and ready to buy a massage gun Australia has two reliable brands you can choose from. It’s just a matter of choosing which of the two actually gives you more value and more savings.