While we may have featured a number of massage guns,I have no idea how it can help. But that’s about to change because, we managed to get our hands on one and satisfied our curiosity once and for all.
So, what is a massage gun exactly? Well, it is a device designed for muscle recovery. Using plummeting action, it aims to alleviate muscle soreness and help speed up muscle recovery after a workout.
So, yeah, it is a percussive therapy, particularly useful for working on sore muscles after a workout. However, it is not limited to sports person; anyone who seek to give them muscles a relieve can use it.
Our test device is a Urikar Pro 3. Keep on going and read about our take on this after gym equipment.
The Design
Unlike many massage guns out there, the Urikar Pro 3 has a twist, like literally. The handle offers 180-degree of rotation around the axis, thus enabling you to treat areas which are otherwise awkward to reach with a fixed handle.
The ability to rotate, along with the angled nature of the handle (of about 60-degree), does in fact enable me to reaching areas like the mid back more comfortably.
My only gripe is, there is just two angles to choose from and the rotation isn’t 360-degree. Also, it will help if it has the flexibility to rotate either direction.
I guess the two-position design is inevitable. Given the power this device has, if the handle is not inline with the axis of oscillation, it may not produce good results.
Another thing regarding the handle is, it has a rather large diameter. Even for a person who have gorilla-size hands, I barely have a good grip. Fortunately, the handle has a rubbery, non-slip grip to enable a secure grip.
That said, folks with smaller hands may find themselves struggling to hold – especially when reaching out to awkward areas. Any area in front should not be a big issue, though.
The device has an integrated digital display and three capacitive touch buttons. The digital display is entirely blacked out until it is on, which also contribute much to the overall sleekness.
The digital display shows three key parameters: battery status; time, which is the duration in minutes of each session; and level of the speed of oscillation. There’s a main power switch located at the bottom of the handle, along side a barrel charging port.
Urikar could have just make a hole anywhere on the massage gun and insert a simple LED indicator light, but instead, to has gone to length to design a indicator light that goes around the entire circumference of the handle as thin ring of light, which looks pretty futuristic and neat.
The Package
The massage gun is presented in a nylon semi-hard case, secured with a zipper. An integrated carry handle allows for easy carry. It has a fabric covered interior with cutouts for the device, six attachments and a charger.
Not going to lie, it is very nicely presented and the package can be carried on its own if so desire. Although I don’t believe anyone would carry it on its own since a gym person would have a bunch of other things to bring along when he or she hit up the gym.
The Build
Anyone following this blog would know that we are anal about build. We would pick out any misalignment, rough workmanship as we see them. I am glad to say this little guy has none.
I tried to be picky, but there is none for me to be picky. The build feels solid. Nothing loose or whatsoever. It is just one solidly built equipment. Speaking of solid, it felt quite hefty too and for this, I am not sure it is a good thing.
On paper, it weighs just under 4 lbs, but it felt like more. Or maybe I am weak in my arms? BUT here’s the thing. I weighed it and it actually tips the scales at little over 2 lbs (944g). Looks like I really have weak arms!
Anywho, making up the weight is the combination of the 45W peak power dual-bearing brushless motor which is good for up to 3400 RPM and a rechargeable 2,600 mAh battery packed inside the handle that offers up to 10 hours of use.
The Function
The function. Well, what can I say other than it works as advertised? The device offers 30 levels of speed and if I can be honest, I find the lowest setting (Level 1) is pretty darn fast for my application (I am no sports person).
However, because it has as much as 30 levels, each level to the next is very incremental. In other words, moving from, say, 1 to 2, is hardly noticeable. Having said that, if you are a person looking for precise speed of oscillations, the Urikar Pro 3 may be able to satisfy your need.
Unlike most massage guns which comes with no massage attachments or just two or three, this model has six. The six massage attachments include a standard ball head, a cone or bullet head, a flat head, an air plug head, a u-shaped head, and a D-shaped head.
According to the accompanying literature, here are the recommended uses of each attachment:
Standard Ball Head: Uniform and soft strength suitable for whole body muscle massage and relaxation aka my kind of attachment.
Bullet or Cone Head: Suitable for tendon, acupoints et cetera for pinpoint muscle treatment
Flat Head: Suitable for relaxation and plasticity of various muscle parts of the body such as abdomen, chest, and legs
Air Plug Head: Suitable for massaging bones and sensitive areas. This attachment has a compressible head that is light on the muscle and hence, it is good for areas that requires, well, less pounding.
U-shaped Head: Designed to target shoulders, cervical vertebrae and bilateral muscles, including calves
Warning: never use it directly on cervical spine! It may results in serious injury
D-shaped Head: For back, waist as well as abdominal.
TBH, I am not sure if I can feel the huge difference between these attachments. For general use, like I do, the ball head is all that is needed. But hey, options are always welcome.
And now, for the noise… Urikar claims to achieve just 42 dB of noise in its highest setting. To put things in perspective, 42 dB is between urban ambient sound, or library and conversation at home or a quiet suburb (or large electrical transformers at 100 feet).
Obviously, that is not unnoticeable, but it is not all that distracting. I guess it is all good? I mean, if it does not sound like a construction breaker, or Dyson cordless stick vacuum, it should be fine, right?
The Verdict
What can I say? The Urikar Pro 3 looks and works exactly as advertised and those alone are important because, while researching on massage guns, we found out that some are outright scams while turned out to be false advertising. There’s really nothing to complain about this device.
It is a massage gun that is well built and function as a massage gun should. I am no doctor or muscle expert, so I can’t say if it works does actually speed up muscle recovery. All I know is, if you do not have muscle aching, soreness or whatever, it will make your muscle feel good as do massages do.
I haven’t been out running since the pandemic start and so, muscle soreness is not part of my daily lives no more, and as such, I can’t verify if it does actually relieve muscle soreness. However, one thing for sure is, I find my keep picking it up for a good relax, deep tissue massage and I can say my calves are very happy. But that’s just me. Your mileage may vary.
The Disclaimer
Like so many devices out there, the device may cause injuries if not used probably. This review is my take on the device and we are not liable of any injury that any person may suffer due to improper use or preexisting medical or muscle conditions.
If you like to pick up the Urikar Pro 3, you can find it on Amazon.com where it is being sold at US$137.99. Before you jump on it, you may want to know Urikar is offering a discount code PRO3URIKAR that offers 38% + US$40 discount. BUT, I am not sure how you are able to apply the code on Amazon or if it is still valid. But hey, there’s no harm in trying, right?
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All images by Mikeshouts.com.
