After doing quite a bit of research online, I purchased the Maxi Pro Thumper Massager for my wife’s birthday earlier this year. Thumper claims that many of his massagers (including this one) are used by many professionals in the industry (physical therapists, chiropractors, sports teams, etc.). I’m a former college athlete now turned recreational athlete, but I work out (hard) every day or every other day, so I had the idea that this was a “professional“I was drawn to the model rather than something you’d find at Walmart or Target. We already had a handheld/wand massager from Homedics, but it wasn’t powerful enough to penetrate deep into large, sore muscles like the quads and hamstrings.
I did some shopping and searching online and finally found that Comfort Store Direct in Lewis Center Ohio USA had the best price (and free shipping at the time) so I bought it from him.
The unit arrived a week later in a specially designed box, so it was undamaged and ready to go right out of the box. The Maxi Pro is designed primarily for 2-person use, so I patiently waited for my wife to come home to try it out. My wife loved the Maxi Pro right away, but she didn’t quite buy me. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it and it was MUCH easier to use than hand/wand massagers, but I quickly noticed that the only real setting on the unit that was having much of an effect on me was level 5, the highest setting. As far as I’m concerned, the other 4 bottom settings didn’t really do much.
Since we were using the Maxi Pro at its highest setting, I checked their website for answers and discovered that the Thumper has a more powerful equine version of this unit, which was specially designed for elite athletes and of course horses. This unit looks the same as the Maxi Pro, but apparently has a more powerful motor.
Over the course of the next few days I wrestled with the idea of going through the hassle of returning the Maxi Pro and getting the Equine model. After 3 days I broke down and gave in. I contacted Comfort Store Direct and requested a return authorization number, which they gladly gave me; by the way, both my wife and I dealt with these people and they were always pleasant. I returned the Maxi Pro for about $15 (not bad) and concluded that the extra $40 for the more powerful Equine motor would be worth it.
When the Equine unit came along, I gave my quads a go (you don’t need 2 people for this), and I must say I was disappointed at first. I was really expecting a noticeable difference in power between the two units, but I just didn’t feel it. Later that night, my wife tried the unit out and while she agreed with me that it might not be significantly more powerful, she felt it might be a little better.
I emailed Thumper asking if maybe he had an underpowered unit and indicated that I was a bit disappointed in this new model. To his credit, a Thumper representative responded to me within 24 business hours and helpfully explained that, “Stroke depth on the Equine Thumper is 15% greater than on the Maxi Pro. The drive assembly which is the mechanism responsible for the “knock” has a different tolerance than the Maxi Pro, so the shock is greater .“
The Thumper rep indicated that I could return the product for a refund if I wanted, which I appreciated. I emailed him back and stated that my wife really liked the unit (and I didn’t think she was that bad), so a refund would not be necessary.
PROS:
- The unit is heavy (8lbs), but it actually works in its favor. You don’t need to press down on the massager to feel the pressure; unit weight does it for you.
- The two handles on the unit make it easy to move, manipulate, move and adjust.
- If you are flexible and a little creative, you can use the Maxi Pro/Equine model without the help of another person.
- Calm. In fact, it’s much quieter than the less powerful handheld/wand unit we have. It is not difficult to watch TV and use the unit at the same time.
- Very easy to use on someone. In fact, you can often place the unit on someone (such as the lower back) and the unit will work without you having to hold it at all. You may need to balance it on just a couple of fingers to get it to stay in place; either way, it’s easy.
- Instead of a vibrating motion that most massagers have, this one actually bumps up and down like a piston (you can actually see it doing this). I found this approach to be much more effective for giving/receiving massages.
- Fast and friendly customer service – the rep I emailed Thumper was very friendly.
- Feels pretty sturdy and durable…although I’ve only had it for a few weeks.
- Don’t get that tired feeling in your hands, wrists, and forearms that vibrating handheld or wand massagers cause. It really doesn’t take much effort to give someone a massage.
- The unit does not get hot during or after use.
CONS:
- It’s not portable if you’re traveling, but that wasn’t really a concern of ours.
- For the most part this is a 2 person effort, using the massager alone is doable but tricky.
- I still wish it had a higher and more powerful setting for both units.
- The instructional DVD they send you is worth nothing. In fact, there was a depth adjustment dial on the bottom of both units that I didn’t even know about until the Thumper rep emailed me about it.
BOTTOM LINE:
I would recommend this unit to anyone in the market for a personal massager who has tried other vibrating models that don’t quite hit the muscles. It’s easy to use, but I suggest you buy the unit if you have a partner who is willing and able to work with you. At around $300, it’s not the cheapest model out there. Personally I would go for the Maxi Pro as it is less expensive and I didn’t feel a huge difference between it and the Equine model.