Before you consider throwing R200 to R400 at a 'discount' massage gun, give Xiaomi's Massage Gun 2 a try. It's miles ahead of those dinky units and offers a significant percentage of the performance a unit twice this price offers. The addition of enough heads to let you work most of your muscle tissue also helps. Now if there was just a heated head available for purchase...
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Design
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Features
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Battery
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Value
Do Hyperice and Theragun have competition from Xiaomi’s Massage Gun 2 percussion massager? That really depends. If you’re an athlete? Not really. If you’re just a regular person, though, opting for the Chinese brand’s massage gun makes a lot of sense.
Part of this is the price. The Xiaomi Massage Gun 2 has a recommended retail price of R1,900, but you can grab it for closer to R1,780 if you poke around a bit. For your money, you’re getting a competent massager with enough attachments to keep your tired body going beyond its limits.
Hammer time
There are only a few ways to make a percussion gun, and Xiaomi has taken a similar route to the one chosen by Hyperice. The mostly-premium pistol-grip design makes it relatively simple to grip, while having ample space for the 2,450mAh battery. The controls are all on the back panel of the horizontal section where the motor lives. The base hides a USB-C port for charging the unit, and the front of the gun is where the trio of attachments fit.
Control is simple enough. A long-press on the power key turns the Massage Gun 2 on or off. A double-tap switches between static and adaptive modes (more on that in a bit), while a single press will send the Massage Gun 2 through one of three speeds.
The power button’s LED ring also doubles as a pressure sensor. Exert enough pressure, and the light will turn red. If your muscles screaming in agony aren’t enough of a clue, that’s when you’re pressing hard enough. Finally, there’s a low-battery indicator on the display that’ll tell you when to limp to the nearest charging cable.
Motor. Head.
There are three different heads. The flat surface is for general use. The prong will cause you exquisite pain, but it’ll also tackle deeper muscle issues, particularly in your legs. For something less intensive, the ball head is safer for use around your vertebrae. Each pops in and out of its slot and remains relatively stable, but we could have done with a notched fitting for the prong. Too much pressure will turn it out of alignment, which makes the attachment less effective than it could be.
No matter which of the heads you choose, there’s a choice between static speeds and an adaptive setting. Static does just what it says it will. Xiaomi’s motor will operate at a set pace, allowing you to choose a more gentle massage or something rougher as needed. Select adaptive, and the three intensities remain. But the whole thing seems weaker, somehow. That’s a trick. Don’t fall for it.
Press the Massage Gun 2 into a sore muscle with the adaptive setting active and it’ll ratchet up after a slight delay. The function seems to respond to pressure, offering variable intensity depending on how hard you’re willing to press into your aching limbs. It’s certainly easier than fiddling with the single button on the rear, but it offers less control. Casual users will likely get the most from this setting, while amateur runners and so on will benefit more from the specific intensities on offer.
Micro-hurts
Professional athletes and other people in decent shape can benefit from Xiaomi’s Massage Gun 2, but those users would consider this a travel gadget rather than something to use every day. Xiaomi’s motor is quiet enough (the company claims 45dB) in practise, but it’s less powerful than we’d like for constant recovery. It’s easily tested — just whack your palm on the front of the head and see how much pressure stops the motor.
Adaptive responds to that pressure well, but both modes will conk out sooner than we’d like. Some thigh massages didn’t go deep enough, simply because the motor couldn’t take the downward pressure we were applying. That said, Xiaomi’s option is miles better than the cheapie options you’ll find lurking in a chemist or South Africa’s various marketplaces. There’s more power, a better build, and much more solid attachments. If the company ever ramps up its motor specs, there will be a market for the extra percussive maintenance.
Xiaomi Massage Gun 2 verdict
If you’re planning on nabbing a percussion gun on a budget, Xiaomi’s option is the one you should go for. It’s about half the price of the Hypervolt Go 3 and offers most of the performance you’ll get from the sports-focused option. If you need serious recovery, though, it’s a better idea to spend more money. Most casual users will find that the Massage Gun 2 provides everything they need for sorting out the odd bit of intense exercise. Athletes should only really consider Xiaomi’s tech as something to take on holiday, while the A-Team tech is resting in their home gym.
