REVIEW – Portable relief for your sore joints and muscles! The Bob and Brad Q2 Pro Mini Massage Gun is a compact, version of the massage guns used for sports recovery and physical therapy. This unit comes with a twist: it’s got a special massage head that adds heating and cooling options to your therapy! Let’s work the kinks out. To the review!
What is it?
The Bob and Brad Q2 Pro Mini is a mini massage gun/deep tissue massager that includes a percussion head that adds heat and/or cold modes for enhanced pain relief or recovery.
What’s included?
Your kit includes the massage gun, a USB to USC-C charging cable, 5 different massage heads (including the hot and cold head), 2 replacement rubber collars for the massage heads, and a padded travel/storage case.
Tech specs
Click to expand
Adjustable 1800 – 3000 percussions per minute
USB-C charging
0.95 pounds
Heat mode (104 or 113 degrees fahrenheit)
Cold mode (50 or 59 degrees fahrenheit)
Design and features
Your journey begins with a well designed carrying case that uses a combination of a hard plastic shell and padding to protect the bits and pieces. You can toss it in your trunk, throw it in a suitcase, or stuff it in your gym bag without worrying about your gear getting beat up. The case measures a compact 6.5″ by 6.5″ by 2.5″ deep.
The interior has molded slots for each component and an elastic mesh pocket under the lid for loose items so everything stays in place as you bounce the case around.
The massage gun is a compact 5.5″ long and 1.5″ in diameter, with a silicone-wrapped surface and a contoured grip to promote maneuverability. The post for the massage heads is about 2/3 up the barrel.
The unit measures in at just under a pound but feels heavier due to the solid build.
The massage gun uses a USB-C port for charging, located on the base of the handle.
The controls consist of one button molded power button, coupled with a set of LED indicators that show you the intensity setting and power status.
The Bob and Brad Q2 Pro Mini Massage Gun comes with 5 different massage heads. The first four are fairly standard for these percussion-style massagers. From left to right we have a bullet-style head (for joints, deep tissue and trigger points), an air cushioned head (for sensitive areas), a U-shaped head (for neck, spine, and shoulder), and ball head (for the big muscle groups).
The 5th head in the collection is designed with a heating and/or cooling feature. It’s chunkier, sports side vents, and has a metal head cap to better transfer the heating/cooling goodness to the desired location.
This unit requires separate charging via its own USB-C port.
You’ll find two buttons on the side of the head for heat (left) and cool (right).
To activate either function, you’ll press and hold down the appropriate button for about two seconds.
When the light pops on you feel the end cap start to warm up in heat mode, or you’ll hear the internal fans come on as it cools down in cold mode. The you can push the appropriate button again to toggle between high and low settings. Low heat (104 degrees fahrenheit) uses a yellow indicator, while high heat (113 degrees fahrenheit) uses a red indicator as shown below:
Cooling uses a similar LED coding, but this time it’s green for coldest (50 degrees fahrenheit), and a dark blue for the less cool (59 degrees fahrenheit). It’s a little awkward as you’d expect to be more cool at the second setting, but it’s not a huge deal to get used to.
The hot/cold head will operate for up to 60 minutes between charges, and requires 120 minutes to fully recharge from a spent battery. When you plug it in the green light will blink to indicate charging, and remain continuously lit when the battery is full. If you are using the hot/cold modes, the light will blink when in use if the battery drops below 20% capacity as a notification that it is time to recharge. In either hot or cold mode the head will shutoff automatically 10 minutes after being activated.
Regardless of which massage head you’re using, they all get inserted into the post on the gun the same way. Each head has a little rubber collar/gasket that provides a tight lock for operation. Two extra collars are provided in the event that one tears during regular use.
Turning on the gun requires you to push and hold the power button for two seconds, at which point that power indicator and the first LED will light up. The machine will also activate at the lowest power setting (Level 1).
Once you’re on you can then press the button again to increase the intensity. Each press bumps it up a level from 1800 percussions per minute to 3000 percussions per minute (Levels 1 through 5).
If you want to change massage heads or pause, you can push the button to cycle past level five and the percussion will drop to Level 0 (standby). You can then press it again to start at level one and move up as required.
As with the hot/cool head, the gun has an automatic shutoff after 10 minutes of operation (20 minutes if it set to level 0). While the gun is being used the charge indicator (the little lightning icon) will remain blue as long at the battery is above 30% charge. It will change to red when the battery drops below 30% power and blink red when it drops below 20% power.
When recharging the unit, the battery indicator links while charging and lights continuously when fully charged. The battery will handle up to four hours of operation (depending on settings) between charges, and takes three hours to recharge completely from an empty battery.
Performance
I’m a huge fan of the usability of the Bob And Brad Q2 Pro Mini Massage Gun. The small profile and contoured design is easy to wield one handed, especially when you’re twisting and adjusting your position to get to harder to reach areas. Changing intensity is a one-handed operation.
The documentation states that this unit uses a brushless motor that is more powerful and runs significantly quieter than other units. It is definitely quieter than previous models I have tested, but the difference in the way it delivers power is the bigger deal here. It feels faster, more precise, and more controlled. I called my old massage gun “the jackhammer” because it could get downright uncomfortable to use even at lower speeds. This unit feels much more comfortable in application even at higher speeds. Maybe its also the shorter piston length that contributes to the action? Whatever the case may be, it is definitely more comfortable to use on sensitive areas/muscles.
The heat and cold settings and add another level of feel-good application when used on sore/tight muscles. Neither setting is super-hot or super-cold (your max range is 50 degrees to 113 degrees Fahrenheit), but it does make a difference if you’re working out tense/sore/rough spots. I use the cooling function for post-workout application on my calves, for example, while I’ll use the heat function to loosen up stiffness if I have been sitting too long. They make a difference in the overall results in my case. Is it life changing? I dunno… but it does feel like an enhancement to the application of the massager under the right circumstances.
I learned pretty quickly that you want to make sure the massage heads are locked in tight before you start a session. That percussion will quickly knock the head loose if it isn’t tight. The rubber collars help to ensure a snug fit. My previous massager had a problem with the heads popping out unintentionally at higher speeds, but I haven’t seen that here.
I will note that the startup mode is weird, since it goes right into Level 1 when you power it up. That means you’ll want to get your chosen massage head locked in before you power up the gun, or you’ll have to cycle through the settings to Level 0 to insert the massage heads. Same for activating the heat/cold features; it’s impossible to turn them on once the gun is in action. It’s an odd quirk in the design, but nothing that’s insurmountable.
Heat up and cool down functions happen very quickly; I’d say you’re at temp in less than 30 seconds either way. Just keep in mind that if you’re switching you’ll need to power down the heat or cool setting first, switch, and allow the unit to adjust the temperature. I saw no issue with the temperature on either end getting uncomfortable to the point where it caused pain or discomfort.
Battery life is excellent. I’ll use the gun every day after a workout — sometimes twice a day — for 5-10 minutes at a pop. I think I had to do a full recharge once on the handle in a month of testing. The hot/cold unit will require more frequent charges. The charge time time on both units is slower, however, so plan accordingly. I usually grab a second USB-C charger from my collection of cables and charge both parts at once.
The portability of this unit is also excellent. With a well-made travel case to handle bumps and the compact size/weight, I have had no issues traveling with this little beastie. It’s great for gym rats too.
What I like about BOB AND BRAD Q2 Pro Mini Massage Gun with Heat and Cold
- Compact, maneuverable design for targeting spots that need the work
- Comfortable to use
- Long lasting battery life between charges
What needs to be improved?
- Startup mode going right into massaging takes some getting used to; make sure your massage head is set before you power it up (or cycle it back to the Zero setting after turning it on)
Final thoughts
The Bob and Brad Q2 Pro Mini Massage Gun with Heat and Cold is my favorite tool in this category so far. The design is excellent for targeting specific muscle groups, even in hard to reach areas. It travels well and hides nicely in a drawer at home when not needed. The hot/cold features adds an unexpected and surprising level of performance I did not expect. It’s also available in different colors at the link below if you’re all about the styling. Assuming that the durability holds — and I have no indications that it won’t so far — I don’t see much to dislike here!
Price: $89.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Bob and Brad. Bob and Brad did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
