REVIEW – The older I get, the more things hurt. From time to time, my feet fall onto that list. Anything that could make them feel better is a good thing, and the SL-527 Foot Massager with Heat from Snailax is supposed to fit that bill. I had good luck with a couple of knee massagers from Snailax (see the links at the bottom), so I decided to give this foot massager a go.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $105.99 – $115 depending on seller, but current discounts bring it down to as low as $67.99 from Amazon
Where to buy: Amazon; Snailax
What is it?
The Snailax SL-527 Foot Massager is a treatment device designed for feet. It combines heat, shiatsu massage for the bottom of the feet, compression, and vibration for an all-on assault on your foot discomfort. Each specific treatment can be tailored to your liking with three intensity levels and two levels of heat.
What’s included?
- Massager with removable and washable foot sleeves installed
- Power cord with power adapter
- User manual
- Thank You / Warranty extension card
Tech specs
Model: Per the website, it is the SL-527; per the label on the bottom of the unit, it is the SLY-527
Dimensions: 12.8″w x 13.7″d x 6.8″h
Weight: 6.83 pounds
Input Voltage: 110-240VAC, 50/60Hz
Operating voltage: 12VDC, 2A
Nominal power: 24W
Auto shut off: 15 minutes
Heating: 122F-131F, two heat levels
Air compression massage: three intensity levels
Kneading massage: three intensity levels
Vibration massage: three intensity levels
Fit size: up to foot size 13
Design and features
The massager is essentially a big box with spaces for both feet. The foot openings are lined with a smooth, removable liner. You can see the zippers at the bottom of the openings. I hate this placement as they scratch my feet every time I put my feet in or take them out. You can see the power connector dangling at the very bottom of the unit. The power cord plugs into that and then into the wall.
Here’s a closer look at the zippers. You can run them clockwise around the opening to unzip the liners for cleaning. Again, I’d rather see the zippers placed up top to avoid scratching feet.
The bottom features four non-slip feet.
The controls are on the top.
When you plug the unit in, the LED above the power button starts flashing red.
Pressing the power button on the left turns the unit on into its default mode – low kneading, low air compression, low vibration, and low heat (indicated by the blue LED – red for high).
Pressing the four mode buttons cycles each through low/medium/high/off, or low/high/off for heat. To me, this is an issue with the design of the massager. The buttons couldn’t be farther to reach. Their placement on the far side of your feet makes for an awkward bend forward to turn the unit on/off or change any setting. This design screams for a remote control. Snailax offers this same design with a remote control for only a few dollars more, but this is the one they sent for review.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
No setup is required beyond plugging in the power cord to the cord extending from the unit and the wall outlet.
Performance
I stuffed my size 12 dogs into the massage holes, and that’s when I discovered the first gotcha. The exposed zippers at the bottom of the openings scraped along the bottoms of my feet. Ouch. No matter how I contorted my feet, the zippers were in the way. I powered past them for the sake of the test and settled in my recliner for the massage. Oh, wait. I have to turn it on. But, now that my feet are held hostage in the massager, I have to bend way forward to reach the power button. That button is as far as it can be from my hands while remaining on the top of the unit. Why doesn’t this come with a remote control? Checking their website and Amazon, it turns out that another unit from Snailax does come with a remote. It is $29 more from Snailax ($21.75 more with current discounts) or $2 more from Amazon.
As I am typing this, my feet are being pushed, squeezed, shaken, and toasted. I’ll try to describe what it all feels like. Everything is on low except for the heat.
Kneading
The shiatsu massage focuses on the bottom of the feet. Several hard balls push into the bottom of the feet. I’m running on low, and that’s plenty for me. The bottoms of my feet have always been sensitive, so this is my least favorite part of the whole process. Still, the longer my feet are in there, the more tolerable it is. It seems to focus on the heel and arch areas.
Vibration
The unit is vibrating my feet all over at random tempos and with somewhat random intensity. There are bursts of rapid-fire vibrations followed by longer vibration periods. In general, it feels good and is relaxing.
Compression
Airbags surrounding my feet fill and empty in varying patterns, squeezing my feet and then relaxing, squeezing again, and so on. The intensity varies from a light hug to a tight squeeze. The compression feels good.
Heat
I started in the low setting and didn’t feel anything. I switched to the high setting and could finally feel the heat. It is pleasantly warm without being uncomfortably hot. I like it, but it could be a little warmer.
After 15 minutes, the unit gave a double beep and turned off. There is no way to lengthen the massage’s duration. If you want a longer massage, it takes another awkward bend forward to reach the bottoms. Did I mention that this needs a remote control?
During operation, the unit is fairly quiet. That makes it usable when sitting and watching TV.
So, how do my feet feel? Good, actually. The intensity at low is fine for me. That might be, in part, because my feet are on the large side for this. While my size 12s are smaller than the size 13 limit, my feet are exceptionally thick, top to bottom. I don’t want the unit to push any harder on the bottoms of my feet or squeeze my feet any harder than it does on the low setting. Even the vibration on low feels like enough. When a more intense part of the kneading massage lines up with an intense compression, it is as strong as I want.
My lovely wife tried it next. Her feet are considerably smaller than mine, women’s size 10, or the equivalent of men’s size 8. She had no issues with the zippers when she inserted or removed her feet so that only seems to be an issue for those of us with big feet. With her feet taking up less space in the footwells, she needed to turn up the intensity to get a good massage. She was able to dial it up to high on all settings, noting that the compression was quite intense on high. She liked the kneading massage function, noting that it did a great job on her arches but was a little lacking on the balls of her feet. She would prefer a little more attention there. Like me, she felt that the heat on high was pleasantly warm but nothing we would call hot. Neither one of us is convinced that if we came in from shoveling snow, the massager would adequately warm our feet. It’s a good thing that we live in Central Florida where that won’t be an issue.
Final thoughts
I would never buy this massager. I would opt for the slightly more expensive unit with a remote. Having said that, the unit itself is fine. It does a decent job with all aspects of the massage. But without a remote control, it is difficult to use. Couple that with the poor placement of the zippers, and it is a pain, literally. If you have large feet, that zipper will be an issue. If you have size 10s or smaller, I don’t think it will bother you. The variety of settings should allow just about anyone to get a massage that meets their likes. So in summary, I would not recommend this specific unit and instead, recommend the slightly more expensive SL-527RC that includes a remote control. It is also available from Snailax and Amazon.
What I like about the Snailax SL-527 Foot Massager with Heat
- It does a good job of kneading, vibrating, compressing, and heating
- It is comfortable and straightforward to use
- It is quiet
- The variety of intensities means people with various foot sizes and massage tolerances should be able to find a set of modes that work for them
What needs to be improved?
- I hate the zipper placement as the zippers scratch my feet but people with smaller than thick size 12s won’t have an issue
- This unit really needs a remote – there is a unit with a remote available for a few more bucks
- A better massage on the balls of the feet would be nice
- A little more heat would be welcome
- The footwell liners can be removed and cleaned
Price: $105.99 – $115 depending on seller, but current discounts bring it down to as low as $67.99 from Amazon
Where to buy: Amazon; Snailax
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Snailax. Snailax did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
Check out these other reviews!
- Snailax Cordless Graphene Vibration Knee Massagers review – help for my aging, aching knees?
- Snailax Cordless Vibration and Infrared Heating Knee Massager review – shaking out the pain
- Snailax SL-482 cordless handheld massager with heat review
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