REVIEW – Achy muscles aren’t fun. One way to make them feel better is with a massage. But if you don’t want to leave your house or pay crazy prices for a massage session, then you can buy a massager like the Snailax SL-482 cordless handheld massager with heat. How well does it work? Let’s find out.
What is it?
The Snailax SL-482 is a rechargeable cordless handheld massager that has a heat feature and it comes with 4 interchangeable heads.
What’s in the box?
- Snailax massager
- AC charging adapter
- 4 interchangeable massager heads
Design and features
Unlike a lot of massagers that we have reviewed here on The Gadgeteer, the Snailax SL-482 cordless handheld massager has a club-like shape with a narrow handle that I find infinitely more comfortable than the massagers with really fat handles.
The Snailax (am I the only one who thinks of Dr. Suess when I see this brand name?) massager has a large ball head that can be used as is, or you can attach one of the four interchangeable heads that are included in the package.
Attaching and detaching the heads is fast and easy. Watch the video below to see me demonstrate this.
The controls are found on the top of the massager and consist of a power button, heat button, mode button, and intensity button.
On the bottom of the handle is the charging port. A full charge of the Snailax SL-482 cordless handheld massager’s battery should allow for up to 80 minutes of run time until you need to recharge it. Charging can take 2.5 – 3 hours.
Massage modes and heat
With the massager charged, you can press the power button to turn it on and start using it. The buttons will light up to indicate that it is on and the mode it’s in. The massager has 3 different vibration types/modes and 3 intensity levels. You can see and hear each level in the video below.
Although I don’t personally like to use a massager for myself, I live with someone who has back issues, so I’m the registered masseuse of the house. I’ve used a few different massagers over the years and while this one is comfortable to use, you can’t dial in the exact intensity level that you want because you only have 3 levels and modes to choose from.
Also, note that the Snailax massager will not remember the settings when you turn it off and power it back on.
In addition to the vibration modes, there is also a heat feature.
When the heat button is pressed on the top of the handle, the head will glow red and start heating up. Note that you should not use any of the attachments while using the heat feature.
Unfortunately, the heat feature is pretty much useless in my opinion. I used an IR thermometer to test the temp of the head at various times and here is the data that I collected.
7:51AM – 69.5°F – Starting temp after the massager had been on my desk all night with no usage.
7:51AM – Turned on the heat feature.
7:56AM – 102.1°F
8:04AM – 118.0°F
One minute later, the heat/massager automatically turned off due to the built-in feature that turns off the massager after 15 minutes of continuous use.
118.0°F is barely warm. My Google Pixel Fold gets hotter than that! 😉 I couldn’t feel the warmth at all through my clothes on my legs or arms and even on bare skin, it wasn’t hot enough to really provide any type of therapeutic benefit in my opinion.
See it in action
So far, I’ve found that I like using the Snailax to help loosen up my significant other’s tight back muscles. Although she says she wishes it came with a narrower attachment for the pressure points in her neck and shoulders.
What I like
- Long comfortable grip handle
- Decent massaging action on the highest intensity
What I’d change
- The heat feature needs to be improved
- It would be nice to have even more levels of intensity to choose from
- A narrower attachment head would be a nice option
Final thoughts
The Snailax is a well-made and easy to use handheld massager. It works well as long as you don’t really need the heat feature because it’s useless in my opinion. I like this style of massager a lot better than the percussive massagers that we’ve reviewed here in the past with the really awkward handles. This one is comfortable to hold and doesn’t cause my hand to cramp after just a few minutes of use.
Price: $78.99
Where to buy: Snailax.com (use code: Julie32 for 32% off all massagers) and Amazon (for a lot less)
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Snailax.
