REVIEW – Relief for sore knees? Yes, please! The Comfier Heated Knee Brace Wrap With Massage is designed to deliver heat and massage to help your sore knees recover from all that hard work you’re doing. I tested them for a solid month on my cranky knees. Did they help? Let’s find out. To the review!
What is it?
The Comfier Heated Knee Brace Wrap is a pair of heated, vibrating massage braces designed for your knees.
What’s included?
You’ll get the Comfier Heated Knee Brace Wrap and the power cord.
Tech specs
Click to expand
12V power supply
16″ vertical length
Fits 15″ to 20.4″ thigh, 11.8″ to 17″ calf (perimeter measurements)
Max temperature of 131 degrees
30 minute timer for automatic shutoff
Design and features
The Comfier Heated Knee Brace Wrap With Massage comes with two wraps, each measuring 16 inches in length. The right brace has a 3-button control pad and connects to the power plug. An additional power cord connects The left brace to the right brace.
The control pad operates both braces, but you can disconnect the left brace if you only need to use one.
Both braces are heavily padded with broad Velcro flaps, designed to be centered on the knees. The “wings” secure the braces on your lower thigh and upper calf.
During regular use, the pads are designed to fit up to a 20″ lower thigh and 17″ upper calf. Once positioned, the heavy-duty Velcro pads lock securely in place. Everything about the build and stitching is also hefty and designed for frequent use.
The heat and massage action is delivered by a pair of pods that sit on either side of that narrow space between the velcro flaps. They are positioned so that they sit on either side of your knee when in use.
The control pad is a simple three-button operation. The center switch is your power button. The upper button controls the massage modes, while the lower button controls the heat settings.
That blue indicator indicates that the power is on, along with the massage and heat modes, which are both activated by default. The red indicator (also the default setting) indicates high heat, which reaches a maximum of 130 degrees Fahrenheit after about 5 minutes of operation.
Pressing that heat button again changes the heat setting to low/warm, and the heat indicator changes to yellow. Press it one more time to turn off the heat entirely. The light then goes off to let you know the heater is deactivated.
The massage function is always on with 5 different patterns available: pulse, continuous, quick pulse, wave or mixed. Each variation changes the duration and power of the vibration, with “mixed” cycling between the first four. Each press of the massage button cycles it to the next mode, which can be changed throughout the session you can also turn off massage and just do heat mode.
The unit has a safety setting of 30 minutes before it shuts off automatically.
Performance
My knees have been acting up on me since the holidays after my workouts, so I was very interested in testing the Comfier Heated Knee Brace Wrap With Massage to help with recovery. After a month of nightly use, I’m happy to report that, while they are not super sophisticated, they do the job.
With those generous Velcro pads, I found it pretty easy to get the braces into position. For reference, I have a 31″ inseam, a 22″ thigh, and a 17″ calf measurement.
Those generous Velcro wing flaps mean that you don’t have to be too precise to get them in the right spot. I do find it’s easier to get them both in place while standing and then do the adjusting, as shown below.
Here we are with both braces in place. I’ve seen no issues with wear and tear despite my nightly use. If anything, the Velcro has loosened up a little. This is actually a good thing. The Velcro is very strong when you first use it.
I was a little more surprised when I found out that the vibration and heat comes only from those centered pods. The rest of the rig carries some of the heat, but doesn’t add any extra massage points or heating. Comfier does state that the product can be used on your lower legs or arms, but keep in mind that you need to position the pad so that those contact points are in the area you’re trying to reach, or you won’t get the job done.
I haven’t found any of the massage patterns to be particularly intense. You can’t dial up or down the intensity, but each mode has just enough variation to feel a little different. It is also fairly noisy though… not so loud that it shakes the house, but loud enough to be distracting unless you turn up the volume on the TV a little bit.
The heat takes about 5-7 minutes to get up to temperature; then it hangs there until the time is done or you shut it off. It doesn’t get super hot with a max temp of 131 degrees… I’m wearing shorts here and did not feel the heat was uncomfortable.
Comfier advertises this device primarily for your knees, but says you can use it on your calves and arms. I can confirm that this is true with some caveats. You need to get those two contact pods positioned where you want the work, or it won’t work for you (like a tens unit that you can pretty much stick anywhere). The braces and pads are also pretty bulky, so it’s going to be tricky to get into the right spot if you have shorter arms or legs. You’ll want to double check the sizing to make sure it will work for you.
I will note that the quilted pads are a magnet for pet hair, but they seem to brush lea pretty easily.
At he end of the day the Comfier Heated Knee Brace Wrap With Massage get the job done with no drama. I’m continuing to use them as part of exercise recovery and have few complaints so far!
What I like about Comfier Heated Knee Brace Wrap With Massage
- Easy to lock into place
- Durable, comfortable padding
- Gets the job done
What needs to be improved?
- A little noisy
- May not fit all body types given the large, bulky pads
- Really designed so that the action points are on either side of the knee, so this may or may not work for you
Final thoughts
While the Comfier Heated Knee Brace Wrap With Massage doesn’t have a complex feature set, I find it to be very effective for my needs. It’s been a massive help in my post-workout recovery. The operation is simple, the build is good, and there’s no drama associated with requiring an app or a complex set of instructions to operate the unit. It’s also available for under $50! Just keep in mind that the design and sizing may not work for everyone.
Price: $45.59
Where to buy: Amazon!
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Comfier. Comfier did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
