Pulseroll pro massage gun
Best: For gym goers in need of deep tissue relief
Rating: 8/10
The pro is the newest iteration of the company’s massage gun and there is a definite step up in quality and utility from the original, which was already pretty good. For starters, the pro comes with a carry case, which will please anyone who was carting the original gun and its accompanying heads around loose in their sports bag or holdall.
Speaking of the heads, Pulseroll has added another two variations to the armoury (so that’s six in total). That meant that we had more options to find the right tip for the job at hand – whether that was using the gun to go to work on a particularly tight muscle or just trying to get some blood flowing to an area in the hope that it would cool out inflammation.
More thought seems to have gone into the ergonomics of the pro too because it was easy to hold even for prolonged periods of pummelling. Plus, its new extended design meant that we could even get those hard to reach areas, like the lumbar region of the back, so that it could offer relief there.
Clearly, Pulseroll has heeded feedback from users of the original because there is now a welcome groove in the back of the gun for the sadists out there who enjoy deep tissue massage, so you can place your thumb in the groove and really apply some pressure. And it’s the pressure of the pro that was the stand out feature for us because we found that, compared to other massage guns that we’ve tried, when we really dug deep with the gun it didn’t lose any of its power. We could really lean into a muscle without the machine losing any of its percussive power and ability to deliver maximum benefits to the target area without any performance fade.
The gun has an amplitude of 12mm, which is a measure of how deep it can go and again the pro impressed because in comparison to another gun we had on test, with an amplitude of 16mm, it actually felt like the pro was even more invasive – in a good way, of course.
There are four levels of operation, ranging from 1300rpm to 3300rpm, and we found that the two top speeds were too much for most of our testers (clearly, we had a couple of sadists in the mix). Most were happy for the pro to go to work at level two, which is 1800rpm.
We managed four and a half operating hours from just one charge, so you won’t need to be constantly juicing up the machine in order to get the most out of it. And as the battery level is displayed at the top of the handle, along with four LED indicators to show which of the four power levels the Pro is currently operating at, you never have to guess how long a session you have before it cuts out.
The pro is never going to replace a physio session but it does offer an instant hit of effective massage therapy right out of the bag, which could save you the delayed soreness that comes from working out.