Does the idea of a muscle-pummeling massage sound appealing to you? Then a massage gun might be right for you. They are helpful recovery tools that target muscles with rapid-fire pulses, aiming to relieve sore muscles and back pain and prevent soreness. Simply put, they are a must-have tool for athletes, workout enthusiasts, fitness fanatics, or anyone who cares about recovery and wellness.
And one of the hugely popular massage guns worth grabbing is the Hydragun. It claims to be the best option for quiet, powerful muscle relief. The Hydragun is more a high-performance percussive massage gun than a personal massager. It’s made of premium-sounding materials like aerospace-grade aluminum and nano silica gel and impressive specs like deep tissue massage up to 3200 rpm and up to six hours of use.
If you’re willing to shell out a few hundred dollars for a massage gun, it’s well worth the expense. But what exactly are you getting from the Hydragun massage gun?
In this complete Hydragun review, we unbox the super quiet and sleek massage gun to find out if this hugely popular recovery and wellbeing tool is worth the hype and money.
Overview of the Hydragun Massage Gun
The Hydragun looks and feels sturdy, is one of the quietest massage guns on the market, and comes with stellar specs. And while there are plenty of massage guns, Hydragun is one of the relatively affordable premium massage guns out there.
The massage kit comes in a semi-soft, zipped carrying case. Inside is the Hydragun massage gun itself and seven swappable massage heads. Like most massage guns, it has that familiar gun-like design.
Below is a quick overview of the features and specs of the Hydragun massage gun.
The Hydragun looks and feels sturdy, is one of the quietest massage guns on the market, and comes with stellar specs. And while there are plenty of massage guns, Hydragun is one of the relatively affordable premium massage guns out there.
The massage kit comes in a semi-soft, zipped carrying case. Inside is the Hydragun massage gun itself and seven swappable massage heads. Like most massage guns, it has that familiar gun-like design.
Below is a quick overview of the features and specs of the Hydragun massage gun.
Highlights:
- Durable aerospace-grade aluminum build
- 3200 percussion speed
- 12mm amplitude
- 7 interchangeable massage gun heads
- 6 speed levels
- Automatic 10-minute shut-off
- 6-hour battery life
- Lightweight and ergonomic design with 99° handle
- With a protective carrying case
Lowlights:
- The lowest setting may still be powerful for sensitive areas of the body
- Long charging time, 3.5-4 hours
Hydragun Specs
| Motor Type | High-torque brushless motor 1200 to 3200 PPM |
| Amplitude | 12 mm |
| Stall Force | 40 lbs |
| Battery | 2600 mAh 3-6 hours battery life 3-4 hours to recharge |
| Operation Noise | 30-50 dB |
| Weight | 1.04 kg (2.29 lbs) |
| Attachments | 7 massage heads (including 3 steel heads) |
| Massage levels | 6 speed settings |
| Build Materials | Aerospace-grade aluminum chassis Nano silica gel |
What’s In the Kit?
- Hydragun massage gun
- 7 massage gun heads
- Charger
- User manual
- Storage bag
Designed and Built to Last
Design-wise, you can feel and see the impressive quality of the massage gun when you open the box and hold it in your hand. It looks pretty simple at first glance, which is along Hydragun’s belief that simpler designs are better. Hence, it lacks the unnecessary groves and curves you often see in other massage guns.
The Hydragun is designed for practicality and durability, using premium materials inside and out. Outside, it’s made from durable, lightweight, and corrosion-resistant aerospace-grade aluminum chassis paired with a plush nano silicone grip. The aluminum body is also known for its superior heat-dissipation and noise and vibration-dampening, ensuring that your hand wouldn’t get numb while using the massage gun.
Inside, the Hydragun is powered with an ultra-low-friction, high-torque, and brushless SmoothDrive motor that runs cool and quiet. In other words, less friction, heat, and noise while using the massage gun. These features mean less wear and tear on the motor, ensuring its longevity.
Overall, the Hydragun is built to last from the inside out.
7 Attachment Heads
The Hydragun massage gun comes with seven interchangeable attachment heads so you can customize your recovery—a ball head, curved head, bullet head, fork head, flat steel head, round steel head, and a dome steel head. Each massage gun head features different shapes designed to target different muscle groups and areas of the body. And as you may notice, the massage heads are made of two different materials, plastic and steel. The plastic heads are pretty standard, but the ones made of steel are designed for deeper massages for muscles that are often more tensed, say, after your workout.
- Ball head: for targeting larger muscle groups like the glutes, quads, calves, lats, and traps.
- Curved head: for curved muscle groups like the shoulders, biceps, and forearms.
- Bullet head: for deeper penetration, specifically to target specific, delicate areas like inner joints, feet, and any other pressure or trigger point.
- Fork head: for use on medium muscle groups like the back, forearms, and calves. It has two pointed pieces on each side to avoid hitting the spine.
- Steel flat head: for a harder massage on a wider surface.
- Steel round head: for a harder massage on larger muscle groups.
- Steel dome head: for a firmer pressure and targeted massage.
You can store all these seven massage heads inside the sturdy zipped case that comes with the package.
Performance and Effectiveness
6 Speed Levels
The Hydragun massage gun offers a range of massage intensities, from comfortable to intense. It has six speed levels ranging from 1200 to 3200 percussions per minute. The lower settings, or the first three speed settings, which operate below 2600 percussions per minute, are suitable for everyday use, during a warm up, and for working on delicate or injured areas. Meanwhile, the other three higher levels are designed to work on the tightest knots.
Hydragun Attachments
Hydragun’s three stainless steel heads provide the same percussive therapy that you can get from the four plastic massage heads. However, they are designed for gliding, which makes them easy to use over clothing. In other words, you can use the Hydragun even while wearing your gym clothes without worrying about it getting caught up in your clothes. They are also suitable for use with pain-relieving ointments or massage creams.
Is the Hydragun Effective?
It depends on how you use it, including the speed settings used. For instance, the 1st to 3rd levels are pretty effective in waking up the muscles and getting the blood flowing to your body. Using it for a couple of minutes does a fantastic job of relieving the usual muscle aches and tension.
On the other hand, the 4th to 6th levels are intense and can give a deeper massage. Using the massage gun for a couple of minutes each day can significantly reduce soreness and pain from a nasty muscle injury.
If your muscles are tight after working at a desk all day, the Hydragun can give quick relief. Now, if you do strenuous workouts a couple of times a week, using Hydragun can help prevent delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). It can also be a brilliant muscle-relaxing tool to use before bed.
That said, we had to consider what other users were saying about their experience using the Hydragun. Based on the Hydragun review on their website, it has 4.95/5.0 stars from 603 users. And one of the notable benefits mentioned by Hydragun users is how it helps relieve post-workout soreness. It works fantastic for targeted treatment of sore muscles after an intense workout and gets the blood flowing for a faster, better recovery so they’re ready for the next session.
User Experience and Noise Level
Powerful But Quiet
Although plenty of massage guns are out there, it’s rare to find one with a powerful motor that isn’t too loud to operate and won’t disrupt other people around, especially if you’re using it in the gym. Hence, one of Hydragun’s finest features—low noise.
It’s pretty quiet for a massage gun, thanks to its brushless motor. To give you an idea of how quiet using the Hydragun is, its operating noise level of 30-50 dB. It’s quieter than the average speaking voice (60 dB) and slightly louder than a whisper (25 dB).
Comfortable to Hold
The Hydragun is a bit hefty at 2.3 lbs., but thankfully, not too heavy to put a strain on your wrist. It’s also handy, especially with the nano silicone-wrapped handle, for a comfortable and stable grip. The nano silicone material is also hard-wearing, skin-safe, and sweat-proof. It makes it easier to grip the massage gun tightly, even if your hands are a bit sweaty from a workout.
Another feature that makes the Hydragun comfortable to hold is the 99-degree handle. The slight slant gives you a more natural grip to avoid straining your wrist.
Convenient and Safe
Using the Hydragun is pretty easy. The control is designed simply with a streamlined single-button interface to turn on the device and change the speed. One press of the button will turn on the massage gun, and the subsequent press cycles through different speed settings.
Changing the massage heads depending on which muscle needs a good percussion massage is also effortless. Simply turn the massage gun off, take off the attachment by twisting it clockwise, then attach the massage head of choice and secure it into position by rotating it counterclockwise.
Another notable feature of the Hydragun is the “stall” indicator. It’s a safety feature, so you won’t have to worry if you’re overdoing it. The stall indicator detects pressure and will light up whenever you’re pressing too much.
Of course, it’s wise to read the manual before testing any device. And in this case, there are some don’ts when it comes to using the Hydragun. One of the biggest warnings is to be careful when using the massage gun near bony areas like around the ankle or the spine. While it doesn’t particularly hurt when accidentally moved over a bone, the gun does tend to bounce off harder surfaces. It may thrust away from the body and cause you to drop the massage gun.
Battery Life and Portability
One of the essential features to look for in a massage gun is the battery life. The Hydragun gives an impressive six hours of battery life, far superior to other premium massage guns. And because the recommended maximum usage of massage guns is 30-45 minutes per day, the Hydragun can last up to an entire week on a single charge. Additionally, the safety chip it comes with helps prevent the batter from overuse and overheating.
Without getting too technical, it means that the Hydragun is always ready whenever you need quick muscle relief.
And being battery-operated means you can bring and use it anywhere you like. And thankfully, the Hydragun isn’t bulky at all, making it possible to carry it anywhere and fit it inside a gym bag. The carrying case also makes it easy to bring everything with you. Even if you don’t plan on using everything, it comes in handy since you’ll never know which muscle needs a good massage at any given time.
Well, there’s a catch. It can take 3.5 to 4 hours to charge the battery. And it doesn’t support USB charging, so you’ll need to bring its own charger in case the battery gets drained. If there is anything to make the Hydragun better than it currently is, it’s going to be a shorter charging time and a new USB port for charging.
Hydragun vs. Infrared Saunas
Massage guns and infrared saunas aim to help your muscles relax, ease pain, and improve recovery from workouts or injuries. The main difference between the two is they use different methods to achieve quite similar benefits.
Hydragun employs a form of deep-tissue massage that uses concentrated pulses on the soft tissues of the body. It utilizes percussion therapy to stimulate blood flow, improve range of motion, help reduce inflammation, and relax tight muscles. On the other hand, infrared saunas take advantage of the health and wellness benefits of infrared heat. The infrared heat warms the body from the inside out, and depending on the wavelength, it helps reduce muscle and joint pain, increase blood circulation, and induce deep relaxation.
That said, Hydragun and infrared saunas can complement each other to help further muscle recovery and promote deeper muscle relaxation.
Hydragun vs. Infrared Heating Pads
Hydragun and infrared heating pads are two relaxation therapies aiming to calm aches and pains. Besides the type of therapy they use, the big difference is that Hydragun offers a more targeted and deeper massage, while an infrared heating pad provides a therapeutic experience for the whole body or at least a huge part of the body.
Both are great performance and recovery tools. The deep-penetrating heat from an infrared heating pad does great in improving blood circulation and muscle relaxation, both essential for a better and faster post-workout recovery. On the other hand, Hydragun’s deep muscle work can change your recovery game by helping improve blood circulation, reduce soreness, and give back your flexibility and range of motion by loosening any tight muscles.
Hydragun vs. PEMF Mat
Compared to the deep vibrations of the Hydragun, a PEMF mat utilizes varying frequencies of electromagnetic fields to stimulate the body. But while they employ different therapeutic methods, both the Hydragun and PEMF mats are brilliant options for reducing inflammation, helping with muscle repair, and relieving pain.
Another difference worth noting when choosing between the two is that a PEMF mat stimulates a broader area, usually used for whole-body therapy. On the other hand, the Hydragun is perfect for quicker muscle pain relief, especially if you want to target a specific injury.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hydragun
Q: Are massage therapy guns worth it?
A: Massage guns are relatively new in the market, but there is evidence of their effectiveness. A literary review concluded that percussion massage guns could help increase the range of motion and reduce perceived muscle soreness when used before working out. It can also help ease pain and muscle soreness when used as part of a rehabilitation program after an injury.
Q: What is the cost of Hydragun?
A: The Hydragun costs $299, pricy for a massage gun, but still much more attractive compared to other premium percussive massage guns currently available on the market. It also comes with a 30-day risk-free money-back guarantee and an above-standard 18-month warranty, which is good to know if you’re spending hundreds of dollars on a massage gun. It’s available on Amazon and their website, although the latter sometimes offer promos and discounts.
Q: What is the most affordable massage gun
A: The cheapest massage guns can go anywhere from $50 to $100. That said, it’s crucial to pick the best massage gun for the money. Although there are cheap massage guns that offer good value for money, it’s wise to check essential features besides the price tag—controls, ergonomics, attachments, noise, battery, portability, speed settings, and overall massage experience.
Q: What is the best type of massage gun?
A: There are two common types of massage guns—vibration and percussive, and one is not necessarily better overall than the other. Vibration massage guns use vibrating pulses that penetrate the skin down to the soft tissue and muscles. Usually, this type offers more expansive coverage. On the other hand, percussion massage guns, while also taking advantage of vibrations, penetrate deeper into the muscles. This type is usually a portable, hand-held device.
Both types of massage guns are effective in relaxing the muscles. But while a vibration massage gun is suitable for mild levels of pain, the percussive massage gun offers a more targeted massage ideal for relieving a deeper level of pain.
Final Thoughts
We hope this Hydragun review gave you a closer look at what you can get out of this recovery tool and helped you decide if it’s worth the expense.
While expensive, the Hydragun massage gun is a great way to add to your pre and post-workout routine. It’s an ideal tool to relieve daily aches and pains and help heal more serious muscle injuries. And with a great selection of different massage heads to choose from, a decent battery life, low noise, and a solid, sleek design made of high-quality materials, it has plenty of competitive advantage against more expensive options.
Overall, the Hydragun massage gun makes a fantastic tool if you’re looking for something efficient and effective to add to your health and wellness arsenal.
