After doing quite a bit of research online, I bought the Maxi Pro Thumper massager for my wife’s birthday earlier this year. Thumper claims that many of his massagers (including this one) are used by many industry professionals (physical therapists, chiropractors, sports teams, etc.). I’m a former college athlete now turned recreational athlete, but I work out (hard) every day or every other day, so I had the idea that this was a “professional“I was drawn to the model rather than something I’d find at Walmart or Target. We already had a handheld/wand massager from Homedics, but it wasn’t powerful enough to get deep into big, sore muscles like quads and hamstrings.

I did some shopping and searching online and finally found that Comfort Store Direct in Lewis Center, Ohio, USA had the best price (and free shipping at the time), so I bought it from them.

The unit arrived a week later in a specially designed box, so it was undamaged and ready to go right out of the box. The Maxi Pro is primarily designed for 2-person use, so I patiently waited for my wife to come home to try it out. My wife loved the Maxi Pro right away, but she wasn’t entirely sold on me. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it and it was MUCH easier to use than hand/wand massagers, but I quickly noticed that the only real setting on the unit that was having much of an effect on me was level 5, the highest setting. As far as I’m concerned the other 4 bottom settings didn’t really do much.

Since we were using the Maxi Pro at its highest setting, I checked their website for answers and found that Thumper has a more powerful equine version of this unit, which was specially designed for elite athletes and, of course, horses. This unit looks the same as the Maxi Pro, but apparently has a more powerful motor.

Over the course of the next few days I wrestled with the idea of ​​going through the trouble of returning the Maxi Pro and getting the Equine model. After 3 days I broke down and gave in. I contacted Comfort Store Direct and requested a return authorization number, which they gladly provided; by the way, both my wife and I dealt with these people and they were always nice. I returned the Maxi Pro at around $15 (not bad) and figured the extra $40 for the more powerful Equine motor would be worth it.

When the Equine unit came along I gave my quads a try (you don’t need 2 people for this), and I have to say I was disappointed at first. I really expected a noticeable difference in power between the two units, but I just didn’t feel it. Later that night, my wife tested the unit and while she agreed with me that it might not be significantly more powerful, she felt that it could be a bit better.

I emailed Thumper asking if he might have an underpowered unit and indicated that I was a little disappointed with this new model. To his credit, a Thumper representative got back to me within 24 business hours and kindly explained that, “Stroke depth on the Equine Thumper is 15% greater than on the Maxi Pro. The drive assembly that is the mechanism responsible for the “punch” has a different tolerance than the Maxi Pro, so the impact is greater .“

The Thumper representative indicated that I could return the product for a refund if I wanted, which I appreciated. I emailed back and pointed out that my wife really liked the unit (and I didn’t think she was that bad) so a refund wouldn’t be necessary.

PROS:

• The unit is heavy (8 pounds), but it actually works in its favor. You don’t need to press down on the massager to feel the pressure; the weight of the unit does it for you.
• The two handles on the unit make it easy to move, manipulate, move and adjust.
• If you are flexible and a bit creative, you can use the Maxi Pro/Equine model without the help of another person.
• Don’t worry. In fact, it’s much quieter than the less powerful hand/wand unit we have. It is not difficult to watch TV and use the unit at the same time.
• Very easy to use on someone. In fact, you can often place the unit on someone (such as your lower back) and the unit will work without having to hold it at all. You may need to balance it with just a couple of fingers to keep it in place; either way, it’s easy.
• Instead of a vibrating motion that most massagers have, this one actually knocks up and down like a piston (you can actually see it doing this). I found this approach to be much more effective for giving/receiving massages.
• Fast and friendly customer service – The representative I emailed at Thumper was very friendly.
• It feels pretty sturdy and durable…although I’ve only had it for a few weeks.
• Don’t get that tired feeling in your hands, wrists, and forearms that vibrating handheld or wand massagers can cause. It really doesn’t take much effort to give someone a massage.
• The unit does not get hot during or after use.

CONS:

• It’s not portable if you’re traveling, but that wasn’t really a concern for us.
• For the most part this is a 2 person effort, using the massager solo is doable but tricky.
• I still wish it had a higher, more powerful setting for both drives.
• The instructional DVD they send you is worthless. In fact, there was a depth adjustment dial on the bottom of both units that I didn’t even know about until the Thumper rep told me about it via email.

BOTTOM LINE:

I would recommend this unit to anyone in the market for a personal massager who has tried other vibrating models that don’t reach the muscles enough. It’s easy to use, but I suggest you buy the unit if you have a partner who is willing and able to work with you. At around $300, it’s not the cheapest model out there. Personally, I would go for the Maxi Pro as it is less expensive and I didn’t feel a huge difference between it and the Equine model.