I have never been a massage chair type of person. I’d much rather hand off a professional masseuse $50.00 for a good 30 minute massage. My brother however became obsessed with the iJoy about a year ago, and wanted the chair for his birthday. Seeing how no one was willing to spit up $800 in one shot, we pooled together our funds, and chipped in for the chair.
I wasn’t completely against chipping in either, because I figured seeing how he still lives home with all of us, we would all be able to get dibs on using the chair whenever he wasn’t home. Teehee!
Instead of seeking out the chair though, we instead handed off the money to him, and let him figure out where to get the dang thing.
Less than 2 hours later he was setting the iJoy 130 up in his room.
First Impression:
He choose the chair in a Cashew color, which looked like it was made of suede, and to be honest the chair looked pretty beautiful. It had a deep brown color to it that matched his room, and seemed extremely cozy. Something I wouldn’t mind taking a short nap on while getting massaged.
The iJoy 130 Robotic Massage Chair however looked a little to uncommon. It has a modern shape to it, that definitely would not match furniture had he set it up in our living room. At any rate though, the chair was new, it was top of the line at the time, and he HAD to have it.
On the arm rests the chairs remote lies, here you can adjust the chair to lean back, or forward, and this is also where you choose which type of massage you would like.
The on off switch is also located on the left side of the chair.
My Use:
Of course he did not let anyone on it until he first used it for a good solid hour. Finally my time came to test the chair out.
I sat down and the iJoy was relatively comfortable, but not as soft as I would have preferred. I could also feel the mechanisms in my back before I even started the chair up.
I tried out all of the different modes, which include percussion, rolling, kneading, and compression. You can choose a full back massage or you can adjust it using the remote to only work on a certain part on your back.
Percussion was the first mode I tried out. Two words = HATED IT!
This mode is extremely uncomfortable, it actually feels like someone is trying to burp you, with non stop patting on the back. It does not hut, but it is enough non-stop patting to make your stomach feel sick after a few short moments.
After a few moments of feeling like someone wanted to burp me, I then tried out the compression mode. This mode is decent, and the chairs inner mechanism sort of remains on the sides of your spine. Although it was a decent feeling, it was also semi painful.
Kneading was one particular mode that I liked. It feels as if two large thumbs are working their way up your spine in circular motions.
Nothing though beats the rolling mode. I enjoy this mode because it feels as if it does not miss a beat.
Issues:
Although there were only two modes in which I truly liked, I find that the iJoy 130 has more issues than it is worth. First and foremost the inside mechanism works on your back rolling up and down, kneading and massaging your back depending on which mode you choose. You can adjust the chair to lay back or sit up during the massage... one issue though I ran into was the fact that you cannot stretch the inside mechanisms out.
What I mean is that during the massage, it would be nice to stretch the inside robotic thumbs out, to reach the sides of my back, and not so much focus on my frigging spine. It seems that the chairs inner massage chamber focuses only on the middle of your back, ignoring areas that may need work. This is the biggest failure this chair has to offer.
Another issue is the fact that only 2 modes out of the 4 are actually worth anything. Percussion straight up sucks, and compression is actually painful. Rolling may even be considered slightly painful to some, my mom in particular hated this mode.
Another major lack in design with the iJoy 130 is the fact that you have to purchase the leg massager separately for another $200 or more, which is just straight up ridiculous. It would have been nice to have the ottoman built directly into the chair. It becomes semi uncomfortable to be sitting in the chair, and not have the foot rest.
What I Like:
Now the iJoy130 is not all that useless. It does in fact relive stress and knots on your middle back area if that is where you have pain. After a good 15 minute massage you will definitely feel more relaxed.
Although some may not like its odd modern design, it’s actually really pretty looking. The micro suede also feels great on skin in the winter, or summer.
I find myself using the chair very seldom, whenever I feel the need to relax though, the iJoy is somewhat helpful. The rolling mode really loosens up any tension in your back as well, and it feels good.
Overall:
I feel that the iJoy 130 Robotic Massage Chair is over priced for what it delivers. I didn’t like that the inner massage chamber only focused on the middle of my back and spine, and I didn’t like 2 modes out of the 4. I also thought the fact that it didn’t come with the leg rest was the cheapest thing a company could do. For the price paid, it should have come with it!
I wouldn’t recommend this one to others, simply based on price and lack of leg rest. I would however recommend it if the price dropped significantly, and the leg rest were included. Till then it’s one to skip.
Availability:
I was able to locate the exact same chair at Target.com for $749.00. Click to view. You could likely find a refurbished iJoy 130 as well, by doing a quick google search.
