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Diving into our Sharper Image massager review, we’ve rigorously tested the Sharper Image Power Percussion model, matching its real-world performance against its promised features.
While it presents some strengths, the question looms – does it provide substantial value for its price point?
As we share our personal observations from using this massage gun, we’ll share why, in our experience, there might be stronger sports massagers in this price bracket.
Let’s dive in!
| Features | Sharper Image Massager |
|---|---|
| Max. Stall Force | 25-30 lbs* |
| Stroke Length | 9.5 mm* |
| Percussions Range | 1200 – 2650 rpm* |
| Speeds | 6 |
| Battery Life / Capacity | ~4.5h / 2500 mAh (non-removable) |
| Attachments | 6 |
| Weight | 2.2 lbs |
| Noise | 49 – 60 dB |
| Main Pros | Nice design Good weight Decent stall force |
| Main Cons | Low amplitude Low percussions Only hard attachments Long term reliability (?) |
| Warranty | 1-year |
| Where to buy | Amazon Walmart Costco |
Unpacking the Sharper Image massager, we were greeted with a nicely packaged box featuring descriptive images, which immediately gave us a sense of the product’s quality.
When you unwrap the packaging, you find a gray zippered carrying case, which we must admit is a nice touch for a sub-$100 massage gun. Either way, even guns under $50 come in a carrying case at this point, so this shouldn’t be surprising.
As we opened the case to reveal the Sharper Image massager neatly tucked inside, our first impression was undeniably positive, enhancing our anticipation for the product’s performance.
We like the design. It looks sleek and rounded. It comes in a light gray color with orange accents. The entire body is made of plastic, but we like the quality.
The designers clearly wanted to create a good first impression. It’s a modern look that we like.
We discovered another tiny case in the main case, specifically for the Sharper Image massage gun attachments. In our previous experiences, we’ve often seen a tiny pouch used, so this change felt fresh and surprisingly convenient.
The instructional manual is helpful if you care to read it. It includes information about which massage gun attachment to use on which muscles for trigger point massage.
We found a wall charger and spare attachment gaskets within the package. From our experience with similar products, gaskets can wear out over time, so having spares is a welcome addition. We personally found the orange color of the gaskets to be a charming touch.
There are 6 massage gun attachments included with the Sharper Image massager. The mounting system is push-n-pull, which requires a bit of force. We see this with most cheap guns.
Briefly about the massage gun attachments:
Our Take:
From our hands-on experience, including six massage gun attachments with a cheap massage gun felt like a significant value addition. The varied Sharper Image massage gun attachments brought a sense of versatility to our massage sessions.
However, all the heads are made of hard plastic, and there is no soft attachment for bony or tender areas. There shouldn’t be an excuse for this.
Even the cheaper Taotronics and Urikar (similarly priced) come with at least one squishy massage gun attachment. The 6 Sharper Image massager attachments are good, but we miss a soft head.
The Sharper Image massager felt substantial yet compact in our hands, striking a fine balance between weight and portability.
It feels substantial, but it’s not bulky. It probably looks smaller than most full-sized massage guns out there. It measures 9.84 x 6.9 x 2.5 inches.
It has quite a long handle. This is good because you can easily reach your lower back. On the flip side, it makes the Sharper Image massager look bigger.
It weighs 2.2 pounds with the flat massage gun attachment mounted. We’d say this is the typical weight of a full-sized gun. Even the Ekrin B37 massage gun weighs the same.
What about the ergonomics?
The handle is straight and not slanted like on the Ekrin Athletics massage guns (the Ekrin B37, for example). It’s slightly harder to maneuver the Sharper Image massager than the Ekrin massage gun. Also, the T-shape handle causes the wrist to strain when you are using the Sharper Image massager for longer sessions.
We noticed the handle was rather thick, which might not suit those with small hands. However, the abundant rubber coating offered a firm grip during our test sessions, assuring us of its user-friendly design.
Our Take:
Overall, the size and ergonomics are okay but not perfect. Bob and Brad Massage Guns and Taotronics are better in this regard.
We found the controls to be intuitive and user-friendly.
The small on/off toggle switch at the bottom of the handle and a central button for changing speeds made the Sharper Image massager easy to operate during our test runs.
A simple display also shows the battery level (in percentage).
Pressing the central button briefly shows the current speed and then returns to display the battery percentage.
We like the simplistic but functional approach to the controls.
So, the Sharper Image massager looks neat on the outside, but does it have what it takes to do a decent job? We check for performance by collectively examining amplitude, stall force, and percussions per minute—or power.
Amplitude is the distance the head travels as the massage gun percusses.
Sharper Image massager does not provide official stroke length figures, but based on our hands-on test and subsequent measurements, we found it to be around 9.83mm—fairly close to our initial expectation of 10mm.
This means you get a vibrational massage2 with the Sharper Image Power Percussion deep tissue massage. You shouldn’t expect deeper punches like Theragun.
But should it have enough stall force and rapid percussions, then 10mm can be good enough to make the Sharper Image deep tissue massager. And here’s what we think of its stall force.
Stall force is the gun’s ability to remain functional when pressure is applied to the motor.
After testing the Sharper Image massager, we figured the stall force wasn’t so bad. However, its stall force feels like an entry-level massage gun. We estimate it’s 25-30 lbs. at top speed. It could be single digits at lower speeds.
For perspective, it takes minimal pressure to significantly slow the percussions down (at low speeds).
It feels slightly robust at higher speeds but slows down significantly when you press it against large muscle groups, such as when treating glute muscle pain. Pressing the gun against the body helps to achieve deep tissue penetration and treatment3.
Often, when you see a 10mm amplitude or lower, you know there is a chance the gun can also rev rapidly. But this is an attribute of good low-amplitude guns. We expect those to rev up to 3000-3300 RPM.
The key thing about percussion therapy is that the fast hits add the needed intensity to override the pain signals in the brain and release muscle tension.
However, according to its specifications, this Sharper Image gun only revs up to 2700 RPM. We measured the hits using our digital tachometer and recorded even less, 1200 to slightly over 2600 RPM.
Now, 2650 RPM isn’t so bad if combined with a decent amplitude, such as on a Theragun Mini or a Theragun Prime. But with 10mm, it feels too regular at best.
It lags behind competitors who try to balance the stroke length with the percussions. They often combine a higher amplitude and rapid percussions. This allows for a more penetrative and best deep tissue massage.
But doesn’t Hypervolt 2 Pro have about the same maximum percussions?
Yes, The Hypervolt 2 Pro has 2700 maximum percussions. However, it also has a 14.5mm amplitude – that’s close to twice Power Percussion’s amplitude! Even the entry-level Hypervolt 2 has a 12mm amplitude (similar color).
Our Take:
After concluding the performance test, we’d say the Sharper Image massager disappoints in performance. It is not very bad, but for the money, you can get a better sports massager (see best alternatives below). On the bright side, it has a decent stall force and 6 speeds to cycle through a reasonably wide range.
It’s a quiet percussion massager that remains hushed throughout the operation. Even at higher speeds, it rarely buzzes. We measured the noise levels and recorded about 60 dB on our digital noise meter. See pictures of our measurements below.
But this is what we’ve come to expect of low-amplitude devices.
But we did notice it gets louder after a few dozen sessions. We observed rattles, vibrations, and some creaking noise. This often means that the massage gun might have reliability issues in the future.
We know that a cheap massage gun tends to get louder a few weeks into use. This is a characteristic we’ve noted with many budget massage guns.
The massage gun attachment mounting system may shoulder the blame for the rattling. We don’t know how long our Sharper Image massager will stay functional, but it’s nothing we haven’t experienced with similar percussion massagers.
Expect a 2500mAh battery. This is a standard massage gun battery capacity.
According to the brand, the Sharper Image massager should last about 4.5 hours of operation time. However, this sounds like an exaggeration unless you don’t move past speed 1. In our test, under normal usage, with some pressure applied, a single charge lasted for 1.5 – 2 hours when used at higher speeds.
This is still good enough and could translate to about a week of use under normal usage.
The main display has a battery indicator (0-99 percent). The LED ring on the handle is reminiscent of Hypervolt. We are not so sure the battery will go the distance.
Again, from our experience, a budget massage gun tends to save on batteries. In fact, we also spotted several negative reviews from buyers who complained that the percussion massager suddenly stopped working, for instance, on this website here and here. Obviously, we’ll have to wait and see.
We didn’t see any warranty information inside the case. We are assuming it’s a 1-year warranty and nothing more. Many cheap massage guns tend to have a 1-year cover. We prefer brands like Ekrin Athletics and Lifepro, which provide life coverage for all their devices.
You can order the Sharper Image massager online at Walmart. It’s not an expensive gun.
We bought our unit for about $65. We understand it was slightly higher than this before. But is it worth its weight in gold?
We know it can handle basic percussive therapy and trigger point massage, but we know competitors with better value-for-money sports massagers. We list 2 alternatives below.
The Bob and Brad C2 massage gun is a budget massage gun, too. It is one of the best massage guns under $100, and you might get lucky and get $30 off when using the coupon on Amazon!
The C2 percussion massage weighs 1.5 lb (0.7 lbs less than lighter than the Sharper Image massager, about the same as the Sharper Image massager.
However, the C2 has a better stall force (40 lbs), ~ a 9mm amplitude, five speeds, and a speed range between 2000 and 3200 RPM.
With a single charge (which takes about 3.5 hours), the battery will last between 3 and 4 hours of continuous run, depending on the speed and force used during a trigger point massage.
Bob and Brad massage guns are quality, and all of them come with a semi-rigid carrying case for storing all five massage gun attachments, user manual, power cord, spare gaskets, and, of course, the percussion massager!
The five massage gun attachments are of different materials (not all plastic, as seen in many cheap massage guns). The Ball Head is made of EVA foam, the Fork head (massage gun attachment for calves), flat head and Bullet head are plastic, and like a Theragun Soft head, the C2 has an air cushion head which is good for sore muscles after gym.
Percussion therapy is effective in relieving pain in lower back and buttocks and aids healing during rehabilitation. It is a great shoulder reliever.
The handle on the Bob and Brad massage gun is oval, which makes it easy and comfortable to hold.
We like the fact that it’s a single-button operation as well: On/Off and speed changes.
Being an entry-level device, it is perfect for first-time users.
This massage gun under $100, you can get it for just $69.99 by ticking the box beside the coupon on Amazon.
It’s an incredible 30% discount.
Also, it has a 1-year warranty by default, but if you register the device with Bob and Brad Massage Guns, you get a total of 2 years of warranty.
Learn More: Our full Bob and Brad C2 massage gun review.
This Taotronics massage gun, along with its twin brother TT-PCA003, made our best budget massage guns list as the best massage gun under $50.
In our tests, the Taotronics massage gun TT-PCA004 performed even better than any option we have mentioned here thus far.
Even though they advertise a 12mm amplitude, we measured a 9mm stroke. This is just like the Sharper Image Power percussion’s amplitude, but because this Taotronics massage gun has more stall force, it feels stronger and somewhat better balanced in terms of power.
We measured the percussion range to be 1000 – 3000 RPM. This wide range allows for both slow and fast treatment—350 percussions more than the Sharper Image Power percussion. With this setup, you can get a deep tissue massage.
We found the Taotronics Massage Gun TT-PCA004 a tad lighter than the Sharper Image massager, even though it has a higher capacity battery – 2600mAh compared to 2500mAh.
Like the Theragun soft head, this one has a soft massage gun attachment for massaging bony, achy joints and muscles.
Deal Alert: Taotronics Sale. You can get 50% off the Taotronics massage gun now! It will cost you a mere $39. Get it right here.
It only costs $45.99 (as of August 25, 2024). If you check the description page, a 15% discount window may appear a minute later!
This one is cheaper than Bob and Brad C2 and Sharper Image massage guns. You can get it right here.
While it may be cheap, it offers better value for money than the Sharper Image massager. It also comes with a one-year warranty.
Learn More: in our in-depth Taotronics TT-PCA004 review.
Before we conclude our hands-on experience with the Sharper Image Power Percussion, we noticed a few things that are worth sharing.
When we first unboxed the Sharper Image massager, we appreciated its well-thought-out design and visually appealing aesthetics. However, when we tested its performance, it fell short of expectations.
Based on our trials, we believe the Sharper Image massager could be suitable for beginners. We found it helpful for myofascial release and trigger point therapy in relaxing tense muscles and relieving DOMs in smaller muscle groups. We also found it helpful to massage before workout to warm up our muscles.
However, when we sought a deeper, more penetrative massage, we felt the Sharper Image massager couldn’t quite deliver the desired intensity. Our advice is to find one with a higher amplitude – in our opinion, this one didn’t stand up as a viable alternative to the Theragun.
We recommend checking out the two alternatives we listed above. We have tested them and found them superior to the Sharper Image massage gun in many ways. One has better features and better performance (Bob and Brad C2), and the other performs really well and costs less (Taotronics TT-PCA004).
Summary
In our hands, the Sharper Image Power Percussion massager felt modern and sleek, giving us a positive first impression. However, when we used it regularly, we found it lacking in certain performance aspects. From our usage over time, we started questioning its long-term reliability and saw it struggling to compete with other brands we’ve tested.
Here's a quick rundown of all the tweaks and edits we've made to this article to keep it accurate and up-to-date!
Current version.
June 6, 2023 We’ve added our in-depth video review of the Sharper Image Power Percussion massager to the blog. (Author: Greg)
June 6, 2023 Updated pricing and coupon codes for the two recommended alternatives. (Author: Luke)
May 25, 2023 Made minor editorial changes for improved clarity and accuracy. (Author: Greg)
Feb 10, 2023 Added new photos from out test lab showing the actual amplitude, noise levels and percussions (Author: Greg)
Published on:
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Written by:
Greg Szostak
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