In a Nutshell:
The Comfier CF 9216 is a chair with a number of fairly well-implemented features that should be decent but manages not to be. Recommended for we cannot recommend this model.
Overall Massage Quality
Customization options
Ease of Use
Value for the Money
Brand Reliability*
Overall Rating
2.6/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: We cannot recommend this model.
Are you on a budget? Are you looking for a low-priced massage chair to help manage your chronic back, leg, or foot pain so you can stop spending money making regular trips to your local chiropractor’s office?
If you answered yes to both questions, searching for the perfect massage chair may have led you to consider the Comfier full-body massage chair.
On paper, this looks like it should be a solid contender. Although Comfier is a smaller brand with a modest footprint in the industry and isn’t known for its stellar post-sales support, that same basic description applies to many companies operating in the industry, some of which have a reputation for making good products.
As you will see in the following sections, this chair has potential like other Comfier massage chairs. It’s got many features that, with a bit more work, could make it a genuine contender, but in its current form, it simply comes up short in our view.
We’ll step you through everything this model can do, and we won’t pull any punches when describing exactly how and why it ultimately disappointed us. Before you spend your hard-earned money, we urge you to join us on this review, and at the end, we’ll point you in the direction of some models we think will serve you better.
If that sounds good, read on, and let’s look closer.
Comfier CF-9216 Massage Chair Key Features
At first glance, the CF-9216 looks like most other massage chairs on the market. It boasts the same vaguely futuristic, egg-shaped design, with leg massage ports at the bottom and a secondary control system on one of the chair arms.
Unfortunately, suppose you look beyond the general aesthetic. In that case, you discover that Comfier skimps on some of the basics compared to many—if not most—of the massage chairs on the market today.
For instance, almost all of the “serious” massage chairs on the market are designed with space-saving technology, which allows the chair to fully recline with just a few inches of clearance between the seatback and whatever wall you place the chair near.
Not Space-Saving
That’s not the case here. Absent space-saving technology, you’ll need a staggering 20” of clearance between the seatback and the wall, meaning this chair takes up a lot of space. That’s a very big deal when you consider the overall dimensions of the chair, which are 57.87” D x 30.82” W x 33.27” H.
Add to that the fact that this monster weighs a hefty 220 pounds, and you can fully appreciate the magnitude of the problem. If you live in a smaller home or apartment, this chair will probably be a non-starter as it will be challenging to find room for it.
Limited User Weight Support
Assuming you can find a home for it somewhere in your house, the next issue you’ll want to consider is that this model only supports a maximum of 265 pounds of user weight. The informal average supported weight in the massage chair industry is about 300 pounds, which makes Comfier’s offering a bit below average.
If you weigh less than that, you won’t care, but that’s a hard stop, so if you happen to weigh more, that fact will be an absolute dealbreaker.
Long Massage Track
Finally, it’s important to note that although the massage track is impressively long at 55”, this chair’s dimensions only make it a good fit for users up to 6’ tall. If you’re taller than that, you will struggle to get a good massage from the chair.
4D Massage Technology
Sadly, although there’s a lot of potential here, we consider this a relatively weak portion of our Comfier Deluxe massage chair review.
That’s not to say that this model doesn’t get anything right. It does, and the technology used here is quite good overall. The problem, as you will see, is that the implementation often leaves a lot to be desired, making this model more difficult/inconvenient to use than many of its peers. Let’s take a closer look at that.
Earlier, we mentioned the impressive 55” long massage track. The company makes very good use of the SL track design by employing industry-standard quad rollers and, even better, incorporating 4D technology, which makes the CF-9216 capable of rendering a massage that feels amazing.
Back in the industry’s early days, there was a time when that alone would have earned this chair high marks. As the market has matured, however, standards and expectations have increased, and these days, that’s no longer enough.
One of the problems this chair runs into is that it feels like the designers didn’t have a firm idea about what they wanted this model to be. It incorporates 4D technology but only selectively, only when specifically activated.
Make no mistake: 4D massage is superior to 3D massage, so you’ll want to activate that capability by default. This makes us wonder why they even offer a 3D option.
Body Scanning
On the plus side, you’ll find a competently implemented body scanning routine. This is standard fare on massage chairs, but some companies do it better than others. Sitting in the chair will take a quick scan of your body and quietly adjust the position of the rollers so that they hit your pressure points precisely.
In practice, this technology gets it right more than 90% of the time, and on those rare occasions where it’s a little off, you’ll find controls on the remote that will allow you to make manual adjustments.
Massage Techniques
In terms of massage capabilities, the company makes it very difficult to even understand what options you’ve got available. On the website, when discussing techniques, you won’t find any conventional terminology used. Still, if you spend some time poring over the user manual or exploring the remote, you’ll discover that the following massage techniques are on offer:
This is standard fare. These techniques should be considered the starting point for any modern massage chair, and almost every massage chair on the market today offers this set of techniques at a minimum.
That’s not a bad thing given the price of the chair, but be aware that if you’re looking for more where techniques are concerned, it’s not going to be difficult to find.
Massage Programs
We see the same thing regarding the auto programs on offer. If you rely on the website or the Amazon sales page, you’ll see references to 18 pre-programmed massage options. They are:
At first glance, this seems like a lot. Still, on closer inspection, some of what the company calls “pre-programmed massage options” are partial massage modes (mid-body, upper body, and lower body). In contrast, others reference entirely separate features (“Air Only,” the chair’s airbag massage).
We haven’t seen any other massage chair that counts these as “pre-programmed options.” If you take those off the list, you’re left with about thirteen.
Given the chair’s price, having ten pre-programmed options is pretty good but certainly not spectacular. Once again, though, the implementation here is unnecessarily confusing. We sense that it will leave many if not most, potential buyers with a negative impression—that’s certainly the impact it had on us!
In any case, the pre-programmed massage options are a mixed bag. The ten that we’d regard as genuine pre-programmed options are very good, and it’s worth mentioning that this chair offers a stretch routine. It’s not the best stretch you’ll ever experience, but it’s fairly well implemented and counts as a powerful therapeutic feature the Comfier makes available.
Credit where credit is due!
Adjustable Speed and Massage Duration
You’ll also find at least some customizability on offer, with three different massage roller speeds and a built-in massage timer that allows you to set the duration of your massage to 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes.
Lumbar Heat
The chair also offers lumbar heat, which enhances the overall massage experience and offers a second therapeutic feature.
Unfortunately, there’s no way of controlling the temperature of the offered heat, but we can’t count that against the design since that’s an incredibly rare feature. Even without that, we’d still rate the inclusion of heat as being one of the strongest features of the design.
As good as that is, most people won’t find it sufficient to offset the negatives discussed above.
Zero-G Seating Positions
We consider this a strong component of our Comfier Deluxe massage chair review. Zero-G is a high-value feature addition, and in this case, the company implemented all three of its offered positions very well.
Zero-G seating makes you feel weightless, which makes it incredibly comfortable. It also enhances the overall quality of the massage from this chair and has been proven to lower blood pressure and improve circulation. This is an exceptional therapeutic feature and a fantastic addition to this design.
Zero-G seating is found on roughly half of the massage chairs on the market today, and at the price point the Comfier massage chair is offered, you typically only find one position offered. Sometimes, you’ll see two, but it’s relatively rare to see three, so we rate this as one of the strongest components of the chair’s design.
It’s not enough to make the chair a good value, but credit where credit is due!
Competent Airbag-Based Massage
There’s not much to discuss here, but this model offers an airbag-based massage. There’s nothing remarkable about it, though; the airbags mostly exist so the chair can execute its body stretching routine.
You’ll find basic options, including the ability to selectively activate airbags by body zone (choosing from full air, shoulders, arms, or foot and calf), and three intensity levels on offer.
It’s fairly basic but feels nice and is worth experimenting with. We think it unlikely that anyone would purchase this model solely on the strength of the air massage.
Basic Calf and Foot Massage
We like that the CF-9216 offers a calf and foot massage, but we sense they just phoned it. There’s nothing remarkable about it, though the basic massage it offers does feel pretty good.
The calf and foot massage is rendered via airbags and foot rollers. However, unlike most other massage chairs that offer a roller-based foot massage, the roller action is purely binary. You can either turn the rollers on or off. There are no speed or intensity adjustments to be found.
Overall, it’s decent but not remarkable. Still, if you spend much time on your feet daily, you’ll probably like it well enough. Finding a comparable massage chair with more to offer on this front is not difficult.
One High-Value Extra
It’s not uncommon for smaller brands to skimp a bit on extras, and that’s what we find here. The only real “extra” this model offers is the Bluetooth speakers, which allow you to pair them with your phone and listen to your favorite music while enjoying a relaxing massage.
It’s a good feature, and the sound quality will leave you pleasantly surprised, but we wish the company had offered more on this front.
For instance, the sales materials claim you can save your preferred massage settings for one-touch recall later, but we found no means of actually doing that.
The documentation is sparse, and although assembling the chair before first use requires little effort, the process is harder than it needs to be because the quality of the documentation is lacking.
Pros & Cons of Comfier CF-9216 Deluxe Massage Chair
At the end of the day, this model has one big thing going for it—it’s relatively inexpensive. So, if you’re on a budget and in the market for a basic massage chair offering a few basic therapeutic features, this one checks all those boxes.
Unfortunately, the feature implementation you’ll find here is inconsistent and sometimes downright frustrating. We believe this stems from two things. First, the design team didn’t seem to have a tightly focused plan for what they wanted this chair to do. Second, they didn’t have the experience to do some features justice.
These can be remedied in future models if the company continues producing massage chairs.
Comfier Deluxe Massage Chair Review Conclusion
If you’ve read our Comfier Deluxe massage chair review, you probably already know what we’ll say. We cannot recommend this model. While the design has some undeniable bright spots, this chair doesn’t bring the quality or value we look for when evaluating massage chairs. There are plenty of better options on the market.
Other Options To Consider
If you agree with our conclusion, here are a couple of high-quality options you may want to consider:
Recommended For: Hobbyist/casual users, chronic pain sufferers, and taller users, almost anybody, will love this chair!
This is the standard by which every other value-priced massage chair should be judged. Not only is this a competent machine offered by one of the best companies in the industry today, but it’s also brimming with high-value features and loaded with extras. This little chair can do it all.
Recommended For: Anyone on a budget who weighs up to 400 pounds.
Real Relax is a smaller company, but it has loads of massage chair experience, and its chairs generally punch above their weight class. This chair comes equipped with more features overall, and all of them are consistently well-implemented. It’s a great example of what a smaller company has to offer. It’s well worth a look.
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
