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 of those questions, your search 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 a large number of companies operating in the industry, and some of them have a reputation for making good products.
As you will see in the sections that follow, this chair definitely has potential, just like other Comfier massage chairs. It’s got a lot of features that, with a bit more work, could make this one 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 to you, read on, and let’s take a closer look.
An Overview of the Comfier CF-9216 Massage Chair
At first glance, the CF-9216 looks a lot like most of the 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, if you look beyond the general aesthetic, you discover that Comfier skimps on some of the basics as 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.
That’s not the case here. Absent space-saving technology, you’ll need a staggering 20” of clearance between the seatback and the wall, which means that this chair tends to take 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 is probably going to be a non-starter as it’s going to be extremely difficult to find room for it.
Assuming you can find a home for it somewhere in your house, the next issue you’ll want to consider is the fact 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 is going to be an absolute dealbreaker.
Finally, it’s important to note that although the massage track is impressively long at 55”, the dimensions of this chair 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.
The Comfier CF-9216 Is Built Around Good Technology, But…
Sadly, although there’s a lot of potential here, we consider this to be 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 in use here is quite good overall. The problem, as you will see, is that many times, the implementation leaves a lot to be desired, which simply makes 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.
There was a time, back in the early days of the industry, when that alone would have been enough to earn this chair high marks. As the market has matured, however, standards and expectations increased, and these days, that’s simply 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 notably superior to 3D massage, so you’ll want to activate that capability by default, which makes us wonder why they even give a 3D option.
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. When you sit in the chair, it 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.
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, but 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 in practice, 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.
We see the same kind of thing when it comes to the auto programs on offer. If you’re relying on the website or the Amazon sales page, you’ll see references to 18 pre-programmed massage options on offer. They are:
At first glance, this seems like a lot, but on closer inspection, some of what the company calls “pre-programmed massage options” are simply partial massage modes (mid-body, upper body, and lower body), while others reference entirely separate features (“Air Only”, which is the chair’s airbag massage).
We haven’t seen any other massage chair that counts these kinds of things as “pre-programmed options.” If you take those off the list, you’re left with about thirteen.
Given the price of the chair, having ten pre-programmed options is pretty good but certainly not spectacular. Once again, though, the implementation here is unnecessarily confusing. Our sense is 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!
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 your choice of 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes.
The chair also offers lumbar heat, which definitely 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 really 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, it’s our view that, by itself, most people won’t find that sufficient to offset the negatives we’ve talked about in this section.
A Trio Of Zero-G Seating Positions Included
We consider this to be 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.
Not only does Zero-G seating make you feel weightless, which makes it incredibly comfortable, but it also enhances the overall quality of the massage you can get from this chair and has been proven to lower blood pressure and improve the circulation of anyone who uses it. 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.
By itself, it’s not enough to make the chair a good value, but credit where credit is due!
The CF-9216 Offers A Competent Airbag-Based Massage
There’s really not much to talk about here other than to say that this model offers an airbag-based massage. There’s nothing remarkable about it, and our sense is that the airbags mostly exist so that 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 levels of intensity on offer.
It’s fairly basic, but it feels nice and is certainly worth experimenting with. We think it unlikely, however, that anyone would purchase this model on the strength of the air massage alone.
A Basic Calf and Foot Massage
We like that the CF-9216 offers a calf and foot massage, but our sense is that they just phoned it in. There’s nothing remarkable about it, though the basic massage it offers does feel pretty good.
Here, the calf and foot massage is rendered via a combination of airbags and foot rollers. Unlike most other massage chairs that offer a roller-based foot massage, though, 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 a lot of time on your feet every day, you’ll probably like it well enough. Though, it’s not difficult to find a comparably priced massage chair that has more to offer on this front.
One High-Value Extra
It’s not at all uncommon for smaller brands to skimp a bit where extras are concerned, and that’s what we find here. The only real “extra” this model brings to the table is the Bluetooth speakers, which allow you to pair them with your phone and listen to your favorite music while you’re enjoying a relaxing massage.
It’s a good feature, and the sound quality will leave you pleasantly surprised, but we do find ourselves wishing 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 there’s not much to assembling the chair before first use, that 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 that offers a few basic therapeutic features, this one checks all of 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 necessary to do some of the features justice.
Both of these can be remedied in future models if the company decides to continue producing massage chairs.
Comfier Deluxe Massage Chair Review Conclusion
If you’ve read our Comfier Deluxe massage chair review to this point, then you probably already know what we’re going to say. We cannot recommend this model. While there are some undeniable bright spots in the design, overall, this chair just 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 honestly the standard by which every other value-priced massage chair should be judged. Not only is this an incredibly capable 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 too. 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 they’ve got loads of massage chair experience and their chairs generally punch above their weight class. Not only does this chair come equipped with more features overall, but all of them are consistently well-implemented. This is a great example of what a smaller company has to offer. It’s well worth a look.
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
