In a Nutshell:
The Relaxonchair MK-II Plus massage chair is an entry-level, off-brand chair that stacks up surprisingly well to the mainstream brands it competes with. Recommended for hobbyist users and chronic pain sufferers.
Overall Massage Quality
Customization options
Ease of Use
Value for the Money
Comfort
Brand Reliability*
Overall Rating
3.7/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Hobbyist users and chronic pain sufferers.
Are you on a budget?
Are you looking for a massage chair that will give you access to basic therapeutic benefits without breaking the bank?
If you answered yes to either of those questions, you’ll love our Relaxonchair MK-II Plus review.
We tend to treat off-brand products with a healthy amount of skepticism. While it’s true that this chair is imperfect, it compares quite favorably to better-established, mainstream brands and would make an excellent choice for the right user.
We’ll cover the various features of MK-II Plus in the sections below so you can judge for yourself.
Key Features of Relaxonchair MK-II Plus Massage Chair
Before we start talking about the individual features of the Relaxonchair MK-II Plus, we’ve got to say a few words about the inherent risks of buying an off-brand chair.
While it’s true that you tend to get more “bang for your buck” when you shop off-brand, customer support tends to be problematic for these companies, which tend to be small import businesses that import the products they sell from China, put their own label on them, and offer them for sale on the web.
There’s nothing wrong with that; you can find some real bargains in this market segment. Just understand that part of the reason for the higher prices name brands charge is support. If something goes wrong, you can typically get it fixed without hassle. That’s not the case here.
In this regard, Relaxonchair is a half-step above many of the other off-brand companies we’ve looked at. Their support is better, although still not up to par with its mainstream competitors. As you’ll see, however, their product is surprisingly robust and may be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Their other Relaxonchair models are also pretty solid.
Hybrid S/L -Track Design
This is the first surprise that the Relaxonchair MK II offers, and it’s great.
Where track design is concerned, there are three basic flavors: L-Track, S-Track, and Hybrid Track.
The hybrid track design meshes the best features of the S-Track with the L-tracks; it enables the chair’s quad rollers to follow the natural curvature of your body’s spine. At the same time, it extends the massage track down to the glutes and thighs, allowing for something closer to a whole-body massage rendered with rollers.
The one minor complaint with the Relaxonchair MK-II Plus Massage Chair’s implementation of this feature is that its extended track doesn’t extend very far. It’ll allow the rollers to reach the glutes and the top portion of the backs of your thighs, but that’s about it.
Even so, it is nothing short of amazing that an entry-level chair, and an off-brand chair at that, offers it at all.
Note that in the company’s literature on their product, they refer to this as their “Buttlock Tracking System,” but we’re fairly sure that it was supposed to be “Buttock,” and it is just an artifact of the language barrier.
3D Body Scan
Fans of automation will appreciate that the Relaxonchair MK-II Plus Massage Chair also comes with 3D Body Scanning technology, and again, their version is comparable to that of most mainstream brands.
Before your massage begins, the chair scans your back and makes subtle on-the-fly adjustments to the rollers’ position to ensure the massage hits all your pressure points. It occasionally misses the mark, but only occasionally, and is another excellent addition to the chair.
Zero-Gravity Seating
A third pleasant surprise is that the Relaxonchair MK-II Plus Massage Chair offers three Zero-G seating positions.
Zero-G seating enhances the massage experience by reclining the user so that the knees are slightly above the heart. From this position, most of your body’s weight is pressed down against the rollers, allowing for a deeper, more penetrating massage.
Less than half the chairs on the market today offer Zero-G seating. Most of the ones that include the feature offer two seating positions. A few offer just one, and only a small percentage offer three. The MK II is in that very small group, and it’s a huge win for the little chair and anyone who buys one.
Deep Tissue Massage
There aren’t many deep-tissue massage chairs (under $2000) on the market, and this chair is one of them. If you suffer from chronic back pain, you’ll be thrilled at the intensity of the massage on the chair’s strongest setting.
Casual users will almost certainly steer clear of the most intense setting for this very reason, but for those who need it, it’s nice to see, and this is the least expensive deep tissue machine we’ve ever seen.
A Modest Number of Options
Having listed four outstanding features in a row, it’s not surprising to come across one of the limitations of this chair. While it has the basics covered and a few options, the Relaxonchair MK-II Plus Massage Chair is only average in this regard. You get three standard techniques:
In addition, four pre-programmed massage routines are built into the chair. These are:
Technically speaking, Deep Tissue is just the chair set to maximum intensity, and Stretch isn’t a massage per se. However, since the company lists these as pre-programmed massages accessible from the remote in that section, we’ll stick with the convention they have established.
Finally, from the remote, you can access five additional massages that target specific parts of your body, so if you’re not interested in a full-body massage, you can zero in on just the areas that hurt.
While that sounds like many options, it’s important to understand that these are all minor variations. At the end of the day, you’ve got two massage options (deep tissue and relaxation) and some targeted routines.
That’s pretty good, especially given the price of the chair, but don’t be fooled by thinking that you’re getting an entry-level chair with dozens of massage options. You’re getting a chair that can give a great basic massage and provide some therapeutic benefits, which is solid value for the money.
Final Note: All massage options can be customized via three intensity levels and speed settings.
Air Massage Mode
The company made it difficult to determine the exact number of airbags in the Relaxonchair MK II Plus massage chair, but we finally found out. Twenty-First Generation airbags are strategically placed throughout the chair.
At the entry level, that’s a decent number. You can get a superior air massage if you’re willing to spend more money. Still, the one offered by the Relaxonchair MK-II Plus massage chair is adequate, if not exceptional, and should be considered a full-body massage.
Back Heat
In this regard, the company sells itself short. They advertise the chair as having two heating elements in the lumbar region of the chair.
That’s where the heating elements are, but they’re quite large, and the reality is that they provide heat to your mid-back. Not all chairs come with heat, and they can be hard to find at the lower end of the price spectrum, so this has to be counted as another strong point of the chair.
The main drawback is that the temperature cannot be controlled. You either have heat, or you don’t. If the heat isn’t as intense as you’d like it, there’s no way to adjust it, sadly. Even with this limitation, though, it’s a welcome addition that adds real therapeutic value to the chair.
Body Stretch
We’ll put this one down as an admirable attempt. The chair does offer a body stretch function, but many users have reported that it’s not strong enough for them. Nonetheless, the fact that it is in a budget-priced chair is amazing.
Body stretching offers tremendous therapeutic benefits and near-instantaneous pain relief by taking pressure off compressed discs in your spine.
We were somewhat surprised that the stretch function wasn’t more aggressive, given that this chair offers deep tissue massage, but it’s quite mild.
Even so, if you suffer from chronic back pain, you’ll enjoy this feature and will get some benefit from it, though it may leave you wanting more.
Calf & Foot Massage
Airbags located in the chair’s leg massage ports massage the calf, while simple rollers massage the soles of the feet. The foot roller massage is extremely aggressive, and many users have complained it’s too strong.
Some homebrewed modifications have been made to these chairs, including laying a washcloth at the bottom of each footwell, installing shoe inserts, or wearing extra socks.
Aside from its strength, the leg or foot massage is nothing remarkable. After several hours on your feet, they’ll provide much-needed relief, but the quality can only be described as average.
Extendable Ottoman
There is not much to say here except to make note of it. The Ottoman features an extension module, which makes the chair capable of accommodating users up to 6’3” in height.
Simple Remote
The remote is well-designed, with a small LCD in the top portion of it. All the controls are placed logically, and everything is easy to find and access. There’s not much in the way of a learning curve for this chair, or its remote, and you’ll be enjoying your first massage within minutes of sitting down.
Pros & Cons of Relaxonchair MK-II Plus
As you can see, the Relaxonchair MK-II Plus has a lot going for it. It’s not complicated, it’s not expensive, and it handles the basics of massage well. It even offers some therapeutic benefits that make it attractive to people who suffer from chronic pain.
Yes, the chair has some limitations. That’s to be expected at the entry-level, even more so when you’re talking about an off-brand model.
We’d love to see more genuine options in future upgrades. For instance, on the company’s website, they advertise the Relaxonchair MK-II Plus as a “Shiatsu Massage Chair,” even though Shiatsu isn’t one of the techniques the chair features.
We’d love to see that added, along with some pre-programmed massage routines that take advantage of it.
Another excellent addition would be the ability to adjust heat, as would better-implemented foot massage. MP3 support would be an easy addition that wouldn’t raise the price much and win some additional fans.
Relaxonchair MK-II Plus Review Conclusion
We were impressed with the MK-II Plus. Relaxonchair is hands down the best off-brand company from which we’ve reviewed products, and we look forward to seeing more from them.
They have a good product, and we’re happy to recommend it to hobbyist users and people who suffer from chronic pain and are on a budget. Consider this one a hidden gem in the world of off-brand, budget-priced massage chairs.
Recommended Reading
Cozzia 16028 Review – Massage Chair Ratings
In our review, find out why the Cozzia 16028 is a good massage chair for hobbyists and chronic back pain sufferers.
iComfort Massage Chair IC1115 Review
With so many features available, we reviewed iComfort’s IC1115 to see how it stands out.
References & Resources
- Relaxonchair Massage Chairs, Official Brand Website.
- Relaxonchair MK II Plus Massage Chair User Manual.
- Deep Tissue Massage Technique, Verywell.