In a Nutshell:
A surprisingly robust entry level massage chair. The Relaxzen 60-425111 recliner is recommended for hobbyist and casual users only.
Comfort
Durability
Performance
Overall Rating
4.3/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Hobbyist and casual users. A surprisingly robust entry-level massage chair.
Are you looking for an office chair with attitude?
Would you like something that does more than provide a comfy place to sit, but don’t want to spend the kind of money it would take to get a full-featured massage chair?
If so, then the Relaxzen 60-425111 Recliner may be the perfect option for you.
In the sections that follow, we’ll take an in-depth look at this chair, everything it can do, and of course, outline its limitations, so you’ve got a complete picture before making a final purchasing decision.
As you’ll see, given its modest price tag, it’s more robust than you might expect, although we say that with a few caveats we’ll get into below.
Overview of the Relaxzen Reclining Massage Chair
Relaxzen Massage Chair Variants
Aesthetics
This model is reasonably stylish and attractive, designed for use as either a casual living room recliner or as an office chair.
Like an office chair, it swivels on its base, and when you want to use it at your desk, it’s as simple as pushing the ottoman out of the way. Then, after a hard day’s work, you can move back from your desk, bring in the ottoman and put your feet up to enjoy a nice massage.
The casual look and feel of the chair may not fit into some people’s home décor, but it should be fine for most, and the design makes it a natural fit for any office setting. At first glance, it doesn’t look notably different from most other office chairs sold today.
Track Design
The first and biggest thing to be aware of is that the Relaxzen reclining massage chair and ottoman isn’t a “true” massage chair in the sense that it does not have either an S- or a Hybrid L/S-Track, nor does it utilize massage rollers. It would be frankly impossible to offer either of those things at this price point.
What it utilizes in the place of those things is a fixed-frame, with stationary massage heads.
From a massage perspective, that has some pretty severe limitations. Chief among them is the fact that since the massage heads don’t move, there’s no body scanning tech, nor any way to adjust the width of the massage fields.
It may be the case that the massage heads align with the sore spots on your back. If they do, you’ll be happy with the massage you get. If they don’t, then your only real alternative is to wiggle around in the chair and hope for the best, which is, of course, suboptimal.
A Few Options
The stationary heads themselves have a particular shape that does a reasonably good job at imitating a Shiatsu massage, and by changing the speed and intensity of the vibration, you can get a decent approximation a Tapping-style massage, but that’s about it.
The remote claims to offer nine different modes of operation, which some might mistake for distinct massage styles, but this oversells the capabilities of the chair. At the end of the day, these are all minor variations.
This shouldn’t come as too big a surprise. After all, there’s only so much you can do with stationary massage heads, but it’s something you should be aware of. You’re not actually getting nine different styles.
Having said that, you may prefer one of the minor variations over some of the others, so it is well worth trying them all to find the one that works best for you.
In addition to these “nine different modes,” the Relaxzen 60-425111 Recliner allows you to adjust the intensity of your massage via five varying levels from the remote, which is a nice feature, and more generous than you’d expect in a chair at this price point.
Another nice feature is that the massage heads can either all be activated at once, or you can selectively activate them by the following body regions:
This, combined with the ability to adjust the intensity, does give you more combinations than you might expect in an entry-level chair.
Heat
The Relaxzen reclining massage chair offers heat in the lumbar region, and there’s no temperature adjustment. Even given these limitations, this is a great addition, and is easily the stand-out feature of the design. We were pleasantly surprised to see its inclusion in such a modestly priced offering.
Easy-To-Master Remote
Given that the company took pains to highlight their “nine different modes,” the remote is slightly more complex than it needs to be, but even given that, there’s no real learning curve here. It will take you longer to assemble the chair (about fifteen minutes) than it will be to master its use.
You can kick back and enjoy your first massage in a matter of minutes after completing the assembly.
Pros & Cons of the Relaxzen Reclining Massage Chair and Ottoman
There’s not much we’d recommend changing here. Any of our suggestions (adding a proper massage track and moving rollers) would dramatically inflate the price of the Relaxzen 60-425111 recliner, and move it to an entirely different segment of the market, so we’re happy with it as it is.
If we’d press for one change, it would be to embrace the chair’s inherent limitations, rather than trying to oversell the number of options and streamline the remote accordingly, but on balance, it’s not bad at what it does.
Relaxzen Massage Chair Review Conclusion
It’s always difficult to rate chairs at the budget end of the market because here, even a modest increase in spending will result in you getting a significantly more robust and feature-rich chair.
Having said that, if all you’re looking for is an office chair on steroids – one that can serve as a comfortable platform for computer work, pull double duty as a casual recliner and give you a decent basic (heated!) massage, then the Relaxzen 60-425111 Recliner is pure gold.
If you’re looking for something with therapeutic features and benefits, then the Relaxzen Massage chair just isn’t for you, but for the right user, it offers substantial value for the money.
References & Resources
- Save Yourself from Low Back Pain!, Pain Science.
- Massage Therapy Can be Effective for Low Back Pain, American Massage Therapy Association.
- Getting the Right Massage for Low Back Pain, Spine-health.
- 7 Common Causes of Calf Pain and How to Treat Them, Very Well Health.
- 5 Reasons Executives Should Schedule A Massage Today, Forbes.