Our Verdict
The Renpho Leg Massager is much cheaper than most compression boots and does work as advertised, but falls well short of the experience you get from the likes of Therabody and Normatec by Hyperice.
For
- Good value
- More portable than other compression boots
- Massages feet as well as legs
Against
- Harder to use than others
- No battery
- Less effective massage
- Little customisation
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The best compression boots are an effective and pretty enjoyable way to speed up your recovery when training hard, but they don’t come cheap. The Therabody RecoveryAir Jetboots are $899 in the US and £799 in the UK for example, while the Hyperice Normatec 3 Legs are $799/£899.
Given these prices, the Renpho Air Compression Leg Massager stands out as very cheap indeed – it’s normally found for less than $100/£100. It may not be as easy to use and the quality of the massage suffers, but the Renpho option still puts the squeeze on effectively and is worth considering if shopping on a budget.
Renpho Air Compression Leg Massager: Price And Availability
The Renpho massager has an RRP of $99.99/£108.99 and is available now. It is almost always available for less than its RRP, especially around sales periods like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday. There is also a heated version of the massager with an RRP of $109.99/£109.99.
Design
Unlike most compression massagers, which are thigh-high boots you pull on, the Renpho massager is made of separate sections. One covers the feet and calf muscles and the other the thigh, and you can adjust the fit on the foot, calf and thigh using Velcro.
The massager connects to a central console that controls the intensity of the pressure and which areas of the leg you wish to target. Another difference from other boots is that there is no battery in the console: you have to run the massager plugged into the mains, which limits where you can use it.
There are three intensity levels to pick between, and you can choose to only massage your feet, calves or thighs, or massage them all at once. There are fewer customisation options and a narrower range of programmes available than on other compression boots I’ve tested, and there is no partner app.
The segmented design and smaller-than-usual console (since it doesn’t house a battery) allow the Renpho massager to fold up into the provided small soft carry case. This makes it easier to transport than bulkier boots.
The Experience
The Renpho massager is more of a pain to set up and use than other compression boots I’ve tested, since you have to adjust the Velcro on each panel and find somewhere to plug them in each time. Not having a fixed boot size also meant I sometimes had to readjust the Velcro during a session when I found it was too loose or tight to deliver the preferred amount of pressure.
Once you’re set up, the massage does increase blood flow to your muscles, but the lack of a full boot changes the feel of it considerably. The way the pressure moves from your feet up to your thighs in a full boot feels more effective than the broken-up panel system here, and the pressure from the Renpho felt noticeably lighter in comparison with what you get from a boot, especially around the thighs.
The more connected sections around the foot and calf muscles work better, if still less impressively than a full boot. The lack of customisation didn’t bother me too much since I don’t believe much variety in your compression sessions is needed, but others might miss the range of options you get with boots from the likes of Therabody, Recovapro and Normatec.
Is The Renpho Air Compression Leg Massager Worth It?
The Renpho massager is much cheaper than other compression boots, and if you’re simply looking for a budget way to put the squeeze on your leg muscles, it does work. However, it is less impressive than the full compression boots I’ve tested and I’m not sure your muscles will enjoy the same benefits from the separated system.
It’s also a bit of a faff to set up and use each time, and requires more adjustment than full boots during each session as well. It’s a clear trade-off between price and performance, but given that the price is so low, the Renpho massager is certainly worth considering.
