Scholl DR1136 > Reviews > Works, but not how it's intended

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money

Poor

Advantages:	deep kneeding, can mend sore muscles
Disadvantages:	too simple, very bulky and heavy

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I have tried a lot of massagers (real people as well as machines), so I can provide a fairly broad picture of how this compares with both the real thing as well as other machines.

The first thing you notice is how heavy and bulky this thing is. It makes it very difficult to get it into any kind of position that you would find benefitial. There are 2 pairs of rollers, each on a pivot to follow the countours of your back underneith the material, and when placed properly, they do their job well. The only problem is getting them at that magical point so that they go from doing nothing, to actually massaging you. Strapping to a chair is useless. Also, the rollers infuriatingly do not go down far enough to the lower back (which is exactly where you need it), but you can solve this by turning the whole thing upsidown.
I quickly found that this bulky thing needed a lot of body weight resting on it to get the full, deep massage like someone pressing their knuckles into your back and rolling them up and down. To achieve this, I had to have it at about 45 degrees, resting it on my scrunched up duvet on my bed, then sitting on the headrest (I turned it upsidown) to keep from sliding off it. Only then does it dig into your back deep, and after a hard workout at the gym or hard day lifting at work, the experience is very alleiviating. Kind of when you get into a hot bath after playing out in the snow. However, where it relaxes your back muscles, it does nothing for your mind. You may think I'm being demanding of it, but I had previously owned a Homedics full body massage matt (from Argos), which didn't do the deep massage, it was just vibrating and heat on various parts of the body. While it didn't do much for your body, it was very effective in relaxing you and putting you in a state of serene calm before going to bed, which is invaluable when you have a stressful job.
Back to the Scholl, I would say this is only worth buying if you suffer from back aches from working hard, otherwise the bulky thing may proove to be a waste of money. Also, if you can afford to spend a bit more I have a suggestion: Homedics Shiatsu Back Massager at £99 from Argos (was not available when I bought the Scholl), as it has a revolving action as well as up and down, and various settings to create myriad sensations. The Scholl has a simple on/off and you will find you will get used to this (and desensitised) very quickly.