The best massage guns are everywhere these days—on the sidelines of NBA games, in NFL locker rooms, and splashed across the Instagrams of your favorite personal trainers. There is perhaps no fitness tool on the market today more beloved. And they’ve come a long way since GQ asked whether they were “worth it” a few years ago. The latest generation of percussive therapy devices are quieter and more compact—and prices have come down dramatically.
But with their rise in popularity, there has come a noticeable influx of dubious products that all sort of look the same, from companies we can’t even pronounce. So we tested a wide range of options to find out where to really find the best massage guns—which ones live up to the hype.
To see more of the best workout clothes and gear hand-picked by GQ editors, check out the GQ Fitness Awards.
The Absolute Best Massage Gun
The Theragun Pro is the Rolls-Royce of massage guns and comes with a price tag to match. The Elite model, while still a splurge, is equipped with nearly all the same features of the Pro but will save you $200. Also, while the Pro is far more adjustable, those moving parts have a tendency to rattle a bit—the quieter Elite model means you won’t drown out your latest Netflix binge as you pulverize your muscles.
The Best Portable Massage Gun
Last year, Hyperice partnered with the NBA and since then we’ve seen everyone from Luka to Russ to LeBron taking advantage of their models courtside. Now Hyperice has perfected an on-the-go model with the Hypervolt GO. Light enough to fit in a gym bag or suitcase, this smaller model doesn’t lack for power and features a slightly-angled handle that makes it easier to reach every hard-to-reach muscle on your back.
The Best Budget Massage Gun
No bells and whistles here. Just an incredibly reliable massage gun with an unobtrusive design that doesn’t lack for power or attachments (it comes stocked with four different massage heads and five levels of intensity) at a price that won’t leave you feeling guilty.
The Best Massage Device That Isn’t Really a Massage Gun
Muscle scraping has roots in traditional Chinese medicine and has seen a resurgence in popularity amongst both fitness and beauty enthusiasts in recent years. So the folks at Strig asked themselves, What if we combined a muscle scraper with a massage gun? The result is one of the more unique recovery tools we’ve tried in quite some time: A stainless steel blade attached to a versatile handle that can produce both soothing microvibrations and microcurrents at three different power levels.
Seven Other Massage Guns We Love
It shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point that Theragun’s scaled-down offering was put together with the same care as the Pro or Elite models. With a wholly unique design, the Mini’s triangular shape looks clunkier than many other miniature models but weighs less than two pounds and is incredibly comfortable in hand.
One of the most comfortable massage guns to use thanks to it’s angled handle, the Ekrin B37 offers up to 57 pounds worth of force and the best travel case of any other massage gun out there.
The original Hypervolt now comes equipped with Bluetooth, which means you can connect it to your phone and take full advantage of the Hyperice app, which offers guided, easy-to-follow recovery routines.
At just $50, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better full-size massage gun than Kelices’s. Not only does it come with a wide vibration range, but you’ll get 10 different head attachments and a sturdy carrying case to house it all.
Super-compact, Power Plate’s Mini+ is one of the quietest massage guns you will find without sacrificing power.
What better than a massage gun that also builds in heat therapy right into the device?
TimTam has shrunk the massage gun down to the size of an iPhone, weighing just a single pound. Just like most of your tech, it can be charged up with any USB-C cord.
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