Hyperice Venom 2 - Advanced Heat + Vibration Wrap (Leg)

This thing does what it suppose to do!! Recommend

Not intense but if you need your shoulder warmed up it’s perfect

I really wanted this product to be good because I like the Hyperice brand and their percussive products. Unfortunately my attempts at their heat therapy products have fallen short each time. A little background: I have some pretty tight trap and rhomboid muscle, partially from playing baseball and probably more so from being hunched over at my desk for my day job. I read a bunch of articles that suggested a good heat device would be the saving grace. Bah, my search continues.The fit is not universal, so it just doesn't work to heat or massage the right spots. Why? The heating units are 4 hard blocks that are set in place under the neoprene (so it's not the entire sleeve, which i had thought would be the case). This means that these blocks need to cover the exact spots and shape of your shoulder / upper back in order to heat the points you want to address. I should also mention that this means the neoprene doesn't neatly hug your shoulder as you'd expect this material to do. It's actually quite uncomfortable and bulky with 4 hard pieces pressing into your muscles and bones. And the sharpness is even more obvious if you aren't a large person and need to more tightly wrap the neoprene to fit.It doesn't reach all the muscles that Hyperice customer service described. When I chatted with the rep, trying to understand what regions the shoulder wrap covers, he said "rear and front delt, rhomboid, and traps." That would have been a dream for my throwing arm and motion. Unfortunately as noted above on fit and heating blocks, the tip of my shoulder burns with heat while the actual muscles that surround my upper back/shoulder (rhomboids and traps) don't actually feel much of the heat of massage. Bummer! Heat settings: The good news is that you reach full heat very quickly. There's effectively no delay and you start the heat therapy just seconds after you put it on.  The bad is that there are 3 levels and no Goldilocks. Level 1 is worthless over clothing (to be fair, it's the level they recommend on bare skin).  Level 2 is not warm enough through a t-shirt and level 3 is so hot that it burns. The result? I have to switch the controls every 5 minutes or so to "average out" the heat. Not very therapeutic! And lastly, the smell of neoprene is overwhelming, especially this close to the face. When I had read this in reviews, I dismissed it because new product smells will fade over time. But oh my goodness was this strong -- it feels like I'm breathing chemicals. What's worse is that the heat accentuates it and makes it worse. Add insult to injury, the smell has absorbed (melted?) into my shirt now, and I now carry an aura of burnt neoprene.I'm still going to keep my eyes out, Hyperice. If the Venom Go's battery life greatly improves, and the sticky pads are a bit more sustainable, then I think you've got a winner.  Til then, my search continues.

This product is good but not great. I saw some reviewers say it didn't fit - I could definitely see this not fitting someone small. I'm a big guy and it fits me well. The vibration is pretty good but wish it was a little stronger. The odor of the neoprene is definitely there but I don't view that as a significant issue that I can't deal with. Finally the level 3 heat is HOT - I wear this over a polo shirt and can only take level 3 for 5ish minutes before I need to turn the intensity down. Level 2 heat I wish was a little hotter - need something between level 2 and 3 so I don't need to toggle back and forth. As far as comparison to similar products on the market I think this is probably the best.

The heat is great and hot even on low to medium heat levels but the vibration is just too weak. The fit could be a little better designed to contour to a normal shoulder.