Dear MGF Reader,
As much as I dreaded the idea of writing it, this post was inevitable. The thing is, I have a confession to make. I’ve been in denial for a while now, but it’s time to finally put my foot down and say, the Hyperice Hypervolt is not worth buying. (Pause for cringeworthy moment)
You see, the thing is, I’ve been dancing around the subject for over a year now. There’s hardly a post that I’ve published that doesn’t make reference to the Hypervolt. I’ve personally drawn countless comparisons under the sun to the almighty Hypervolt as though it’s the be-all and end-all.
Like many others, I too have called anything that slightly resembled a Hypervolt a “knock off” or a “wannabe” as if Hyperice owns the massage gun market. I too implied that anything that was not a Hyperice Hypervolt was inferior. Inferior quality. Inferior power and performance. Inferior product.
Was I being truthful? In retrospect, no I was not because I bought in. I bought in to the idea that the Hypervolt represented something unique and different. That somehow their product was superior and above all of the rest. That a look-alike was simply just that, a charlatan of the real thing.
I’m not proud to admit it, but I’m wrong and the all-new Hypervolt (with Bluetooth) proves it.
Brief background Theragun vs Hypervolt
Not too long ago, there were really only two major players in the massage gun space, Theragun and Hypervolt. My first introduction to them was in the form of the Theragun G2PRO in our busy rehabilitation clinic. It was loud, obnoxiously loud, but boy did it work wonders!
The need to wear earplugs aside, the G2PRO was a revelation when it came to muscle recovery. It was bittersweet agony and relief all wrapped into one. You know, it was the “good pain” I was told. Things just couldn’t get better–until they did.
Cue the music…in walks the Hyperice Hypervolt.
Photo courtesy of rizknows.com
The Hypervolt was everything you wanted the G2PRO to be and more. For starters, it was quiet, MUCH quieter. Hallelujah! Beyond that it was just as powerful and at the time, it looked like it came straight from the future. There was no denying it was all packaged up, ready to dethrone the archaic Theragun.
Thanks to brilliant marketing and undercut pricing, the Hyperice Hypervolt gobbled up the consumer mindshare. Selling a superior product at just over half the price tends to do that.
From that moment, I too was sold and couldn’t be bothered by anything that came after.
Hypervolt vs opove M3 Pro
In our clinic, the need for a second massage gun came about fairly quickly. At $350, the Hypervolt was never exactly an impulse buy and so the search for an alternative began. That search led to the discovery of the opove M3 Pro.
The M3 Pro is about as close of a clone to a Hypervolt as you can get. With a solid 5 star rating on Amazon and identical looks, the assumption was that they would be the same. They weren’t.
Naturally, we all found ourselves comparing the two and contemplating if the Hypervolt was worth the extra money. Afterall, the Opove M3 Pro was about $150 less.
Without question, the Hypervolt trumps the opove M3 Pro in both build quality and power. The opove M3 Pro is relatively weak in a side-by-side test.
Fun fact: the idea to launch MassageGunfight.com was a result of those conversations and testing.
The Hypervolt Comparison Saga
And so began the ongoing endeavor to find the best massage guns available. It’s been one heck of a ride so far.
When we first started Massage Gunfight, we purchased every single massage gun with our own money, tested them out, and published our thoughts*. Many of those reviews make mention of how it stacks up to the Hypervolt. Why did we do that? Perhaps because somehow the Hypervolt had become the gold standard in which all others were held to.
Listen up, here’s the thing: although a very good massage gun, we never felt like the Hyperice Hypervolt was the best massage gun when compared others. That became pretty apparent fairly quickly.
My encounter with the Ekrin B37 was perhaps the first time I said to myself, “This is better than the Hypervolt”. At $229, the B37 has better battery life, IMO a better, more ergonomic design, and a motor that is just as powerful.
From there the floodgates were opened and a whole host of massage guns, in my mind, ranked higher than the reigning champion.
First came the LifePro Pulse FX. Cheaper, more powerful, with a better warranty. Then came more “knock offs” like the addsfit MAX. Again, same power, more options, better warranty.
I could go on for while because the list is long and getting longer.
So what do you do when all of the competition is snubbing you out? You release version 2.0.
Hypervolt (With Bluetooth)
About 3-4 months ago I noticed that Hyperice and every other retailer online had the Hypervolt models on sale. An occasional sale usually means nothing, but an ongoing sale that never ends? Ding! Ding! They’re clearing inventory to make room for a new massage gun.
I knew it was only a matter of time before a release date was announced. In the meantime, I spent some time speculating what would come next. A new design? Better features? Something groundbreaking? For a brief moment, the anticipation was almost palpable. A. Brief. Moment.
Come August 3rd, 2020, Hyperice announced the Hypervolt (With Bluetooth) and Hypervolt Plus (With Bluetooth).
Yep, they added Bluetooth and gave you another reason to reach for your phone with the Hyperice app “powered by HyperSmart” (trademarked). Talk about a face palm.
This was Hyperice’s chance to leap-frog the competition, but instead gave us another reason to stare at our phones all day. Because we don’t do it enough already and ironically it’s probably the reason you need a massage gun in the first place.
I’m not saying the app isn’t good because it is. My complaint is with the Hypervolt itself. Nothing has changed. The specs are nearly identical to the previous generation minus the inclusion of a $2 bluetooth chip. That alone certainly makes the Hypervolt worth the money, right?
What I assume is a consolation prize, they did manage to include one additional massage head and a carrying case this time around. Oh wait, no they didn’t. The carrying case is still sold separately at a price gouging $50.
This was Hyperice’s big moment and failed to stick the landing.
Is the still Hypervolt worth it?
In the latter part of 2020, do I still consider the Hypervolt worth the money? Unfortunately, no I do not.
As a standalone product, the Hypervolt was and is an excellent massage gun. No question about it. It’s powerful and reliable enough to earn its reputation. However, once you factor in the price, features, design, and performance relative to what else is out there, it just doesn’t compete.
When Theragun released their newly-updated line, we called the $399 Theragun Elite one of the best massage guns out there. Why? Because not only did it include a fancy Bluetooth assisted app, but it was a significant upgrade over its predecessor, the G3. In my opinion, they did enough to justify the expense.
Sadly, I just can’t say the same thing about the Hypervolt.
Here at Massage Gunfight, we will continue to compare and contrast massage guns, but for the foreseeable future, the Hypervolt won’t be the standard.
*Interestingly enough, we now have a huge influx of companies wanting to send us test units instead. If you care to know, although we receive them at no cost, that is never a factor when we review them. We continue to maintain an unbiased standard. In fact, if we don’t care much for their massage gun, we will either:
A. Tell them what we thought and give them the choice for us to not publish the review – or –
B. We just don’t bother writing anything and return the massager.
