I don't know if it was designed to discharge on purpose. What I do know is the use case it was designed for was having the unit plugged in say at a home or at say in an athletic trainer's room, and then unplugged and brought to where the athlete wants to sit, used, and then plugged back in. The problem came, when you plug them in and charge them, pack them in the car for a soccer game and then try to sit in them after the soccer game only to realize they need to be plugged back in. Regardless the Gen 2 no longer has this problem. I tested it pretty thoroughly and wrote about it in a little piece comparing the Gen 1 Pulse vs Gen 2 Pulse.

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I know you are big on your Compex still and I know that sometimes pro athletes are not a good reason to buy into something, but do you think Lebron, Frodo, and Kienle all use recovery compression boots for s&gs? I mean there is so little time in the day as a professional athlete and so many recovery modalities. Why would they bother? Lebron spent $2,000,000 million on his recovery last year and given that number I would say he takes it pretty seriously. Lebron is a big believer in the easy spin to flush as well, but at the end of the day boots are incredibly relaxing, therapeutic, and time efficient.

I also advocate the nightly walk (swim works too) and given the nights are coming earlier these days, I will probably take place it around 6:30 tonight. But I will also be in the boots later before bed. Have you had a chance to give boots a try for say 90 days? If not I would highly recommend it and I would be curious to hear feedback.

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They are supposed to hold a charge so they are portable, that was a selling point over their much less expensive rivals. They've basically acknowledged that a firmware fault meant the units aren't truly off and so run through the battery in less than 24h while "off". If I'd bought these in the EU with a credit card I'd have had it fixed under the sales of goods act or a refund but sadly I did neither. I'm not willing to throw another 500+ Inc postage at it as they can only fix it in the USA allegedly. I find it very difficult to recommend any company who treats their customers so shabbily despite charging them so handsomely.

I'm going to post on this thread although my questions are related to more than just compression boots...

I've been willing to purchase boot for ever and never bought any... so far because I couldn't make my mind although I'm leaning towards the AirRelax after Thomas' reviews...

That being said, I have to questions related to recovery devices:

1. Have someone tried Aquilo vs other recovery boots. And if so, how does it compare? I didn't have enough time to spend at Kona's expo this year to try Normatec and Aquilo =( *bummer*

2. More general question. If you could only buy one recovery device, what would it be?
1. Compression Boots (Normatec, AirRelax or other)
2. Ice-Compression Boots (Aquilo, GameReady or even ElevatedLegs w/ Cold Packs)
3. Shock/vibrations guns (HyperIce vs Theragun --> which I tried and LOVED at Kona's booth)

Would love to have your thought !

I have been wanting to write a general article on recovery for a long time as there are so many cool tools but only so much time to use them all. As many know I have had some inner ear issues which have kept me out of professional racing this year and maybe forever. I suffered through it last season and it wasn't a lot of fun. I did make a slight bump in September and headed out to Kona for a month as an attempt to gain some fitness and get back on the bandwagon. The reason I mention this is I had a 50lb suitcase that I took and had to make some tough choices but I brought:

1) Compression boots
2) A large dense ball for glutes 5 inch
3) A peanut
4) A lacrosse ball
5) Two myofascial release soft-tissue tools. Graston Long-Bar (very heavy but brought it) and the Versatile Multi-use tool for small large muscles but w/ handle for easy self use.

This is what I felt I needed. 3 of the 5 are under 10 bucks, the soft tissue tools and compression boots were a bit more. While I would have used a Shock/Vibration gun had I brought one. The balls allow me a deeper and better experience than the shock/vibration, just not as convenient. As for Ice-compression, I really need to try a pair myself and I am interested in hearing other feedback too. Too me, the rapid contrast change of same the Game Ready is more appealing than anything. In my mind I just can't imagine ice boots as being as easy and as pleasurable an experience as regular compression boots. I just much prefer the organic warmth that comes from regular compression boots myself. Same goes for sitting in a hot epsom salt bath versus an ice bath. I find the passive and relaxing experience of boots is what gets me into them. Hence why I am in them write now typing this up at Midnight EST. But yes I would also like some feedback if anyone has experience with both, specifically the rapid contrast Game Ready ones.

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Thomas, I'm not really big on Compex or boots. The best recovery I get is still a swim or a light spin on the bike trainer. Using pro athletes is kind of a scam, as I'm sure they don't just use the modalities photographed, but massage, ice/heat baths, rest with legs up, cryotherapy, e-stim, and use of a personal therapist/PT and even more. Often FAR more time in recovery than competing. Having spent decades in advertising I know how those photo ops work.

I have had 3 pair of boots and 3 e-stim machines, and while I should be more consistent I am not. I have truly never noticed any great results, yet still buy the damn things! Sounds like your body is a better adapter than mine.

Funny you suggest they don't have much free time? Compared to what?

And wow! Lebron spent $2,000,000 MILLION on recovery? :-)

I have :

Normatec Pulse Pro
Air Relax
Game Ready 2.1
Various Stim machines.

If I had to chose 1... GameReady. The ice is really a good feeling on my knees, especially after a run. I can get away with Air Relax or Normatec after cycling... but overall I really like the GR.

When it comes to the Game Ready we use it a lot in Rugby for 7s and XVs for treatment, but usually it's done at halftime for XVs and between matches for 7s. We'll use Normatec at the end of each day though. Also a Game Ready is portable...but significantly less portable than a Normatec/Air Relax set. And the control unit is of course way out of my price range, I've never seen people have them for themselves, only at the professional or national team level.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Well count me as one of those non-pros :)

I was given one to rent after knee surgery and just ended up buying the thing. Overtime I just picked up nearly every attachment they make. It has come in handy over the years.

That's pretty cool. They are effective, otherwise I don't think they'd be in as many national team trainer's kits. I've just never seen them outside of a professional sports environment.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Absolutely a Game Ready if I could choose. I was lucky enough to use one post shoulder surgery for awhile and they are amazing. If I could afford one for legs recovery I'd have one in a heart beat. Compression is great, but cold therapy beats compression all day, every day. The other options is just a pure ice bath. For me, I can trash my body one day, ice bath + protein shake at night, and the next day be 100% back to normal again. I haven't tried that day after day, but its effective for my worst days of training.

I think most people underestimate how much time athletes put into sport, and like you said, how many different modalities they use. Everyone is busy so I don't really want to make a comparison, just that they are an effective way to squeeze out some extra time in the day. Of course athletes use many modalities and it is really tough to separate out what is responsible for what. After all, the two most important recovery tools are two that are NOT mentioned above... nutrition and sleep. As a general recovery tool, and the more and more I listen to feedback, the more often the word "relax", "relaxing", and "calming" is used in what the athletes are getting out of it. We can't discount this relaxing either in terms of recovery. I am heading over to my weekly massage in a bit, I am sure the average joe thinks that too will be relaxing but there will be some serious discomfort along the way. I do look forward to it as I know it is good for me.

That number might not be exact but it was 7-figures yes. A lot spent on recovery for Lebron.

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I agree massage is the best, especially if one can afford to be regular. I also agree that the boots cause one to stay still, which as there is no true research that shows proven results, I'm of the belief that anything that causes us to rest and/or sleep is great. I'm also with you....massage for me is either painful or worthless.

I was teasing on the dollar amount, as you made it far more than 2 mil..... I know Dara Torres had 2 stretchers that worked on her and she spent a ton too.

Surely if they're that effective there is substantial quantitative data to that end, right?

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Two questions about this:
1) how did you come to that conclusion?
2) while it may be true, are either positive or substantial?

Note: the current peer reviewed literature suggests that cold therapy does not accelerate recovery due to training effects. In fact, Gabe Mirkin (who developed "RICE") specifically recommends against cold therapy for these purposes.

Edit:
http://www.drmirkin.com/...delays-recovery.html

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Well...a Game Ready isn't just "icing something", Game Ready can do hot, it can do cold, it can do contrast...but it's all done with active compression sleeves like a Normatec or Air Relax.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I have read that article before and I actually use the machine the way it was intended. If you have ever used a GameReady machine you know it has a timer.. so the ice compression is applied and then off. Basically automatically cycled.. I'll usually do 15 on/off and a couple cycles and that is enough, or maybe for an hour max. Post surgery I'd cycle it all night obviously.

I mean, if someone was to GIVE me one, I'm sure I'd use the shit out of it. But if I have to BUY one, the burden of proof (for me) gets a little higher. And I'm sure they feel nice, but feeling nice and hastening recovery can be discrete outcomes.

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Well I'm in the same boat. I've never seen one outside of a professional sports team environment. The way we used them in Rugby I'd say they are effective...I don't think the misses would be all in on my spending 4k on a Game Ready set up.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Hardly the same at all. I picked up the Air Relax for $200 so it's cheaper and more convenient than my local pool. Likewise, an easy spin or swim doesn't help with recovery anywhere close to the boots.

Just to be clear, the boots will not magically restore your glycogen, but the difference in how your muscles feel the next day is huge.

No peer reviewed medical research at this point agrees with you.

I for one dont care..

I "feel" a bit better after using an AirRelax, Normatec or a GR.. my wife uses them also and agrees. It's no miracle ofcourse but we do feel better.

Sure, I understand. However as stated, facts do not support it, whereas actual activity raises heart rate increasing bold flow and oxygenation of muscle. Boots move lymph fluids and have little to do with musculature other than to "feel good" Placebo or whatever but research has not confirmed validity. The easy spin, swim or run and sleep/nutrition has far more support for recovery.

We keep saying research doesn't agree with him...but they say the same thing about foam rolling.

What I see in the professional sports realm is almost every team sport has NormaTec boots in multiple quantities and all the players use them across the spectrum. Perhaps there isn't research, but it should be a pretty easy study to execute under observation.

I'm guessing you'd also say getting a massage won't help either? Yet we know numerous NFL players swear by deep tissue massages.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Wrong, if you read the thread I agreed with Thomas as to the effectiveness of massage. There has been proof of that effectiveness unlike the use of boots. Pro athletes do a NUMBER of these modalities, not just the photo op boot episodes.