INTRODUCTION

   Muscle pain is something all people experience many in their lives regardless of what it is they do daily. You could be sitting on your chair, working out either at home or the gym, driving your car, lifting something heavy or even fall asleep and next thing you know one or more muscles in your body may start aching. Luckily as technology advances and more people are starting to realize that we all need to pay more attention to our bodies (not just keeping them healthy but also as pain free as possible) the electronics industry doesn't fail to deliver and so today I’ll be taking a closer look to yet another device that promises to sooth muscle pain, the Venom Go by Hyperice.

   Hyperice is a technology-driven company with a giant mission, to help everyone on Earth move and live better. For more than a decade, Hyperice has led a global movement at the confluence of recovery and wellness, specializing in percussion (Hypervolt line), dynamic air compression (Normatec line), vibration (Vyper and Hypersphere lines), thermal technology (Venom line), and contrast therapy (Hyperice X). Now, as a holistic high-performance wellness brand, Hyperice is designed for all - from the most elite athletes, leagues and teams to consumers everywhere looking to unlock the best version of themselves to help them do what they love, more. Recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, Hyperice has applied its technology and know-how to industries including fitness, hospitality, healthcare, massage, physical therapy, sports performance and workplace wellness on a global scale. For more information, visit hyperice.com.

   The Venom Go is a compact massager which basically combines therapeutic vibration patterns (3 available types) with heat (3 levels, 40/43/45 degrees Celsius - 105/109/113 degrees Fahrenheit) in order to relieve sore and stiff muscles thus soothing muscle pain. The device comes ready with an 1200mAh built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery (5V/0.5A) which can keep it going for up to 1 full hour, Bluetooth connectivity (Hyperice app control), is magnetically attached to the required pads and is also TSA approved for carry-on. Hyperice bundles a total of 3 pads which always according to them can be used for up to 20 times and if that's not enough you can always purchase more directly from them. So, let's see just how effective the new Venom Go is in relieving muscle tension and discomfort.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Hyperice is using a small white box the front of which typically has their logo and product name right over a product picture.

At the rear we find a product description in 8 languages and a picture of the bundle.

The device is nicely placed inside a formed piece of plastic.

Inside the box Hyperice has placed the Venom Go device, 3 pads, USB-C charging cable, warranty paper, product information paper, quick start guide and the user manual.

THE VENOM GO

Measuring just 5cm in length, 5cm in width and 2.5cm in thickness the 90g heavy Venom Go is indeed a very compact device.

On top we find the on/off power button and the power and battery level LEDs.

The vibration pattern/type button with its 3 LEDs is placed on the left side whereas on the right we find the heat level button with its 3 LEDs.

Hyperice has placed the USB-C charging port at the base of the unit.

Turning the Venom Go around we find information on its built-in battery, several certifications, two round magnets and the power contacts.

Each pad measures 12.7cm in length, 7.6cm in width and 0.7cm in thickness and has two round metal pieces and the power contacts on one side while on the other if features a sticky silicon surface.

Thanks to all 9 LEDs placed on the Venom Go at night it looks even better.

HYPERICE APP

Once you install the Hyperice app you will be required to choose your device as seen above.

Then the app asks about your daily routine (nothing changes regardless of what you choose as far as i can tell).

Needless to say, you'll need to have Bluetooth and location services enabled on your smartphone to detect the Venom Go.

Hyperice has made it so that their app can also connect to Garmin and Strava devices.

Once you also enter your personal details you'll come to the main tab where the device is listed.

In my case there was a firmware update available (unfortunately the app doesn't state what changed).

So, as you can all see from within the app you can adjust heat, select vibration pattern, adjust the running time (for reasons unknown i was unable to adjust this - even when on a pad it would ask me to place it on a pad) and of course start/stop the device.

CONCLUSION

   Compared to both its predecessor the very first Venom and the Venom 2 the Venom Go may be a lot smaller (and thus can't cover the same body area) but thanks to its sticky pads (which don't leave any residuals on your skin) it can be used pretty much anywhere on your body. As for effectiveness even though I’ve not used the first Venom or the Venom 2 for that matter the Venom Go actually does a very good job in soothing muscle pain, at least where i used it on (upper back, shoulders mostly). Needless to say, it does require many uses in order to really help (higher vibration and heat levels would obviously help but such a tiny device probably can't offer that) but even after 3-4 uses you'll notice some improvement. Unfortunately, even though the Venom Go works very well its somewhat low/short battery life (at full heat it doesn't even last 50 minutes) means you'll need to charge it even after just 3-4 uses. The sticky pads provided by Hyperice also work very well (surprised they leave no residuals on the skin) but at the same time they do tend to start losing their stickiness after 7-8 uses (Hyperice claims a total of up to 20 uses which is not surprising since they obviously need people getting more pads). Being able to first attach the pad and then the device (magnetically at that) is also extremely convenient and the same can also be said about the Hyperice android/iOS app although since it allows you to adjust the default run time of the Venom Go (firmware updates may also improve battery usage).

   As I type these lines the Venom Go by Hyperice retails for just USD129 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 201.18Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which at least on the other side of the Atlantic is very balanced (here it could certainly be better). Price aside however the Venom Go is indeed one of the most useful health related gadgets I’ve gotten my hands on and even though it’s not perfect it still delivers and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Compact Size
- Cordless
- 3 Vibration Patterns
- 3 Heating Levels
- Magnetically Attached
- Reusable Pads (Up To 20 Times)
- Hyperice App
- Price (USA)

CONS

- Battery Life (Up To 1 Hour)
- Pad Stickiness (Starts To Fade After 7-8 Uses)