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Speeds and percussions per minute: the numbers that say the least
Updated
A speed count tells you how many settings the button steps through. RPM or percussions per minute tells you how often the head hits. Neither tells you how far the head travels or whether it keeps going when you press. On our shortlist, top speeds cluster between 3,000 and 3,200 RPM, while amplitude runs from 7 to 16 mm.
- TOLOCO EM263,200 RPM
- RENPHO Thermacool 23,200 RPM
- Bob and Brad C23,200 RPM
- Bob and Brad Q2 Mini3,000 RPM
- TOLOCO EM2612 mm
- RENPHO Thermacool 210 mm
- Bob and Brad C210 mm
- Bob and Brad Q2 Mini7 mm
What the speed numbers do and do not tell you
- Top speed. The four listings above that give one are within 200 RPM of each other. That gap is too small to choose on.
- Number of speeds. The Bob and Brad C2 lists 5 speeds from 2,000 to 3,200 RPM. The Theragun Prime and Hypervolt 2 Pro also list 5 speeds, with no RPM range on the listings we read. More steps only means finer control.
- What changes between guns. The Q2 Mini and the C2 are only 200 RPM apart at the top, but the maker's own chart gives them 7 mm and 10 mm of stroke. The same maker labels the 7 mm gun "soothing relief" and the 16 mm D6 Pro "pro grade".
What to read instead
- Amplitude in mm. Check the title, bullets and any comparison chart in the product description.
- Stall force in lb. Same places. If only watts are given, as on the Hypervolt 2 Pro (90 W), that is motor power, not the force at which it stalls.
- Weight. A gun you cannot hold steady does not help. See reaching your own back.
How to use the speeds you have
Cleveland Clinic's advice is to start on the lowest setting to see how your body reacts, let the gun supply the pressure instead of pushing down, and move slowly. Higher speeds and deeper strokes are for later, and only on big muscles. Use the checker to compare guns on the numbers that differ, then see our shortlist.
Health note. This is general information, not medical advice. Keep the gun on muscle, not bone, and off the head, face, the front of the neck and any injury, bruise or open wound. Ask your doctor first if you are pregnant, have or have had a blood clot, have a pacemaker or other implanted heart device, have a bleeding disorder or take blood thinners. See where not to use a massage gun.