30-second review
It’s hard to tell the difference between the many massage guns on the market. If you’re looking to buy one the MuscleGun Carbon looks like several rivals, not least of which the near identical Shavron Vibration Massage Gun that we tested in 2021.
That aside, it’s got everything you need to tackle muscle pain and tension, arriving in a stylish padded bag that includes the gun itself, a range of interchangeable heads plus an instruction manual and power adapter.
The MuscleGun Carbon delivers a versatile range of massage using up to 3,200 beats per minute, via a selection of intensity settings. It’s also complimented by an app called Deep. Overall, the package is a simple one, but pretty effective at taking on everyday muscle issues without the need for professional physio (though like any percussive massager, it's not a replacement for one-on-one treatment).
Price and availability
The MuscleGun Carbon was released in November 2020, and is currently available for £199.99 instead of the regular £229.99 on the company's UK website. There’s also a free ab wheel thrown in for good measure, plus free postage and packing, though presumably that is a time-limited offer.
The same devices is listed $199 from the US MuscleGun website, though at the time of writing was sold out.
The Shavron Vibration Massage Gun is currently the same price, can can be found for £199.99 (about $270 / AU$370) from Amazon in the UK, although at the time of writing it doesn't appear to be available in other territories.
Design
The MuscleGun Carbon impact massager caught our attention initially because it looked familiar. So familiar, in fact, that it got us to check our review of the Shavron Vibration Massage Gun from 2021. This appears to be exactly the same unit apart from different branding with the only notable difference to the package being more power plug adapters in the Shavron example we tried. Nevertheless, we liked the design of the Shavron, and the MuscleGun leaves a similarly positive impression.
The massage gun definitely feels solid, with a robust dog-leg shaped design that sits in your hand nicely. It’s well balanced, and because it’s only around a kilo in weight, the gun should be pretty easy to hold for longer periods of massage.
There’s a port on the bottom of the handle so you can connect the power adapter when the gun needs a recharge. On the end of the main body, at the opposite point where the massage heads connect, you’ll find a circular power button, plus small LEDS. One side indicates available battery power up to around six hours, while the other side shows which massage intensity you’re using from one through to five
Prolonged use will require you to plug in the MuscleGun Carbon and recharge it, but the 2,550mAh battery seemed fairly resilient to us. When we did need to plug in the adapter and wait for a full charge it took a similar amount of time to the four hours or so of the Shavron unit. We like the way that everything can be packed away into the zip-up travel back too, which makes this another portable option.
Performance
Having used the Shavron model previously we were expecting much the same level of performance and there were no real surprises. The brushless motor delivers power very nicely indeed. Selecting one of the four heads, round, bullet, flat and fork, you push your choice into the round slot in order to lock it into place. The only possible issue we had with this during use, and it was the same for the Shavron model, is how well these heads will remain in the gun as it becomes more well used.
Nevertheless, the percussive massage works well across the power range of 1,400 to 3,200 percussions per minute. The heads themselves seem well made and can be wiped off after use without any fuss. In fact, the practicality of this unit, which comes in a handy carry case is one of its main strengths. You could easily pack it into a suitcase or carry-all for any on-the-go treatment needed during a trip or between sporting events.
The manual is basic, but delivers a decent overview of the MuscleGun’s capabilities. The supplementary Deep app, which is available for iOS and Android devices, is also worth exploring. It widens the scope of what the MuscleGun can do. However, we found that like most percussive massagers, the best way to acquaint yourself with its potential is to spend time using it. The sporadic ten-minute sessions we enjoyed achieved positive results on the usual suspects, like aching calves from too much running and soothing tension in the neck and shoulders.
Overall, we found nothing to dislike about the performance of the MuscleGun. Equally though, we couldn’t really differentiate the results from that of the Shavron percussive massager, leaving us with an either/or verdict on which one to go for.
First reviewed February 2022
Buy it if
You're on a budget
This massage gun is an affordable but effective way to tackle muscle strains or to help relieve tension.
Your needs are relatively simple
There's a pretty basic selection of massage heads to choose from here.
You want a massage gun for the gym or office
The MuscleGun Carbon's portable carry-bag package will be useful if you’re on the go.
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